Before there was the Saturn V, there was the Saturn 1B, the NASA test nbed for Apollo flight hardware. Versions of the Apollo Command and nService Module, and the Lunar Module were all test flown on the Saturn n1B while the Saturn V was still in development. Even the S-IVB upper nstage which served as the third stage of the Saturn V was first tested non the Saturn 1B, functioning as that vehicle's second stage. The Saturnn 1B would eventually see service as the primary launch vehicle for Earthn orbit missions in the Apollo spacecraft.nnOne of the distinctive features of the Saturn 1B is the set of ncylindrical tanks that forms the rocket's first stage. Resembling a ncluster of smaller rockets, the tanks are sometimes misidentified as nre-purposed Redstone missile stages. In fact, these 70-inch diameter ntanks were created using the same forms that produced the Redstone nrockets. So, while they share a common lineage, they were not surplus nrockets themselves. The tanks.