Nova (NASA rocket)

The Nova was a series of rocket designs created by NASA. These designs were suggested both before and after the famous Saturn V rocket that helped carry astronauts to the Moon during the Apollo program. Nova was first proposed in 1958 as a big launcher for important space missions, similar to what Saturn V later did.

The Nova and Saturn V designs were very similar in size, power, and what they could do. However, Saturn V was chosen for the Apollo program because it could use existing buildings and get ready for launch sooner.

Later, in the late 1960s, NASA thought about sending people to Mars. They studied ways to build even bigger rockets, and created new designs under the Nova name. Some of these designs, like the Nova C8, used up to eight Rocketdyne F-1 engines. When people talk about Nova today, they often mean these bigger designs meant for future missions beyond the Moon. So, Nova wasn’t one specific rocket, but a name for very large rockets that could be stronger than Saturn V.

Lunar rockets

The first Nova series was designed by NASA in 1958. These designs included different rocket plans, with the smallest using four F-1s engines on the bottom and J-2s on the top. These could carry 24 tons toward the Moon. These ideas were shared with President Dwight D. Eisenhower in January 1959.

At the same time, other groups were also working on Moon rockets. The US Air Force was planning the Lunex Project, and Wernher von Braun at the US Army’s Redstone Arsenal was developing a design called "Juno V". In 1959, the Army decided to stop working on big rockets and handed von Braun’s team over to NASA. Now NASA had two big rocket designs: Nova and von Braun’s Saturn (named after Jupiter).

NASA first wanted to use Nova for a plan called "direct ascent", where one big spacecraft would go straight to the Moon. But this needed a very heavy rocket. Von Braun suggested building the spacecraft in pieces in Earth’s orbit, which would need less weight for each launch. As they studied this, they found the spacecraft would be heavier than they thought, so both Nova and Saturn designs had to be changed.

Nova kept trying the direct ascent plan, needing the strongest lift. The strongest Nova design, called 8L, could carry 68 tons toward the Moon. Some other Nova designs used solid fuel instead of F-1 engines.

In 1961, after much discussion, a new plan called Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR) was chosen. This needed less weight than either the Nova or Saturn plans. They decided the Saturn C-5 was the best choice because it could be built in an existing factory near New Orleans, while Nova would need new, bigger factories.

NASA kept studying Nova until 1962, but eventually focused on Saturn for the Moon missions.

Mars rockets

As the Apollo program continued, NASA began planning for future missions, including a trip to Mars. They realized that the Saturn V rocket was too small for such a journey, so they started new designs under the Nova name. These new plans aimed to create rockets powerful enough to carry up to 1,296,000 pounds to orbit by 1977.

Different companies worked on these designs. Some used existing technology, while others tried new ideas like special aerospike engines. One design, called Nova C8, was very similar to another plan named "Saturn C-8". However, NASA eventually stopped these Nova plans in 1964 because there was not enough money for them.

Specifications for Nova C8

Major Nova specifications include:^{[citation needed]}