Rocket Engines

Description: The X-15 #2 (56-6671) launches away from the B-52 mothership with its rocket engine ignited. The white patches near the middle of the ship are frost from the liquid oxygen used in the propulsion sy More

(November 30, 1968) The wingless lifting body aircraft sitting on Rogers Dry Lake at what is now NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. From left to right are the X-24A, M2-F3 and the HL-10. More

In 1696, Robert Anderson, an Englishman, published a two-part treatise on how to make rocket molds, prepare propellants, and perform the calculations.

During the early introduction of rockets to Europe, they were used only as weapons. Enemy troops in India repulsed the British with rockets. Later, in Britain, Sir William Congreve developed a rocket that could More

The British fired Congreve rockets against the United States in the War of 1812. As a result Francis Scott Key coined the phrase the "rocket's red glare." Congreve had used a 16-foot guide stick to help stabili More

Goddard rocket with four rocket motors. This rocket attained an altitude of 200 feet in a flight, November 1936, at Roswell, New Mexico. From 1930 to 1941, Dr. Goddard made substantial progress in the developme More

Dr. von Braun was among a famous group of rocket experimenters in Germany in the 1930s. This photograph is believed to be made on the occasion of Herman Oberth's Kegelduese liquid rocket engine being certified More

Dr. Robert H. Goddard and liquid oxygen-gasoline rocket in the frame from which it was fired on March 16, 1926, at Auburn, Mass. It flew for only 2.5 seconds, climbed 41 feet, and landed 184 feet away in a cabb More

The Hermes A-1 rocket was designed by the U. S. Army after capturing the V-2 rocket from the German army at the conclusion of the Second World War. The Hermes A-1 is a modified V-2 rocket; it utilized the Germa More

The cutaway drawing of the A-4 (Aggregate-4) rocket. Later renamed the V-2 (Vengeance Weapon-2), The rocket was developed by Dr. Wernher von Braun and the German rocket team at Peenemuende, Germany on the Balti More

This drawing illustrates the vital dimensions of the A-4 (Aggregate-4). Later renamed the V-2 (Vengeance Weapon-2), the rocket was developed by Dr. Wernher von Braun and the German rocket team at Peenemuende, G More

Full Description: Take-off of America's first "rocket-assisted" airplane, an Ercoupe fitted with a GALCIT developed solid propellent 28 pound thrust JATO (Jet Assisted Take-Off) booster. The Ercoupe took off fr More

German technicians stack the various stages of the V-2 rocket in this undated photograph. The team of German engineers and scientists who developed the V-2 came to the United States at the end of World War II a More

AIRCRAFT ENGINE RESEARCH LABORATORY AERL TURBO JET COMBUSTOR MODEL SETUP NASA Identifier: C-1946-15610

A V-2 rocket takes flight at White Sands, New Mexico, in 1946. The German engineers and scientists who developed the V-2 came to the United States at the end of World War II and continued rocket testing under t More

A V-2 rocket is hoisted into a static test facility at White Sands, New Mexico. The German engineers and scientists who developed the V-2 came to the United States at the end of World War II and continued rocke More

Modified Bell X-1 model pioneered variable-sweep studies in 1947. Photograph published in Sixty Years of Aeronautical Research 1917-1977 By David A. Anderton. A NASA publication, page 52.

Modified Bell X-1 model pioneered variable-sweep studies in 1947. Photograph published in Sixty Years of Aeronautical Research 1917-1977 By David A. Anderton. A NASA publication, page 52.

Description (1948) A Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1 series aircraft on display at an Open House at NACA Muroc Flight Test Unit or High-Speed Flight Research Station hangar on South Base of Edwards Air Force Base More

Testing advanced designs for high-speed aircraft in 1948, an engineer makes final calibrations to a model mounted in the 6 x 6 Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel at the NACA Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, Moffett Field More

The North American X-15 settles to the lakebed after a research flight from what is now the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The X-15 was a rocket-powered aircraft 50 ft long with a wing More

NASA research pilot Milt Thompson is seen here with the mock-up of X-15 #3 that was later installed at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. Milton 0. Thompson was a research pilot, Chief More

A Boeing Delta II rocket lights its main engine and nine solid-fueled boosters. The Delta launch vehicle program was initiated in the late 1950s by NASA. The Delta II has nearly a 99 percent mission success rat More

Dr. von Braun stands beside a model of the upper stage (Earth-returnable stage) of the three-stage launch vehicle built for the series of the motion picture productions of space flight produced by Walt Disney i More

