Saturn V-3

Saturn MLV 5-3
Functionorbital launch vehicle
Country of originUnited States
Size
Height121 m (397 ft)
Diameter10 m (33 ft)
Mass3,664,570 kg (8,078,990 lb)
Stages3
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Mass160,400 kg (353,600 lb)
Launch history
StatusProposal
First stage – MS-IC-1
Powered by5 F-1A
Maximum thrust45.95 MN (10,330,000 lbf)
Burn time158 seconds
PropellantRP-1 / LOX
Second stage – MS-II-2
Powered by5 HG-3
Maximum thrust7 MN (1,600,000 lbf)
Burn time324 seconds
PropellantLH2 / LOX
Third stage – MS-IVB-2
Powered by1 HG-3
Maximum thrust1.4 MN (310,000 lbf)
Burn time489 seconds
PropellantLH2 / LOX
[edit on Wikidata]

The Saturn V-3,[1] also known as the Saturn MLV 5-3,[2][3] was a conceptual heavy-lift launch vehicle that would have utilized new engines and new stages that were never used on the original Saturn V. The Saturn V-3 was studied by the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in 1965.[2]

The first stage, called MS-IC-1, 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 on an F-1, with the first stage stretched 20 feet.[2]

The second and third stages, MS-II-2 and MS-IVB-2, were proposed to use new HG-3 engines in place of the J-2 engines,[2] but were never used, although the HG-3 led to the development of the Space Shuttle Main Engine.[citation needed]

The V-3 booster was one of six Saturn MLV designs that never flew, but if these vehicles had been manufactured, they could possibly have been used for the Apollo Applications Program, Manned Orbiting Research Laboratory, Mars fly-by and Mars landing missions in the 1970s and 1980s.[3]

References

  • Lowther, Scott, Saturn: Development, Details, Derivatives and Descendants
  • Saturn V Improvement Study, Final report, NASA Contract NAS8-11359.
  1. ^ TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM X - 53252 - MODIFIED LAUNCH VEHICLE (MLV) SATURN V IMPROVEMENT STUDY COMPOSITE SUMMARY REPORT (PDF). Advanced Studies Office, George C. Marshall Space Flight Center. July 2, 1965. p. 5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  2. ^ a b c d "Saturn MLV-V-3". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  3. ^ a b Turner, Martin J. L. (2004-01-09). Expedition Mars. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 51. ISBN 978-1-85233-735-3.


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