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Liner, Cooling, Liquid-Propellant Rocket Engine

National Air and Space Museum

Object Details

Manufacturer
Reaction Motors, Inc.
Summary
This is an early cooling liner for a Reaction Motors, Inc. (RMI) liquid-propellant, regeneratively-cooled rocket engine. The helical wrapped wires promoted the flow of fuel between the inner liner and outer cooling jacket of the motor. It was constructed and tested as part of the development of a JATO (Jet-Assisted-Take-Off) unit for use by heavily loaded seaplanes. RMI undertook the JATO project under contract to the U.S. Navy Bureau of Aeronautics during World War II. RMI's motors used company founder James H. Wyld's design for the fuel circulating around the motor in a cooling jacket before being injected into the combustion chamber.
In the end, the Navy decided to use solid-propellant JATOs, rather than liquid-propellant ones, but RMI went on to be a significant rocket-engine company in the 1950s. Thiokol Chemical Corporation, which acquired RMI in 1958, gave this motor to the Smithsonian in 1975.
Credit Line
Gift of Thiokol Chemical Corporation
Inventory Number
A19771246000
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
PROPULSION-Components (Engine Parts)
Materials
Stainless Steel, Steel, Protective Coating
Dimensions
Overall: 1ft 1 3/8in. x 3 3/8in. (34 x 8.6cm)
Country of Origin
United States of America
See more items in
National Air and Space Museum Collection
National Air and Space Museum
Record ID
nasm_A19771246000
Metadata Usage (text)
Not determined
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nv9768c46d4-1787-4f0d-a938-f63d8e4e77dc

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