Rocket Engine, Liquid Fuel, Vega, Second Stage

Object Details

Manufacturer

General Electric Co.

Summary

This is the X-405H liquid fuel rocket engine that the General Electric Company (GE) developed and built to power the second stage of NASA’s planned Vega launch vehicle. NASA conceived the three-stage Vega in October 1958 to serve as the new space agency’s first spacecraft for lunar and planetary exploration.

The X-405H produced 35,140 pounds of thrust and used kerosene and liquid oxygen for propellants. GE also designed the engine to include a start and stop capability, a technological first for rocket propulsion systems, to improve operational flexibility of the second and third stages. Cost overruns and technical delays prompted NASA to cancel the program at the end of 1959 in favor of a less complicated and more robust alternative—the Atlas-Agena launch vehicle—which flew for the first time early in 1960.

Credit Line

Gift of Wright Malta Corporation

Inventory Number

A19760050000

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

PROPULSION-Rocket Engines

Materials

HAZMAT: Cadmium

Ferrous Alloy

Non-Magnetic White Metal

Anodized Aluminum

Solder

Synthetic Coating

Paint

Dimensions

Overall: 4ft 4in. x 2ft 10in., 125lb. (132.08 x 86.36cm, 56.7kg)

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_A19760050000

Metadata Usage (text)

Not determined

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nv97af651fe-4619-4809-bfa5-da2a961ccf56