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 a nozzle used by U.S. rocket experimenter Robert H. Goddard to static test a liquid fuel rocket. It was to test the feasibility of "curtain cooling," a method of cooling the inside of the combustion chamber wall of rocket motors. The test was made at Worcester, Massachussetts, on 25 May 1929. Liquid oxygen and gasoline were the propellants.

The entire rocket weighed 22 pounds empty and with the propellants, 100 pounds. The rocket developed a thrust of about 300 pounds and used pressure feeding of the propellants into the combustion chamber. The motor fitted with this nozzle was also tested three other times during 1929 but no flights were made. The nozzle was donated in 1959 to the Smithsonian by Esther C. Goddard.

 Display Status

This object is on display in Rockets & Missiles at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.

Rockets & Missiles
Object Details
Date 1928-1929 Country of Origin United States of America Type PROPULSION-Components (Engine Parts) Manufacturer Dr. Robert H. Goddard
 Dimensions Approximate: 4 1/2 in. diameter x 18 1/2 in. long (11.43 x 46.99cm)
 Materials Carbon steel
 Inventory Number A19590071000 Credit Line Gift of Mrs. Robert H. Goddard Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.