[redneck]

Originally Posted by vskid3

That 5 inches per gallon is just for the pulse, right? When you factor in the glide that followed, it probably isn't too bad.

Sort of. That was the first stage. There were two more just to get it into orbit.

The first stage burned for about 2 minutes and 41 seconds, lifting the rocket to an altitude of 42 miles (68 km) and a speed of 6,164 miles per hour (2,756 m/s) and burning 4,700,000 pounds (2,100,000 kg) of propellant

S-II second stage

After S-IC separation, the S-II second stage burned for 6 minutes and propelled the craft to 109 miles (175 km) and 15,647 mph (25,182 km/h– 7.00 km/s), close to orbital velocity. The S-II had a dry weight of about 80,000 pounds (36,000 kg) and fully fueled, weighed 1,060,000 pounds (480,000 kg).

S-IVB third stage

The S-IVB had a dry weight of about 23,000 pounds (10,000 kg) and, fully fueled, weighed about 262,000 pounds (119,000 kg). During Apollo 11, a typical lunar mission, the third stage burned for about 2.5 minutes until first cutoff at 11 minutes 40 seconds. At this point it was 1,640 miles (2,640 km) downrange and in a parking orbit at an altitude of 118.8 miles (191.2 km) and velocity of 17,432 mph.

All in all, approximately 6,000,000 lbs. of fuel just to get into orbit around the Earth.

The glide portion came after further acceleration of the Command and Lunar Modules, which were then directed towards the moon.

Anyway you look at it, the numbers are impressive.

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