The Saturn IB-CE rocket was a variant of the

Saturn IB The Saturn IB (also known as the uprated Saturn I) was an American launch vehicle commissioned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the Apollo program. It uprated the Saturn I by replacing the S-IV second stage (, 43,3 ...

rocket studied in 1965 by

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. However unlike the Saturn IB the Saturn IB-CE was to be a three-stage rocket. The IB-CE used the same configuration as the Saturn IB for the first two stages however with the addition of a Centaur D/E rocket as the third stage. It was to be capable of delivering 22,000 kg to low Earth orbit and 5,590 kg into a translunar trajectory. Although this version never flew, a similar rocket, the

Titan IIIE The Titan IIIE or Titan 3E, also known as the Titan III-Centaur, was an American expendable launch system. Launched seven times between 1974 and 1977, it enabled several high-profile NASA missions, including the Voyager and Viking planetary pro ...

, built primarily for the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...

, but launching a few NASA payloads, including the ''

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'' and ''

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'' spacecraft, had the same equivalent thrust as the Saturn IB-CE.

References

{{Saturns Saturn IB