Nova (NASA rocket)
In 1958, NASA began designing its first large launch vehicle under the name Nova. This project examined several configurations, with the smallest design placing four F-1 engines in the lower stage and J-2 engines in upper stages. The team presented these initial concepts to President Dwight D. Eisenhower on the 27th of January 1959. At that time, other branches of the US military were developing their own lunar rockets. The Air Force was defining the Lunex Project, which used a cluster of solid fuel rockets for its lower stage. Meanwhile, Wernher von Braun worked at Redstone Arsenal on the Juno V design using Jupiter and Redstone related engines. By 1959, the Army decided it no longer needed large boosters and passed von Braun's team over to NASA. This left NASA with two primary designs: its own Nova and von Braun's Saturn rocket.
Originally, NASA designed Nova for a direct ascent mission profile where a single spacecraft would land directly on the Moon. This approach required massive liftoff mass because the entire vehicle had to travel from Earth to the lunar surface without docking. Von Braun favored building up the spacecraft in Earth orbit instead. Studies showed existing Nova designs were too small for this new requirement. The original Saturn design would need up to fifteen launches to put all parts into orbit. A redesign followed for both plans as engineers realized the systems were much heavier than initially suspected. The most powerful normal design, the 8L, included eight F-1s in the lower stage and placed 68 tons in a translunar trajectory. General Dynamics proposed nuclear rocket engines for upper stages while payload varied between 48 and 75 tons across models.
The debate between various approaches reached a head in 1961 when a working group selected Lunar Orbit Rendezvous as the winning strategy. LOR had a mass requirement about midway between the Saturn C-3 and Nova 8L. After studying what modifications were needed for low Earth orbit, it seemed that the Saturn C-5 was the best solution. The main determinant in selecting Saturn over Nova was that the C-5 could be built in an existing factory outside New Orleans. That facility later became known as the Michoud Assembly Facility. Larger diameter Nova rockets would require entirely new factories to be constructed. The C-2 model also got built as a testbed system launching subassemblies into orbit before the C-5 readiness date. Studies on the Nova series continued into 1962 as a backup but eventually ended as the Saturn-based profile became ingrained.
As the Apollo program continued, NASA designers started looking at needs for the post-Apollo era with human missions to Mars as the next obvious step. For this role, the Saturn V was far too small so a second series of Nova design studies began. These launchers were planned for delivery by 1977 with payloads up to 140 tons delivered to Low Earth Orbit. Unlike the original Nova series designed by NASA, these new designs were studied under contract by major aerospace companies without major Apollo contracts. General Dynamics and Martin Marietta submitted proposals while Philip Bono at Douglas Aircraft sent unsolicited ideas. Martin's smallest design used fourteen F-1s in the first stage with a LEO payload of 140 tons. Many suggestions included advanced technologies like aerospike engines that had not yet been developed.
The Nova C8 concept represented one of the most powerful configurations ever proposed for lunar or Martian missions. Its first stage contained eight F-1 engines burning liquid oxygen and kerosene. The second stage held eight J-2 engines using liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellants. A third stage featured a single J-2 engine also running on liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. Full mass reached approximately 5 million kilograms while empty mass totaled around 300,000 kilograms. Burn times varied significantly across stages with the first stage lasting 157 seconds and the third stage burning for 473 seconds. Vacuum thrust from the first stage reached roughly 7.6 million pounds. This configuration remained nearly identical to the proposed Saturn C-8 despite differences in staging engines and fin arrangements.
Soon after the post-Apollo proposals were submitted, it became clear funding would be considerably less than expected. NASA abandoned its Nova plans in 1964 before any hardware could be built. The program never progressed beyond the design phase despite extensive studies spanning over five years. Many references to Nova specifically refer to these later post-Apollo versions rather than the original 1958 concepts. The two series of designs were essentially separate but shared their name throughout history. Today Nova stands as one of the most famous canceled launch vehicle designs in American spaceflight history. Comparison tables still exist showing how Nova configurations differed from the successful Saturn V rocket that actually flew missions.
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Common questions
When did NASA begin designing the Nova rocket?
NASA began designing its first large launch vehicle under the name Nova in 1958. The team presented these initial concepts to President Dwight D. Eisenhower on the 27th of January 1959.
Why was the Nova rocket program canceled instead of Saturn V?
The main determinant in selecting Saturn over Nova was that the C-5 could be built in an existing factory outside New Orleans known as the Michoud Assembly Facility. Larger diameter Nova rockets would require entirely new factories to be constructed and funding became considerably less than expected by 1964.
What were the engine specifications for the Nova C8 concept stage one?
The Nova C8 concept first stage contained eight F-1 engines burning liquid oxygen and kerosene. Vacuum thrust from this first stage reached roughly 7.6 million pounds with a burn time lasting 157 seconds.
How much payload could the post-Apollo Nova designs deliver to Low Earth Orbit?
These launchers were planned for delivery by 1977 with payloads up to 140 tons delivered to Low Earth Orbit. Martin's smallest design used fourteen F-1s in the first stage to achieve a LEO payload of 140 tons.
Which organizations submitted proposals for the second series of Nova design studies?
General Dynamics and Martin Marietta submitted proposals while Philip Bono at Douglas Aircraft sent unsolicited ideas. These launchers were studied under contract by major aerospace companies without major Apollo contracts.