Saturn C

Background

The Saturn C series study oversaw the evolution of a heavy launch vehicle that would eventually become the Saturn V. Only the Saturn C-1 and C-5 variants actually flew, as Saturn I and Saturn V respectively.

Saturn C-2 is a four-stage launch vehicle using an S-I first stage with eight H-1 engines and an S-II second stage using four J-2 engines (a smaller variant of the five engine S-II used on Saturn V). The RL10 powered S-IV makes up the third stage and the rocket is topped by Centaur D (S-V stage).

Saturn C-3B features a widened S-IB-2 first stage tank with two or three F-1 engines, and the same S-II and S-IV stages as the C-2. The C-3N features a nuclear NERVA engine in the third stage.

Saturn C-4 consists of three stages: an S-IB-4 first stage with four F-1 engines, the S-II second stage, and J-2 powered S-IVB third stage. The C-5 adds a fifth J-2 to the S-II stage, finalising the configuration that would become the Saturn V launch vehicle.

Tags: Sarnus

Variants

Launch Vehicle	First Stage	Boosters	Second Stage	Third Stage
Saturn C-2	Sarnus S-I (8x H-1)	S-II (4x J-2)	S-IV (6x RL10)	S-V (Centaur D)
Saturn C-3B	Sarnus S-IB-2 (2/3x F-1)	S-II	S-IV
Saturn C-3N	Sarnus S-IB-2	S-II	S-IVN (1x NERVA)
Saturn C-4	Sarnus S-IB-4 (4x F-1)	S-II	S-IVB (1x J-2)

Basic Build Guide

From top to bottom

Upper Stage

• S-V (Centaur D)
• S-IV
• S-IVB
• S-IVN

Second Stage

• S-II

First Stage & Boosters

• S-I
• S-IB