The H-1 liquid-fuel rocket engine was the first stage power plant 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. TThis is the H-1A model. 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 for this model's 188,000 pounds of thrust.
The H-1 was evolved directly from Army Ballistic Missile Agency projects, specifically the Jupiter and Juno V. With the approval of the Apollo Project, the Juno V was re-designated the Saturn. The successful launches of the Saturn 1 and Saturn 1B led the way to the Saturn V. The Saturn 1, with its eight H-1's, first flew on October 27, 1961, while the last Saturn 1B was flown on July 15, 1975, for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. This object was transferred from NASA to the Smithsonian Institution in 1970.
This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.