Apollo Program · Uncrewed test flight

Apollo 4

Uncrewed test

Launch: 1967-11-09 12:00 UTC
Return: 1967-11-09 20:37 UTC
Duration: 08:36:59

Mission summary

Apollo 4 was the first all-up flight test of the Saturn V, the most powerful rocket ever flown. Under George Mueller's controversial 'all-up' testing policy, all three stages were exercised together on the maiden flight rather than tested incrementally. The S-IVB upper stage restarted in orbit to send the CSM into a high-apogee trajectory simulating lunar return, validating the heat shield at re-entry velocity ~40,000 km/h. The mission was a complete success and cleared the Saturn V for crewed use.

Launch vehicle

Saturn V SA-501 (first flight)

Objectives

First flight test of the complete Saturn V launch vehicle (all three stages).
Verify performance of the F-1 engines in flight.
Verify CSM heat-shield performance under simulated lunar-return re-entry velocity (~40,000 km/h).
First launch from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.

Milestones

When	Event
1967-11-09 12:00 UTC	First Saturn V launch from LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo4.html
1967-11-09	S-IVB restarted on second orbit to inject CSM into a high-apogee trajectory simulating lunar return. https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/Apollo_04a_Summary.htm
1967-11-09 20:37 UTC	CSM splashed down in the Pacific Ocean after a high-velocity re-entry; recovered by USS Bennington. https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/Apollo_04a_Summary.htm

Primary sources

Last updated 2026-05-09 15:17 UTC.