![]() Apollo LM ascent engine | |
Country of origin | United States |
---|---|
Date | 1964–72 |
Manufacturer | Bell Aircraft / Rocketdyne |
Application | Lunar Ascent Stage/Spacecraft propulsion |
Predecessor | Bell 8247 |
Successor | RS-18 |
Status | Retired |
Liquid-fuel engine | |
Propellant | N 2O 4 / Aerozine 50 |
Mixture ratio | 1.6 |
Cycle | Pressure-fed |
Pumps | None |
Configuration | |
Chamber | 1 |
Nozzle ratio | 46 |
Performance | |
Thrust, vacuum | 3,500 pounds-force (16 kN) |
Thrust-to-weight ratio | 16.7 (weight on Earth) |
Chamber pressure | 120 psia |
Specific impulse, vacuum | 311 seconds (3.05 km/s) |
Burn time | 465 seconds |
Restarts | Designed for 2 restarts |
Dimensions | |
Length | 51 inches (130 cm) |
Diameter | 31 inches (79 cm) |
Dry mass | 210 pounds (95 kg) |
Used in | |
Lunar module as ascent engine | |
References | |
References | [1] |
The ascent propulsion system (APS) or lunar module ascent engine (LMAE) is a fixed-thrust hypergolic rocket engine developed by Bell Aerosystems for use in the Apollo Lunar Module ascent stage. It used Aerozine 50 fuel, and N
2O
4 oxidizer. Rocketdyne provided the injector system, at the request of NASA, when Bell could not solve combustion instability problems.[2]
LMAE
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).