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This is the Viking 5C engine. Four Viking 5C liquid-propellant rocket engines were used to propel the first stage of the Ariane 4 expendable launch vehicle used by the European Space Agency from 1990 to 2003.

A consortium of six countries, France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, and Italy, designed and manufactured this engine. It uses a form of transpiration or "sweat cooling." In sweat cooling, a coolant (the fuel) is injected uniformly and continuously over the internal wall of the nozzle by using a porous wall material. The developer of this technique for the Viking was Heinz Bringer, who had worked on a similar system during the development of the German V-2 rocket of World War II. This object was donated to the Smithsonian in 2006 by SAFRAN.

 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
Date 1988-2003 Country of Origin France Type PROPULSION-Rocket Engines Manufacturer Snecma
 Dimensions Width, with stand, 47 2/16 inches; height, stand, 4.75 inches; width, on top. 60 inches; length, total, with stand, 128 inches (10.66 ft.)
 Materials Nozzle, non-ferrous, probably high heat resistant stainless steel; small pipes, aluminum; small sphere, non-ferrous; gasket around purple plate on pump, steel; five equidistant bolts on pump fixture, steel; pump proper, non-ferrous metal; multiple, equidistant bolts on top of blue cylinder on other side of engine, steel; stand, non-ferrous, probably aluminum alloy.
 Inventory Number A20060085000 Credit Line Gift of SAFRAN. Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
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