SA-D (Dynamic Test Vehicle)

The Marshall Rocket Garden features the SA-D dynamic test vehicle, consisting of the S-I-D first stage and dummy S-IV and S-V stages. When this vehicle was originally assembled in the Saturn I dynamic test stand (visible in my MSFC overview, but no longer standing today), it became the first Saturn vehicle to be fully assembled in the vertical position.

Testing was performed on this vehicle in the dynamic test stand. Placed on a platform supported by springs, the vehicle was subjected to simulated flight loads and conditions to determine its characteristics and verify that all systems and components would perform properly during flight.

While written for the Saturn V, the Saturn V Dynamic Test Vehicle Test Project Plan's [direct link to 2.7 meg PDF] description of the dynamics test regime is equally valid:

A detailed knowledge of the space vehicle dynamic flight characteristics is necessary for structural, guidance, and flight control system design. Design criteria for these elements were based on analytical data which have not been substantiated by test. The Dynamic Test Vehicle (DTV) test project is planned to determine the dynamic characteristics of the space vehicle and to verify the earlier analyses.

Test Objectives. The objectives of dynamic tests are to:

1. Determine the space vehicle structural dynamic characteristics under conditions simulating flight configuration and environment insofar as practicable.
2. Determine the optimum location for flight sensors and obtain experimental transfer functions for the control system.
3. Determine the physical mating compatibility of stages and modules.
4. Compare dynamic test results with subsequent flight test results for continuous development of dynamic test techniques and facilities to assure the highest possible degree of accuracy in the development of future vehicle structures prior to flight.

NASA picture MSFC-6413237 shows the vehicle being assembled in the dynamic test stand.

Google Maps link to its location in the Rocket Garden.

See my pages showing the SA-D's orientation in the Rocket Garden and the Block I profile.

For additional pictures of Saturn I Block I hardware, see my page on the SA-T (Static Test) Stage.