Hyperion Interplanet Credit - © Mark Wade

Hyperion was considered in 1958 as a ca. 1970 Saturn follow-on. It used a small jettisonable chemical booster stage that contained chemical engines and the LOX oxidizer for the conventional engines.

This booster stage surrounded the nuclear core vehicle with its large liquid hydrogen tank. The conventional stage would draw fuel from the main hydrogen tank until burnout. Hyperion would have doubled the translunar trajectory performance of the Saturn V and less than one third of the liftoff mass.

Manufacturer: Convair. LEO Payload: 145,000 kg (319,000 lb). to: 485 km Orbit. at: 28.00 degrees. Payload: 82,000 kg (180,000 lb). to a: parabolic escape trajectory. Apogee: 36 km (22 mi). Liftoff Thrust: 10,700.000 kN (2,405,400 lbf). Total Mass: 850,000 kg (1,870,000 lb). Core Diameter: 8.54 m (28.01 ft). Total Length: 85.40 m (280.10 ft).