The H-1 liquid-fuel rocket engine was the first stage powerplant for the Saturn 1 and Saturn 1B launch vehicles, the precursors to the Saturn V which took men to the Moon in the Apollo program. The Saturn 1 and Saturn 1B were each fitted with eight H-1 engines in their first stages. The engine uses RP-1 (kerosene) and liquid oxygen. The model shown here may be the second variation that produced 188,000 pounds of thrust. The Saturn 1, with its eight H-1's, first flew in 1961 while the last Saturn 1B was flown in 1975 for the low-Earth orbit Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. This H-1 was transferred to from NASA to the Smithsonian in 1970.
This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.