Rocket Engine, Liquid Fuel, Navaho Missile
date: label: Date
content: 1951-1956
name: label: Manufacturer
content: North American Aviation Inc.
notes: label: Summary
content: This two-chambered, liquid-fuel rocket engine built by North American Aviation served as the booster for the Navaho missile that was powered by two ramjets. The booster was to quickly get the missile up to supersonic speed for its ramjets to operate. Each chamber produced 120,000 pounds of thrust, or 240,000 pounds total, using kerosene and liquid oxygen as propellants.
label: Summary
content: Navaho had a 8,850 kilometer (5,500 mile) range. It never became operational and was canceled in 1957. However, its booster-rocket engine was extremely important in the evolution of American large-scale, liquid-fuel engines, including those for the Redstone, Jupiter, Thor, and Atlas missiles, the Saturn V launch vehicle, and the Space Shuttle. This object was donated to the Smithsonian in 1970 by Rocketdyne.
label: Alternate Name
content: Navajo Rocket Engine
place: label: Country of Origin
content: United States of America
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Air and Space Museum Collection
label: Location
content: Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA
label: Exhibit Station
content: Rockets & Missiles
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Rocketdyne, Division of North American Aviation Co.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Air and Space Museum
identifier: label: Inventory Number
content: A19700250000
objectType: label: Type
content: PROPULSION-Rocket Engines
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Materials
content: Titanium alloys, stainless steel, and other metals.
label: Dimensions
content: Overall: 6 ft. 7 in. tall x 6 ft. 4 in. wide x 8 ft. 9 in. long (200.66 x 193.04 x 266.7cm)
label: Dimensions
content: Other (Chamber): 5 ft. 5 1/2 in. diameter (166.37cm)