S-III
title: "S-III" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["rocket-stages"] topic_path: "general/rocket-stages" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S-III" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox rocket stage"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | S-III |
| country | United States |
| rockets | Saturn C-2 (stage 2) |
| Saturn C-3 (stage 3) | |
| diameter | 27 ft |
| name | S-III |
| engines | 2 J-2 engine |
| thrust | 400,000 lbf |
| SI | |
| fuel | LOX/LH2 |
| :: |
|name = S-III |image = |caption = |manufacturer = |country = United States |rockets = Saturn C-2 (stage 2) Saturn C-3 (stage 3) |height = |diameter = 27 ft | name = S-III | engines = 2 J-2 engine | thrust = 400,000 lbf | SI = | fuel = LOX/LH2
The S-III (pronounced "S 3") was a proposed third stage of the early Saturn C designs for a five-stage Saturn launch vehicle. The Saturn C configurations were based on a "building block" approach, in which the upper stages would be test-flown before the intermediate stages. The S-III was to have been fueled with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen and powered by two J-2 engines. The original Saturn C-2 design would have been a three- or four-stage launch vehicle using the S-I plus S-III plus S-IV stages plus, for some missions, S-V.
References
- Free return trajectory simulation, Robert A. Braeunig, August 2008
- Stuhlinger, Ernst, et al., Astronautical Engineering and Science: From Peenemuende to Planetary Space, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1964.
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