{"id":25612,"date":"2019-03-30T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-30T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/astronautix.com\/?astx_entry=saturnc-3b"},"modified":"2026-10-22T18:44:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T18:44:00","slug":"saturnc-3b","status":"publish","type":"astx_entry","link":"https:\/\/astronautix.com\/s\/saturnc-3b.html","title":{"rendered":"Saturn C-3B"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>American orbital launch vehicle. Final configuration of the Saturn C-3 at the time of selection of the Saturn C-5 configuration for the Apollo program in December 1961.<\/p>\n<p><em>LEO Payload:<\/em> 78,000 kg (171,000 lb) to a 185 km orbit at 28.00 degrees. <em>Payload:<\/em> 25,000 kg (55,000 lb) to a translunar trajectory.<\/p>\n<p><em>Stage Data - Saturn C-3B<\/em><\/p>\n<ul><li>Stage 1. 1 x Saturn IC C-3B. <em>Gross Mass<\/em>: 1,160,787 kg (2,559,097 lb). <em>Empty Mass<\/em>: 72,549 kg (159,943 lb). <em>Thrust (vac)<\/em>: 22,954.798 kN (5,160,444 lbf). <em>Isp<\/em>: 304 sec. <em>Burn time<\/em>: 140 sec. <em>Isp(sl)<\/em>: 265 sec. <em>Diameter<\/em>: 10.06 m (33.00 ft). <em>Span<\/em>: 19.00 m (62.00 ft). <em>Length<\/em>: 34.41 m (112.89 ft). <em>Propellants<\/em>: <strong>Lox\/Kerosene<\/strong>. <em>No Engines<\/em>: 5. <em>Engine<\/em>: <strong>F-1<\/strong>. <em>Status<\/em>: Study 1961. <em>Comments<\/em>: Final first stage design of Saturn C-3 (November 1961). <\/li><\/ul>\n<ul><li>Stage 2. 1 x Saturn II C-5A. <em>Gross Mass<\/em>: 384,057 kg (846,700 lb). <em>Empty Mass<\/em>: 31,740 kg (69,970 lb). <em>Thrust (vac)<\/em>: 4,446.648 kN (999,646 lbf). <em>Isp<\/em>: 420 sec. <em>Burn time<\/em>: 320 sec. <em>Isp(sl)<\/em>: 200 sec. <em>Diameter<\/em>: 10.06 m (33.00 ft). <em>Span<\/em>: 10.06 m (33.00 ft). <em>Length<\/em>: 21.39 m (70.17 ft). <em>Propellants<\/em>: <strong>Lox\/LH2<\/strong>. <em>No Engines<\/em>: 5. <em>Engine<\/em>: <strong>J-2<\/strong>. <em>Status<\/em>: Study 1961. <em>Comments<\/em>: Final common second stage design for Saturn C-3, C-4 and C-5 (November 1961). Developed into Saturn V second stage. <\/li><\/ul>\n<ul><li>Stage 3. 1 x Saturn IVB C-3B. <em>Gross Mass<\/em>: 52,144 kg (114,957 lb). <em>Empty Mass<\/em>: 6,801 kg (14,993 lb). <em>Thrust (vac)<\/em>: 889.325 kN (199,928 lbf). <em>Isp<\/em>: 420 sec. <em>Burn time<\/em>: 207 sec. <em>Isp(sl)<\/em>: 200 sec. <em>Diameter<\/em>: 5.59 m (18.33 ft). <em>Span<\/em>: 5.59 m (18.33 ft). <em>Length<\/em>: 15.40 m (50.50 ft). <em>Propellants<\/em>: <strong>Lox\/LH2<\/strong>. <em>No Engines<\/em>: 1. <em>Engine<\/em>: <strong>J-2<\/strong>. <em>Status<\/em>: Study 1961. <em>Comments<\/em>: Final common third stage design for Saturn C-3B (November 1961). <\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>American orbital launch vehicle. Final configuration of the Saturn C-3 at the time of selection of the Saturn C-5 configuration for the Apollo program in December 1961.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"bs_cache_bypass_cache":0},"astx_kind":[49],"astx_nation":[5],"astx_family":[24],"class_list":["post-25612","astx_entry","type-astx_entry","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/astronautix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/astx_entry\/25612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/astronautix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/astx_entry"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/astronautix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/astx_entry"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/astronautix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"astx_kind","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astronautix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/astx_kind?post=25612"},{"taxonomy":"astx_nation","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astronautix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/astx_nation?post=25612"},{"taxonomy":"astx_family","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astronautix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/astx_family?post=25612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}