Henry Spencer wrote:
Saturn V payload to LEO was about 119t...
This needs some qualification. In theory all 3 stages of the Saturn V
could orbit this amount but the third (S-IVB) stage could not support
this massive a payload. In practice you would be limited to the first
two stages (a la Skylab) and the LEO payload falls to about 100t or
220,000 lbs.
You will also see the Saturn V payload variously quoted at 130 tonnes
or 140 tons or 285,000 lbs or something similar. This is derived from
the mass of the partially fuelled S-IVB - Apollo spacecraft
combination in LEO parking orbit which of course isn't all
discretionary payload so is not really comparable to the LEO payloads
of other launchers.
Jim Davis
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