How Fast Is Apollo Saturn V at Liftoff?

At one second after ignition, the 3,000-tonne Saturn V moon rocket was moving at just 6 m/s — barely walking pace. Full thrust takes several seconds to overcome the rocket's enormous inertia. Twelve minutes after ignition, the same rocket would be travelling at 11,200 m/s — escape velocity.

The Saturn V moon rocket weighed 3,000 tonnes — and a second after ignition was barely moving.

• Just walking pace, one second after ignition
• Reaches 11 km/s within 12 minutes