Apollo 9 Saturn V rocket with full moon, 1969. This rocket, shown here on its launch pad at the Kennedy Space Centre, Cape canaveral, Florida, USA, launched Apollo 9 on 3 March 1969, carrying astronauts James McDivitt, David Scott and Russell Schweickart, into earth orbit where they tested the full Apollo moon craft for the first time. The Saturn V was the largest rocket ever built and was used on all Apollo missions to the moon.