American Innovation® $1 Coin – Alabama

The American Innovation $1 Coin representing Alabama recognizes the invention of the Saturn V rocket. The Saturn V rocket was developed to support the Apollo space program for human exploration to the Moon. NASA launched 13 Saturn V rockets between 1967 and 1973.

The Saturn V rocket was designed and built at the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, under the supervision of aerospace engineer Wernher von Braun. The “Heavy Lift Vehicle” was 363 feet tall, the height of a 36-story building. During launch, the rocket generated 7.6 million pounds of thrust – more power than 85 Hoover Dams.

NASA launched the first Saturn V rocket for the Apollo 4 mission in 1967. The last Saturn V launched in 1973, without a crew, to carry the Skylab space station into Earth orbit.