Rocketdyne S-3D

Last updated
S-3D
S-3 D Jupiter engine restored.jpg
S-3D engine at the National Air and Space Museum
Country of originUnited States
Manufacturer Rocketdyne
Application Booster
Successor H-1
StatusRetired
Liquid-fuel engine
Propellant LOX / RP-1
Cycle Gas Generator
Configuration
Chamber1
Performance
Thrust, sea-level134908 lbf (600.1 kN)
Specific impulse, sea-level247 seconds (2.42 km/s)
Used in
PGM-19 Jupiter, PGM-17 Thor, Juno II, Saturn A-2

The Rocketdyne S-3D (Air Force designation LR79) [1] [2] is an American liquid rocket engine produced by Rocketdyne (a division of North American Aviation) between 1956 and 1961. It was a gas generator, pump-fed engine, using a liquid oxygen (LOX) and RP-1 (kerosene) propellant combination, capable of producing 134,908 pounds of thrust (600.1 kN) at sea level. [3]

The S-3 was based on the Redstone engine, [4] and is part of the LR79 family, [5] [6] [1] [2] used on the PGM-19 Jupiter and PGM-17 Thor missiles, [7] [4] [8] and on the Juno II rocket. [3] [9] [10] [11]

A second stage with four S-3 engines was considered for the Saturn A-2 study. [12]

Simplification of the S-3D engine, via the unillustrated X-1, to the Saturn I's H-1 Comparison of Rocketdyne S-3D and H-1 engines.jpg
Simplification of the S-3D engine, via the unillustrated X-1, to the Saturn I's H-1

Its design was used later as the basis for the H-1 rocket engine of the Saturn I, [13] [1] [7] and the Rolls-Royce RZ.2 of the Blue Streak.

Specifications

Rocketdyne S-3D: [3]

Rocketdyne S-3: [14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "S-3D/LR-79 Engine". heroicrelics.org. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  2. 1 2 "Rocketdyne LR79 Rocket Engine". National Museum of the United States Air Force.
  3. 1 2 3 Wade, Mark. "S-3D". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on November 7, 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Jupiter S-3 Rocket Engine | National Air and Space Museum". airandspace.si.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  5. Wade, Mark. "LR79". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
  6. "Rocketdyne LR79". National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
  7. 1 2 Bilstein, Roger E. (1996). Stages to Saturn: A Technological History of the Apollo/Saturn Launch Vehicles. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA History Office. pp. 29, 142. ISBN   978-0-16-048909-9.
  8. "Jupiter Family". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  9. Wade, Mark. "Jupiter". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on October 10, 2011.
  10. "Rocket Engine, Liquid Fuel, S-3D for Jupiter Missile | National Air and Space Museum". airandspace.si.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  11. "Juno-2". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  12. 1 2 "Saturn A-2". 2016-12-28. Archived from the original on 2016-12-28. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  13. "S-3D Rocket Engine Overview". heroicrelics.org. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  14. "S-3". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 2024-10-28.