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 strip of WSR-2 rocket motors, claimed as the world's smallest rocket motors. The motor, developed from 1962 by the Curtiss-Wright Corporation in conjunction with the Air Force, was designed to make extremely fine steering adjustments on satellites like Tiros. Primarily, the WSR-2 was to help the satellite maintain its spinning rate.

When used on Tiros, 100 caps could be fired in each burst and each unit could produce a burst of one pound of thrust for less than two-hundreths of a second. A special cap pistol device was used to fire the motors by electrical impulses.

This object was found in the collections of the Smithsonian.

 Display Status

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

Rockets & Missiles
Object Details
Country of Origin United States of America Type PROPULSION-Rocket Engines Manufacturer Wright Aeronautical Div., Curtiss-Wright Corp., Wood-Ridge, NJ
 Dimensions Other: 1 1/4 in. long x 1/8 in. wide (3.2 x 0.3cm)
 Materials Each motor, glass fiber phenolic; nozzles, quartz-phenolic.
 Inventory Number A19870192000 Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.