E-2822 This inflight photograph of the X-2 (46-674) shows the twin set of shock-diamonds, characteristic of supersonic conditions in the exhaust plume from the two-chamber rocket engine. The Curtiss-Wright XLR- More

A Mercury-Redstone launch vehicle awaits test-firing in the Redstone Test Stand during the late 1950s. Between 1953 and 1960, the rocket team at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama performed hundreds of tes More

This photo shows the X-15-1 (56-6670) rocket powered research aircraft as it was rolled out in 1958. At this time, the XLR-99 rocket engine was not ready, so to make the low-speed flights (below Mach 3), the X- More

Test firing of a Redstone Missile at Redstone Test Stand in the early 1950's. The Redstone was a high-accuracy, liquid-propelled, surface-to-surface missile developed by the von Braun Team under the management More

After the initial M2-F1 airtow flights, the NASA Flight Research Center used the vehicle to check out other pilots. Bruce Peterson was scheduled to take over as the M2-F1 project pilot from Milt Thompson, while More

Full Description: The first Hermes A-1 test rocket was fired at White Sand Proving Ground (WSPG). Hermes was a modified V-2 German rocket, utilizing the German aerodynamic configuration; however, internally it More

After the initial M2-F1 airtow flights, the NASA Flight Research Center used the vehicle to check out other pilots. Bruce Peterson was scheduled to take over as the M2-F1 project pilot from Milt Thompson, while More

EC93-41012-6 NASA research pilot Milt Thompson is seen here with the mock-up of X-15 #3 that was later installed at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. Milton 0. Thompson was a research More

EC93-41012-5 NASA research pilot Milt Thompson stands next to a mock-up of X-15 number 3 that was later installed at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. Milton 0. Thompson was a researc More

Description: (September 8, 1950) Technician Durwood Dereng prepares to pull the external-power plug from an E17 drag-research model at Wallops, September 8, 1950...Center: GSFC WF .Image # : L-67386

The North American X-15 settles to the lakebed after a research flight from what is now the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The X-15 was a rocket-powered aircraft 50 ft long with a wing More

NASA research pilot Milt Thompson stands next to a mock-up of X-15 number 3 that was later installed at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. Milton 0. Thompson was a research pilot, Chie More

Five pioneers pose with scale models of their missiles they created in the 1950s. From left to right: Dr. Ernst Stuhlinger, a member of the original German rocket team who directed the Research Projects Office, More

Bumper Wac liftoff at the Long Range Proving Ground located at Cape Canaveral, Florida. At White Sands, New Mexico, the German rocket team experimented with a two-stage rocket called Bumper Wac, which intended More

A Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1 series aircraft on display at an Open House at NACA Muroc Flight Test Unit or High-Speed Flight Research Station hangar on South Base of Edwards Air Force Base, California. (The More

A Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1 series aircraft on display at an Open House at NACA Muroc Flight Test Unit or High-Speed Flight Research Station hangar on South Base of Edwards Air Force Base, California. (The More

TWO ROCKET INJECTORS USING WATER FLOW AND LIQUID NITROGEN FLOW NASA Identifier: C-1951-27692

The Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1-2 and two of the NACA pilots that flew the aircraft. The one on the viewer's left is Robert Champine with the other being Herbert Hoover. Champine made a total of 13 flights in More

TWO ROCKET INJECTORS USING WATER FLOW AND LIQUID NITROGEN FLOW NASA Identifier: C-1951-27691

ROCKET MISSILE UNMOUNTED AND MOUNTED ON F-82 AIRPLANE NASA Identifier: C-1951-28898

(February 6, 1951) Technician Durwood Dereng measures elevation of double Deacon booster prior to launch of RM-10 research model at Wallops, February 6, 1951...Image # : L-69519

The Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1-2 and two of the NACA pilots that flew the aircraft. The one on the viewer's left is Robert Champine with the other being Herbert Hoover. Champine made a total of 13 flights in More

ROCKET MISSILE UNMOUNTED AND MOUNTED ON F-82 AIRPLANE NASA Identifier: C-1951-28899

A caravan of large steel castings arrived at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory in January 1951. These pieces would serve as the two 14-foot diameter test More

The image depicts Redstone missile being erected. The Redstone ballistic missile was a high-accuracy, liquid-propelled, surface-to-surface missile developed by Army Ballistic Missile Agency, Redstone Arsenal, i More

BUFFING FINISH ON THIOKOL ROCKET MISSILE NASA Identifier: C-1952-30786

Description (January 15, 1952) An engineer operating a rig used for studying film-cooling of combustors. In this method of cooling, a film of relatively cool air is maintained between the hot gases and the comb More

