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This is the American Rocket Society's ARS Rocket Motor No. 1. It was meant to launch the Society's Rocket No. 1 but the vehicle was damaged during a static test and the motor wound up powering ARS Rocket No. 2 on 14 May 1933. This was the Society's first flight. The motor is thus called ARS Rocket Motor No. 1 & 2. ARS No. 2 was launched from the beach at Marine Park, Great Kills, Staten Island, New York, and went up 250 feet in two seconds.

The aluminum motor used gasoline and liquid oxygen and was designed by Hugh Franklin Pierce and G. Edward Pendray of the Society's Experimental Committee. It was donated in 1966 to the Smithsonian by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Display Status

This object is on display in Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.

Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight

Object Details

Date

1933

Country of Origin

United States of America

Type

PROPULSION-Rocket Engines

Manufacturer

American Rocket Society

Dimensions

3-D: 10 × 6.8 × 18.5cm (3 15/16 × 2 11/16 × 7 5/16 in.)
3-D (Top Section): 7.1 × 6.8cm (2 13/16 × 2 11/16 in.)
3-D (Lower Section): 10 × 6.8 × 11.4cm (3 15/16 × 2 11/16 × 4 1/2 in.)

Materials

Cast and machined aluminum alloy

Inventory Number

A19660655000

Credit Line

Lent by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Data Source

National Air and Space Museum

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use.

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