4. [Apollo 4] THE HISTORIC FIRST LIFTOFF OF THE SATURN V ROCKET: NASA's crucial milestone for the Moon landing NASA, 9 November 1967 Printed 1967. Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image 107-KSC-67PO-435]. With NASA-US Air Force caption numbered "107-KSC-67PO-435", RCA photo laboratory quality control stamp and "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse (issued by NASA Kennedy Space Center, Florida). 25.4 x 20.3 cm. (10 x 8 in.) Historical context Apollo 4 marked the historic first flight of the Saturn V rocket, engineered by its chief architect, Wernher von Braun. This image conveys the immense power and capability of the rocket destined to carry humans to the Moon. Symbolically, it represents humanity's ambition to push boundaries and achieve the extraordinary. "The [Saturn V] rocket will free man from his remaining chains, the chains of gravity which still tie him to this planet. It will open to him the gates of heaven." —Wernher von Braun On November 9, 1967, at 7:00 a.m. EST, the Saturn V launched from Kennedy Space Centre with flames and smoke billowing out as the engines produced a staggering 7.5 million pounds of thrust, lifting the massive vehicle into the sky and producing one of the loudest human-made sounds ever recorded. The roar was so powerful it could be felt three miles away, astonishing even veteran launch viewers. Von Braun, observing the liftoff, famously shouted, "Go, baby, go!" Apollo 4 was the first mission to launch from Launch Complex 39, a facility specially built for the 363-foot Saturn V rocket. The flight plan placed the Apollo spacecraft and the rocket's third stage into a 117-mile orbit. After two orbits, the third stage re-ignited, propelling the spacecraft to an apogee of 11,400 miles. During descent, the service module engine accelerated the spacecraft to 25,000 miles per hour to simulate lunar re-entry conditions. The command module successfully splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, 622 miles northwest of Hawaii. This mission represented the pinnacle of engineering and innovation at the time and a critical milestone in NASA's journey to land humans on the Moon, proving that the Saturn V could safely deliver astronauts to space and back. Literature LIFE, 24 November 1967, pp. 28-29 (variant); Chaikin, Space, pp. 76-77