The Saturn V rocket that sent astronauts to the Moon was lifted by five F-1 engines. How much thrust did they produce together at liftoff, in newtons?
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Answer
About 35 million newtons
In its first stage the rocket burned around 13 tonnes of propellant every second.
How to estimate it
A rocket only rises if thrust beats its weight. The fuelled Saturn V had a mass of about 3,000 tonnes, or 3,000,000 kg. Multiply by gravity, 10 m/s²: a weight of 30 million newtons. Heavy rockets leave the pad gently, with thrust about 15 to 20 percent above weight: 30 × 1.17 = 35 million newtons. NASA's figure is about 35,000,000 newtons.
Source: NASA
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