Rocket Engine, Liquid Fuel, RL-10, Cutaway
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Object Details
- Manufacturer
- Pratt & Whitney
- Summary
- The RL-10 was the world's first operational liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen high energy rocket engine and was restartable in space. Two RL-10 engines, each producing 15,000 pounds of thrust made up the Centaur upper stage used with the Atlas and Titan launch vehicles. A cluster of six RL-10 engines also powered the second stage of the Saturn 1 vehicle.
- The first successful flight of the Atlas-Centaur took place on October 26, 1966, and was the first time the RL-10 made a full-thrust re-start in space. The Titan-Centaur made its first successful flight on December 10, 1974, and placed the Helios solar probe into an accurate solar orbit. The first Saturn 1 launch with RL-10s took place on January 29, 1964 and lifted a test payload into space, then on February 16, 1965 placed a Pegasus satellite into orbit.
- The NASA - Marshall Space Flight Center transferred this RL-10 to the Smithsonian Institution in 1975.
- Credit Line
- Transferred from the NASA - Marshall Space Flight Center
- Inventory Number
- A19751433000
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- PROPULSION-Rocket Engines
- Materials
- Chamber, 347 stainless steel brazed with silver; piping, polished stainless steel; aluminum casting pump; heat exchanger of nickel alloy. Pump, aluminum casting
- Dimensions
- Overall: 70 in. tall x 38 1/2 in. diameter, 895 lb. (177.8 x 97.79cm, 406kg)
- 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_A19751433000
- Metadata Usage (text)
- Not determined
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nv93cb70991-b80a-4637-b148-9c4dba9f7648
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