The Saturn C-8 was the largest member of the
Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...
series of rockets to be designed.
It was a potential alternative to the
Nova
A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...
rocket, should
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
have chosen a
direct ascent
Direct ascent is a method of landing a spacecraft on the Moon or another planetary surface directly, without first assembling the vehicle in Earth orbit, or carrying a separate landing vehicle into orbit around the target body. It was proposed as ...
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
The S-IVB (pronounced "S-four-B") was the third stage on the Saturn V and second stage on the Saturn IB launch vehicles. Built by the Douglas Aircraft Company, it had one J-2 (rocket engine), J-2 rocket engine. For lunar missions it was fired twi ...
stage, which retained its original diameter and engine.
NASA announced on September 7, 1961, that the government-owned
Michoud Ordnance Plant near
, 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
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
and New Orleans. The height of the factory roof at Michoud meant that a launch vehicle with eight
F-1 engines (Saturn C-8, Nova class) could not be built; four or five engines ( 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
Lunar orbit rendezvous (LOR) is a process for landing humans on the Moon and returning them to Earth. It was utilized for the Apollo program missions in the 1960s and 1970s. In a LOR mission, a main spacecraft and a smaller lunar lander travel to ...
("LOR") concept approved in 1962 rendered the C-8 obsolete, and the smaller Saturn C-5 was developed instead under the designation "
Saturn V
Saturn V is a retired American super heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by NASA under the Apollo program for human exploration of the Moon. The rocket was human-rated, with multistage rocket, three stages, and powered with liquid-propellant r ...
", 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
*Bilstein, Roger E, ''Stages to Saturn'', US Government Printing Office, 1980. . 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"
eaton 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
olovin Committee 3 vols., 1 Feb. 1962
External links
Diagram of C-8 with alternate 2-engine 3rd stage(not to the same proportions as the image above)
C8
Cancelled space launch vehicles
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