Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer

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.

 Display Status

This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.
Object Details
Country of Origin United States of America Type PROPULSION-Components (Engine Parts) Manufacturer Reaction Motors, Inc.
 Dimensions Overall: 1ft 1 3/8in. x 3 3/8in. (34 x 8.6cm)
 Materials Stainless Steel, Steel, Protective Coating
 Inventory Number A19771246000 Credit Line Gift of Thiokol Chemical Corporation Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.