Saturn C-4 Explained

Saturn C-4
Function:	LEO and Lunar launch vehicle
Manufacturer:	Boeing (S-IB) North American (S-II) Douglas (S-IV)
Country-Origin:	United States
Cpl:	43.5 million
Cpl-Year:	1985
Stages:	3
Capacities:	Location: LEO Location: TLI
Family:	Saturn
Comparable:	Saturn V
Status:	Proposed (1962)
Sites:	planned SLC 37, LC-39; Kennedy Space Center
Stagedata:	Type: stage Stageno: First S-IB-4 Engines: 4 Rocketdyne F-1 Burntime: 139 seconds Si: 265 sec (sea level) Fuel: RP-1/LOX Type: stage Stageno: Second S-II-4 Engines: 4 Rocketdyne J-2 Burntime: 200 seconds Si: 300 sec (sea level) Fuel: LH2 / LOX Type: stage Stageno: Third S-IVB Engines: 1 Rocketdyne J-2 Burntime: 165 + 335 seconds (2 burns) Fuel: LH2 / LOX

The Saturn C-4 was the fourth rocket in the Saturn C series studied from 1959 to 1962. The C-4 design was proposed in 1960 for a three-stage launch vehicle that could launch to low Earth orbit and send to the Moon via trans-lunar injection. It met the initial requirements for a lunar orbit rendezvous and lunar landing mission.^[1]

It would have consisted of three stages; an S-IB-4 first stage, a S-II-4 second stage and a S-IVB third stage. The first and second stages were essentially four-engine variants of the stages that would be used on the Saturn V, while the IVB stage was actually used on both the Saturn V and the Saturn IB.

It would have been capable of sending the Apollo Command/Service Module into lunar orbit, but it would not have been able to carry the Apollo Lunar Module as well. Although NASA eventually used the lunar orbit rendezvous method to go to the Moon, it decided to use the larger Saturn V which would provide a reserve payload capacity.

A December 1961 version called Saturn C-4B would have consisted of a S-IC C-4B first stage, a S-II C-5A second stage and a S-IVB C-5A third stage.^[2] It would have been capable of sending a 31,000 kg (68,000 lb) payload to a translunar trajectory.

See also

• Saturn C-3
• List of space launch system designs

References

• Encyclopedia Astronautica Saturn C-4
• 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" [Heaton 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).

Notes and References

1. Web site: Saturn C-4 . Astronautix.com . 8 June 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120617183721/http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/saturnc4.htm . 17 June 2012 .
2. Web site: 2012-06-17 . Saturn C-4B . 2023-12-26 . 2012-06-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120617174038/http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/satrnc4b.htm . bot: unknown .