Nova (NASA 1962)

Nova Launch Vehicle

Mission Profile

The Nova (NASA 1962) was a proposed three-to-four-stage American super-heavy launch vehicle studied under the Apollo programme, intended as a direct-ascent lunar mission launcher before the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous approach was selected. Standing approximately 115 m tall with a 12.2 m core diameter, it would have been even larger than the Saturn V. Conceived around 1962, the Nova represented the ultimate expression of brute-force rocketry for direct lunar landing but was rendered unnecessary when NASA chose the more efficient Lunar Orbit Rendezvous mission mode.