Saturn 1 Geneology Credit: © Mark Wade. 15,026 bytes. 639 x 460 pixels.

Developments of the Saturn IB launch vehicle were detailed in some depth in the late 1960's. There was a large payload gap between the Saturn IB's 19,000 kg low-earth orbit capacity and the two-stage Saturn V 100,000 kg capability. How to fill it was the result of an exhaustive series of Marshall and contractor trade studies.

The configurations shown were the most promising. The best solution was to add two or four UA1205 five segment solid rocket motors already developed for the Titan launch vehicle. This would boost payload to 40,000 kg. Use of seven segment motors developed for Titan 3M would bring the payload up to 48,000 kg but would require stretching the S-1B first stage by 20 feet. A more modest ten foot stretch, with Minuteman first stage motors for thrust augmentation, would bring a modest payload improvement to 23,000 kg.

In the end, no further orders for Saturns were placed. Of the 12 Saturn IB's built, only nine were flown, the remaining three becoming NASA museum pieces. If Saturn production had continued, it is likely the Saturn IB would have been discontinued anyway, and Saturn II variants would have been used for any intermediate payload requirements.

Launch Vehicle: Saturn I. 'Cluster's last stand' - 8 Redstone tanks around Jupiter tank core, eight Jupiter engines. Intended as launch vehicle for Apollo CM circumlunar flights. Developed so early, no payloads were available for it.

Launch Vehicle: Saturn IB. Improved Saturn I, with uprated first stage and Saturn IVB stage (common with Saturn V) replacing Saturn IV. Used for earth orbit flight tests of Apollo CSM and LM.

Launch Vehicle: Saturn IB-CE. Douglas Studies, 1965: Standard Saturn IB with Centaur upper stage.

Launch Vehicle: Saturn IB-A. Douglas Studies, 1965: S-IB with 225 k lbf H-1's; S-IVB stretched with 350,000 lbs propellants; Centaur third stage.

Launch Vehicle: Saturn IB-B. Douglas Studies, 1965: S-IB with 225 k lbf H-1's; S-IVB stretched with 350,000 lbs propellants and HG-3 high performance engine.

Launch Vehicle: Saturn IB-C. Douglas Studies, 1965: 4 Minuteman strap-ons; standard S-IB, S-IVB stages.

Launch Vehicle: Saturn IB-D. Douglas Studies, 1965: Standard Saturn IB with Titan UA1205 5-segment strap-on motors.

Launch Vehicle: Saturn INT-05. NASA Study, 1965: Half length 260 inch solid motor with S-IVB upper stage.

Launch Vehicle: Saturn INT-05A. UA Study, 1965: Full length 260 inch solid motor with S-IVB upper stage.

Launch Vehicle: Saturn INT-11. Chrysler Studies, 1966: S-IB with 4 Titan UA1205 with standard S-IB stage, S-IVB stage, or 4 Titan UA1207 strap-ons with 20-foot stretche S-IB stage, S-IVB stage. S-IB ignition at altitude.

Launch Vehicle: Saturn INT-12. Chrysler Studies, 1966: S-IB with only 4 H-1 motors, with 4 Titan UA1205 with standard length S-IB stage, S-IVB stage, or 4 Titan UA1207 strap-ons with 20-foot stretche S-IB stage, S-IVB stage. S-IB ignition at sea level at same time as strap-ons.

Launch Vehicle: Saturn INT-14. Chrysler Studies, 1966: S-IB with 4 Minuteman motors as strap-ons, with no, 10, or 20-foot stretch S-IB stages, S-IVB stage. S-IB ignition at sea level at same time as strap-ons.

Launch Vehicle: Saturn INT-15. Chrysler Studies, 1966: S-IB with 8 Minuteman motors as strap-ons, with no, 10, or 20-foot stretch S-IB stages, S-IVB stage. S-IB ignition at sea level at same time as strap-ons.

Launch Vehicle: Saturn INT-16. UA Studies, 1966: S-IVB upper stage with from 2 to 5 Titan UA1205, 1206, or 1207 motors as first stage, clustered around from 1 to 3 of the same motors as a second stage. S-IVB upper stage.

Launch Vehicle: Saturn INT-27. UA study, 1965. Saturn variant using various combinations of 156 inch rocket motors as first and second stages, with S-IVB upper stage. Number of Strapon Motors 4 3 2 2 Number of Core Stage Motors 1 1 1 0 Payload with 4 Segment Motors 79,000 68,000 54,000 36,000 Payload with 3 Segment Motors 70,000 59,000 45,000 29,000 Payload with 2 Segment Motors 57,000 47,000 36,000 24,000 Payload with 1 Segment Motors 45,000 39,000 27,000 18,000