E-713 This 1952 NACA High-Speed Flight Research Station inflight photograph of the Douglas D-558-1 #3 Skystreak. Even with partial cloud cover the white aircraft was easy to see. The D-558-1 reflected NACA (Nat More

Description: (November 20, 1953) NACA pilot A. Scott Crossfield next to the D-558-2 after first Mach 2 flight...Albert S. Scott; Crossfield joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA--the pred More

Full Description: (August 20, 1953) The first Redstone was fired at Cape Canaveral, Florida on August 20, 1953. Redstone was the first major rocket development program for United States by the Peenemuende group More

The first Redstone was fired at Cape Canaveral, Florida on August 20, 1953. Redstone was the first major rocket development program for United States by the Peenemuende group led by Dr. Wernher von Braun. The R More

U.S. Army Redstone Rocket: The Redstone ballistic missile was a high-accuracy, liquid-propelled, surface-to-surface missile developed by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency, Redstone Arsenal, in Huntsville, Alaba More

Viewed in this 1954 photograph is the NACA High Speed Flight Research Station's D-558-2 #2 (144), an all rocket powered Skyrocket. Like the X-1, the D-558-2 had a fuselage shaped like a .50 caliber bullet. Unli More

AUXILIARY INLET MODEL IN NO. 1 SUPERSONIC TUNNEL NASA Identifier: C-1955-37479

DETONATION RIG - SCALE MODEL SCRUBBER OF CELL 22 OLD ROCKET LABORATORY LOCATED IN PICNIC AREA BEFORE DETONATION TESTS NASA Identifier: C-1955-40434

GENERAL ELECTRIC GE R-20 5500 POUND ROCKET ENGINE AND INJECTOR TO SHOW CONSTRUCTION NASA Identifier: C-1955-37771

5000 POUND EXPERIMENTAL TUBULAR ROCKET NASA Identifier: C-1955-37903 Public domain photograph of NASA Glenn Research Center, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

A rocket using high-energy propellant is fired from the Rocket Laboratory at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory. The Rocket Lab was a collection of ten one More

Launch of a three-stage Vanguard (SLV-7) from Cape Canaveral, Florida, September 18, 1959. Designated Vanguard III, the 100-pound satellite was used to study the magnetic field and radiation belt. In September More

ROCKET TUNNEL DIVERGENT AND STRAIGHT SECTIONS NASA Identifier: C-1956-41755

This inflight photograph of the X-2 (46-674) shows the twin set of shock-diamonds, characteristic of supersonic conditions in the exhaust plume from the two-chamber rocket engine. The Curtiss-Wright XLR-25 rock More

This inflight photograph of the X-2 (46-674) shows the twin set of shock-diamonds, characteristic of supersonic conditions in the exhaust plume from the two-chamber rocket engine. The Curtiss-Wright XLR-25 rock More

This photo was taken June 18, 1956 on Rogers Dry Lakebed after Flight 7 of the Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1E with NACA High-Speed Flight Station test pilot Joseph `Joe' Walker at the controls. The first genera More

(1956) Hermann Oberth (forefront) with officials of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency at Huntsville, Alabama in 1956. Left to right around Oberth: 1) Dr. Ernst Stuhlinger (seated). 2) Major General H.N. Toftoy, More

2 CONE SUPERSONIC INLET MODEL MACH 2.95 IN BLOCK TUNNEL NASA Identifier: C-1956-43393

This photo was taken June 18, 1956 on Rogers Dry Lakebed after Flight 7 of the Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1E with NACA High-Speed Flight Station test pilot Joseph `Joe' Walker at the controls. The first genera More

ROCKET TUNNEL DIVERGENT AND STRAIGHT SECTIONS NASA Identifier: C-1956-41756

Viewed in this 1954 photograph is the NACA High Speed Flight Research Station's D-558-2 #2 (144), an all rocket powered Skyrocket. Like the X-1, the D-558-2 had a fuselage shaped like a .50 caliber bullet. Unli More

STING FOR ROCKET TUNNEL STUDY MODEL FOR ROCKET TUNNEL NASA Identifier: C-1956-42371

ROCKET TUNNEL DIVERGENT AND STRAIGHT SECTIONS NASA Identifier: C-1956-41757

ALTITUDE ROCKET TEST RIG NASA Identifier: C-1956-43521 Public domain photograph of NASA rocket launch, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description Public domain photograph of NASA Glenn More

