Saturn C-8
Saturn C-8 Launch Vehicle
FunctionManned lunar landing by direct ascent for Apollo program
ManufacturerNone
Country of originUnited States
Size
Height430 ft (131 m)
Diameter40 ft (12.2 m)
Width75 ft (22.9 m)
Mass10,516,620 lb (4,770,260 kg)
Stages3
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Mass460,000 lb (210,000 kg)
Payload to Translunar injection
Mass163,000 lb (74,000 kg)
Associated rockets
FamilySaturn
Launch history
StatusStudy 1962
Launch sitesKennedy Space Center
First stage – S-IC-8
Height160 ft (48.8 m)
Diameter40 ft (12.2 m)
Width75 ft (22.9 m)
Empty mass399,900 lb (181,400 kg)
Gross mass7,997,200 lb (3,627,500 kg)
Powered by8 F-1
Maximum thrust13,921,000 lbf (61,925 kN)
Specific impulse265 s (2.60 km/s) sl
304 s (2.98 km/s) vac
Burn time157 seconds
PropellantRP-1 / LOX
Second stage – S-II-8
Height140 ft (42.7 m)
Diameter33 ft (10.1 m)
Empty mass139,940 lb (63,480 kg)
Gross mass1,699,400 lb (770,800 kg)
Powered by8 J-2
Maximum thrust1,858,100 lbf (8,265.26 kN)
Specific impulse425 s (4.17 km/s) vac
Burn time338 s
PropellantLH2 / LOX
Third stage – S-IVB
Height61 ft 8 in (18.80 m)
Diameter21 ft 8 in (6.60 m)
Empty mass29,345 lb (13,311 kg)
Gross mass264,370 lb (119,920 kg)
Powered by1 Rocketdyne J-2
Maximum thrust220,000 lbf (1,000 kN)
Specific impulse425 s (4.17 km/s) vac
Burn time165 + 335 seconds
(2 burns for TLI)
PropellantLH2 / LOX

The Saturn C-8 was the largest member of the Saturn series of rockets to be designed.[1] It was a potential alternative to the Nova rocket, should NASA have chosen a direct ascent method of lunar exploration for the Apollo program. The first stage was an increased-diameter version of the S-IC. The second stage was an increased-diameter version of the S-II. Both of these stages had eight engines, as opposed to the standard five. The third stage was a stretched S-IVB stage, which retained its original diameter and engine.

NASA announced on September 7, 1961, that the government-owned Michoud Ordnance Plant near New Orleans, Louisiana, would be the site for fabrication and assembly of the Saturn first stages as well as larger vehicles in the Saturn program. Finalists were two government-owned plants in St. Louis and New Orleans. The height of the factory roof at Michoud meant that a 40-foot-diameter (12 m) launch vehicle with eight F-1 engines (Saturn C-8, Nova class) could not be built; four or five engines (33 ft or 10 m diameter) would have to be the maximum. This decision ended consideration of a Nova-class launch vehicle for direct ascent to the Moon or as heavy-lift derivatives for Earth orbit rendezvous. Ultimately, the lunar orbit rendezvous ("LOR") concept approved in 1962 rendered the C-8 obsolete, and the smaller Saturn C-5 was developed instead under the designation "Saturn V", as the LOR spacecraft was within its payload capacity.

The Saturn C-8 configuration was never taken further than the design process, as it was too large and costly.

References

  1. Wade, Mark. "Saturn C-8". Astronautix. Archived from the original on September 2, 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  • Bilstein, Roger E, Stages to Saturn, US Government Printing Office, 1980. ISBN 0-16-048909-1. Excellent account of the evolution, design, and development of the Saturn launch vehicles.
  • Stuhlinger, Ernst, et al., Astronautical Engineering and Science: From Peenemuende to Planetary Space, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1964.
  • NASA, "Earth Orbital Rendezvous for an Early Manned Lunar Landing," pt. I, "Summary Report of Ad Hoc Task Group Study" [Heaton Report], August 1961.
  • David S. Akens, Saturn Illustrated Chronology: Saturn's First Eleven Years, April 1957 through April 1968, 5th ed., MHR-5 (Huntsville, AL : MSFC, 20 Jan. 1971).
  • Final Report, NASA-DOD Large Launch vehicle Planning Group, NASA-DOD LLVPG 105 [Golovin Committee], 3 vols., 1 Feb. 1962

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