The Saturn V-3, also known as the Saturn MLV 5-3, was a conceptual heavy-lift

launch vehicle A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket designed to carry a payload ( spacecraft or satellites) from the Earth's surface to outer space. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pads, supported by a launch control center and ...

that would have utilized new engines and new stages that were never used on the original

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 three stages, and powered with liquid fuel. It was flown from 196 ...

. The Saturn V-3 was studied by the

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

Marshall Space Flight Center in 1965. The first stage was to have used new F-1 engines designated F-1A which utilized a pump-fed design, an anticipated 20% additional thrust, and a six-second improvement in

specific impulse Specific impulse (usually abbreviated ) is a measure of how efficiently a reaction mass engine (a rocket using propellant or a jet engine using fuel) creates thrust. For engines whose reaction mass is only the fuel they carry, specific impulse is ...

on an F-1, with the first stage stretched 20 feet. The second and third stages were proposed to use new HG-3 engines in place of the J-2 engines, but were never used, although the HG-3 led to the development of the Space Shuttle Main Engine. The V-3 booster was one of six

Saturn MLV The Saturn MLV was a proposed concept family of rockets, intended as a follow-on to the Saturn V. MLV stands for "Modified Launch Vehicle". Vehicle configurations representative of several alternative uprating methods were specified by the Marsh ...

designs that never flew, but if these vehicles had been manufactured, they could possibly have been used for the

Apollo Applications Program The Apollo Applications Program (AAP) was created as early as 1966 by NASA headquarters to develop science-based human spaceflight missions using hardware developed for the Apollo program. AAP was the ultimate development of a number of official ...

, Manned Orbiting Research Laboratory,

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

fly-by and Mars landing missions in the 1970s and 1980s.

References

* Lowther, Scott, ''Saturn: Development, Details, Derivatives and Descendants'' * Saturn V Improvement Study, Final report, NASA Contract NAS8-11359. Saturn V‎ {{Rocket-stub