Future of Large Launch Vehicles

Launch vehicles have been one of the most important, if not the pacing item in determining the progress of our National Space Flight Program. Unquestionably, the capability and the availability of our launch vehicles will, far some years to come, continue to be key factors and will have a major effect on our progress.

Our large launch vehicles currently under development or being studied for future development represent an ambitious growth in capabilities to support manned exploration of space. SATURN I and SATURN I-B, planned to be operational in 1965 or 1966, will be significant milestones in the art of large boosters. The next increase in booster capability will be the SATURN V, which is planned for operational status in 1967. SATURN V
is the largest launch vehicle the free world has under development at the present time. It is sized to meet the launch requirements to accomplish the APOLLO mission of a manned lunar landing.

Following SATURN V, the next large launch vehicle planned for development is the NOVA. The original NOVA concept was developed in 1959-1961with the goal of providing a direct flight capability for a manned lunar landing. NOVA was to be essentially a back-up for SATURN V and, therefore, of the same or present state-of-the-art technology. The selection of the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR) mode of operation in conjunction
with SATURN V now provides for the APOLLO mission capability, thus eliminating the necessity for an
early (1967-1969) NOVA vehicle for this particular mission. Therefore, the primary requirements for
NOVA were shifted from early manned lunar landing to more ambitious and later missions. The original concepts became both obsolete and insufficient. Moreover, it became more and more apparent that resources during the next few years would not permit the development of another large launch vehicle at a rapid pace with an early availability goal. This situation necessitated a re-direction of the NOVA program during 1962; and a study effort was initiated to determine what the NOVA should be, how it could be employed, and when it should be developed.