The Saturn C-3 was the third rocket in the Saturn C series studied in 1960. The Saturn C-3 was intended to be used as a contender for one of just two methods to get the moon, which was Earth Orbit Rendezvous. The booster consisted of a first stage containing two Saturn V F-1

F-1 (rocket engine)

The F-1 is a rocket engine developed by Rocketdyne and used in the Saturn V. Five F-1 engines were used in the S-IC first stage of each Saturn V, which served as the main launch vehicle in the Apollo program. The F-1 is still the most powerful single-chamber liquid-fueled rocket engine ever...

 engines, a second stage containing four powerful J-2

J-2 (rocket engine)

Rocketdyne's J-2 rocket engine was a major component of the Saturn V rocket used in the Apollo program to send men to the Moon. Five J-2 engines were used on the S-II second stage, and one J-2 was used on the S-IVB third stage. The S-IVB was also used as the second stage of the smaller Saturn IB...

 engines, and the S-IV stage from a Saturn I

Saturn I

The Saturn I was the United States' first heavy-lift dedicated space launcher, a rocket designed specifically to launch large payloads into low Earth orbit. Most of the rocket's power came from a clustered lower stage consisting of tanks taken from older rocket designs and strapped together to make...

 booster. All stages for the Saturn C-3, except the S-IV, never flew except for their engines, used on the Saturn V

Saturn V

The Saturn V was an American human-rated expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. A multistage liquid-fueled launch vehicle, NASA launched 13 Saturn Vs from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida with no loss of crew or payload...

rocket which took men to the moon.