Nova (rocket)
Nova was a series of American rocket developments that were used to transport large payloads to the moon and later also to Mars . Nova is not the name of a rocket, but the name given to several concepts for a rocket larger than the Saturn V would. There were two separate missile developments called Nova that had nothing to do with each other except for the name. The development ended in 1964 with no result.
development
When, in April 1961, President John F. Kennedy set the goal of manned flights to the moon by 1970, there was no longer enough time to build a completely new rocket. So it was decided again for the Saturn as a launcher . Despite the out of the nova for the moon landing , the concept was further developed in order to be able to transport even larger loads to the moon later and to carry out a manned flight to Mars. But despite huge investments in the development of the rocket and the purchase of land for a larger launch pad, the program was finally abandoned in 1964. The later Saturn V was more powerful than the first Nova designs.
The later Nova models were to be used for direct flights to Mars, the payload in the low Earth orbit was several hundred tons.
| Surname | Takeoff mass ( t ) |
Height (m) |
Max. Diameter (m) |
Payload LEO (t) |
Number of stages |
particularities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nova NASA | 3152 | 66 | 14.6 | 132 | 3 | |
| Nova 4L | 3084 | 78 | 15.5 | 68 | 4th | |
| Nova 4S | 7675 | 120 | 11.6 | 197 | 3 | Lower stage solid |
| Nova 5S | 10076 | 147 | 10.1 | 176 | 4th | 1st & 2nd stage solids |
| Nova 7S | 7492 | 123 | 11.6 | 197 | 3 | Lower stage solid |
| Nova 8L | 4752 | 128 | 17.4 | 181 | 3 | |
| Nova 8L Mod | 6621 | 115 | 10.1 | 150 | 3 | |
| Nova 9L | 5227 | 144 | 15.2 | 176 | 4th | |
| Nova A | 1866 | 78 | 9.8 | 68 | 3 | |
| Nova B | 2806 | 84 | 12.2 | 112 | 3 | |
| Nova C | 1887 | 106 | 9.8 | 68 | 3 | Advanced nuclear / H2 |
| Nova D | 2839 | 106 | 12.2 | 112 | 3 | Advanced nuclear / H2 |
| Nova GD-B | 10473 | 87 | 20.6 | 338 | 2 | Lower stage engines reusable |
| Nova GD-E | 19596 | 72 | 8.3 | 458 | 2 | 1st stage from 4 solid boosters |
| Nova GD-F | 12018 | 101 | 18.3 | 454 | 2 | Lower stage engines reusable |
| Nova GD-H | 9365 | 89 | 25.9 | 454 | 2 | Lower stage engines reusable |
| Nova GD-J | 10431 | 90 | 42.4 | 454 | 2 | Splashdown lower level |
| Nova MM 1B | 9187 | 110 | 20.0 | 330 | 2 | |
| Nova MM 1C | 11516 | 119 | 21.0 | 444 | 2 | |
| Nova MM 14A | 14789 | 104 | 18.3 | 481 | 2 | Lower stage solid |
| Nova MM 14B | 11805 | 124 | 18.3 | 373 | 2 | Lower stage solid |
| Nova MM 24G | 6619 | 94 | 21.6 | 447 | 2 | |
| Nova MM 33 | 11055 | 91 | 24.4 | 472 | 1 | SSTO |
| Nova MM 34 | 10990 | 102 | 24.4 | 531 | 2 | |
| Nova MM R10E-2 | 9189 | 59 | 21.3 | 596 | 1 | Ramjets as a booster |
| Nova MM R10R-2 | 9154 | 59 | 21.3 | 423 | 1 | Ramjets as a booster |
| Nova MM S10E-1 | 11022 | 79 | 24.4 | 588 | 1 | Plug nozzles |
| Nova MM S10E-2 | 10999 | 66 | 21.3 | 581 | 1 | Plug nozzles |
| Nova MM S10R-1 | 10966 | 83 | 24.4 | 414 | 1 | Plug nozzles |
| Nova MM S10R-2 | 10959 | 68 | 21.3 | 381 | 1 | Plug nozzles |
| Nova MM T10EE-1 | 6623 | 97 | 21.3 | 462 | 2 | Sub-stage plug nozzles |
| Nova MM T10RE-1 | 6616 | 97 | 21.3 | 427 | 2 | Reusable lower stage |
| Nova MM T10RR-2 | 11704 | 81 | 21.3 | 479 | 2 | Reusable lower stage |
| Nova MM T10RR-3 | 7248 | 100 | 21.3 | 419 | 2 | Reusable lower stage |
| Nova DAC ISI | 5325 | 73 | 21.3 | 454 | 2 | |
| Nova-1 DAC | 7026 | 64 | 21.3 | 454 | 2 | |
| Nova-2 DAC | 7121 | 124 | 21.3 | 454 | 2 | |
| Saturn v | 3038 | 110.6 | 10.1 | 118 | 3 | Moon rocket |
Web links
- Nova in the Encyclopedia Astronautica , accessed September 20, 2014.
- Rendezvous in space. Spiegel Online, accessed February 3, 2017 .