SUPERSONIC INLET MODEL IN THE VARIABLE REYNOLDS NUMBER TUNNEL VRNT NASA Identifier: C-1956-42272

ROCKET SLED DEMONSTRATION BY LIEUTENANT COLONEL JOHN STAPP AT HANGAR - VOLUNTEER IN SEAT IS A HOWARD HASBROOK NASA Identifier: C-1956-41773

LAL 95,647 University of Maryland-Republic Terrapin sounding rocket mounted on special launcher, September 21, 1956. Photograph published in A New Dimension Wallops Island Flight Test Range: The First Fifteen More

L57-4827 caption: "Take off of a five-stage missile research rocket from Wallops Island in 1957. The first two stages propelled the model to about 100,000 feet; the last three stages were fired on a descending More

Test of Vanguard launch vehicle for U.S. International Geophysical Year (IGY) program to place satellite in Earth orbit to determine atmospheric density and conduct geodetic measurements. Malfunction in first s More

Installation of a Jupiter Missile in ABMA (Army Ballistic Missile Agency) West Test Stand, Jan. 16, 1957. Jupiter was a 1500-mile range missile

The Jupiter rocket was designed and developed by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA). ABMA launched the Jupiter-A at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on March 1, 1957. The Jupiter vehicle was a direct derivative o More

America’s first scientific satellite, the Explorer I, carried the radiation detection experiment designed by Dr. James Van Allen and discovered the Van Allen Radiation Belt. It was launched aboard a modified re More

**Note also copied and numbered as L90-3749. -- L57-4827 caption: Take off of a five-stage missile research rocket from Wallops Island in 1957. The first two stages propelled the model to about 100,000 feet More

L57-2809 Rocket model of McDonnell F4-H1 airplane on Terrier launcher with Nike booster, June 17, 1957. Photograph published in A New Dimension Wallops Island Flight Test Range: The First Fifteen Years by Jose More

ASSEMBLY OF 20K ROCKET ENGINE IN ROCKET LAB SHOP NASA Identifier: C-1958-49343

This photo of the X-1A includes graphs of the flight data from Maj. Charles E. Yeager's Mach 2.44 flight on December 12, 1953. (This was only a few days short of the 50th anniversary of the Wright brothers' fir More

The Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1E is shown here in 1955 on the Rogers Dry Lakebed at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The X-1E was actually the extensively rebuilt X-1-2 (46-063). It had a new thin wing, More

The modified Jupiter C (sometimes called Juno I), used to launch Explorer I, had minimum payload lifting capabilities. Explorer I weighed slightly less than 31 pounds. Juno II was part of America's effort to in More

The three men responsible for the success of Explorer 1, America's first Earth satellite which was launched January 31, 1958. At left is Dr. William H. Pickering, former director of JPL, which built and operate More

ISENTROPIC ROCKET NOZZLE 25 TO 1 RATIO INSTALLATION IN THE PROPULSION SYSTEMS LABORATORY PSL NO. 2 TUNNEL NASA Identifier: C-1958-48831

The Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1E is shown here in 1955 on the Rogers Dry Lakebed at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The X-1E was actually the extensively rebuilt X-1-2 (46-063). It had a new thin wing, More

FLARED EXIT MODEL INSTALLATION IN THE 10X10 FOOT SUPERSONIC WIND TUNNEL AT 0 AND 10 DEGREES ANGLE OF ATTACK NASA Identifier: C-1958-49291

(January 31, 1958) Launch of Jupiter-C/Explorer 1 at Cape Canaveral, Florida on January 31, 1958. After the Russian Sputnik 1 was launched in October 1957, the launching of an American satellite assumed much gr More

In January 1958, a modified Redstone rocket lifted the first American satellite into orbit just 3 months after the the von Braun team received the go-ahead. This modified Redstone rocket was known as a Jupiter- More

Explorer 1 satellite. This photo was taken during the installation of Explorer-1, the first United States' Earth-orbiting satellite, to its launch vehicle, Jupiter-C, in January 1958

ROBERT GRAHAM WITH ROCKET COMPONENTS FOR CLEVELAND PRESS NEWSPAPER SPONSORED TALK NASA Identifier: C-1958-49063

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Explorer I, the first American satellite, is scheduled to be launched from Cape Canaveral on Jan. 29, 1958

Jupiter-C Missile No. 27 assembly at the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA), Redstone Arsenal, in Huntsville, Aalabama. The Jupiter-C was a modification of the Redstone Missile, and originally developed as a More

Explorer 1 atop a Jupiter-C in gantry. Jupiter-C carrying the first American satellite, Explorer 1, was successfully launched on January 31, 1958. The Jupiter-C launch vehicle consisted of a modified version of More