Nova (rocket)

This article is about a series of NASA rocket designs. For a class of lunar landers, see Intuitive Machines Nova-C. For the launch vehicle by Stoke Space, see Nova (fully reusable launch vehicle).

Very early concept diagrams, April 1962, of [from left to right] the Saturn I, Saturn V and "Nova C8" rockets. (Each concept included one additional stage, one that was omitted entirely from the Saturn I and eventually replaced by the Lunar Module Adapter on the Saturn IB and Saturn V.)

Nova was a series of NASA's rocket designs that were proposed both before and after the Saturn V rocket used in the Apollo program. Nova was NASA's first large launcher proposed in 1958, for missions similar to what Saturn V was subsequently used for. The Nova and Saturn V designs closely mirrored each other in basic concept, power, size, and function. Differences were minor but practical, and the Saturn was ultimately selected for the Apollo program, largely because it would reuse existing facilities to a greater extent and could make it to the pad somewhat earlier.

During a series of post-Apollo studies in the late 1960s, considerations for a crewed mission to Mars revealed the need for boosters much larger than Apollo's, and a new series of designs with as many as eight Rocketdyne F-1 engines were developed under the Nova name (along with the Saturn MLV). The image of the Nova C8 is commonly used as a representative of the entire Nova series, and many references to Nova refer specifically to these post-Apollo versions. The two series of designs were, essentially, separate, but shared their name. Thus, "Nova" does not refer to a specific rocket design, just a rocket larger than the Saturn V in most cases. Nova was the name used by NASA in the early 1960s for a super booster in the 10 to 20 million pound thrust range.[1]

  1. ^ Steve, Garber. "NASA Plans for a Lunar Landing". NASA History Division. Steve Garber, NASA History Web Curator. Retrieved October 19, 2018.