Today is the 40th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11, which made the first lunar landing.

And I just learned that I won an auction of this hypergolic Apollo Command Module Rocket Engine, signed by Buzz Aldrin and Wally Schirra.

From the Bonhams space auction, still underway:

“Apollo Command Module rocket engine, made by Rocketdyne, Model SE-8, steel and ablative material, 14 inches long and 3½ inches wide at nozzle base. Fuel and oxidizer valve assemblies are at the top with the associated electrical wiring connections. An ablative nozzle is at the bottom. Internal components consist of a block of ablative material and sleeve, refractory throat insert, and a stainless steel shell. A Rocketdyne ID label reads in part: “Propulsion System Component, Part Name: Rocket Engine Assembly, Part No. 99-106003, Model No. SE 8-2, Date of Mfg. 2Q 64 (second quarter, 1964) Serial No. 4058366.”

A set of 12 of these bi-propellant engines provided the Command Module with rotation control, rate damping, and attitude control after separation from the Service Module and during re-entry.”

(many more details below)

27 responses to “APOLLO ROCKET ENGINE”

  1. PhOtOnQuAnTiQuE Avatar
    PhOtOnQuAnTiQuE

    Sweet…now you just need to patch it to your Tesla ; )

    Reply
  2. P^2 - Paul Avatar
    P^2 – Paul

    Woah! Very cool.

    Though I don’t think you’ll be wanting to carry hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide in a Tesla…

    (I’m guessing the auction netted less than the original cost to manufacture this)

    Reply
  3. avlxyz Avatar
    avlxyz

    only slightly used 🙂

    it’s surprisingly small, but i guess they are not the main thrusters for the command module…

    Reply
  4. !MimosaMicheMichelle! Avatar
    !MimosaMicheMichelle!

    Lucky you to own a piece of history!

    I just saw on the news a suggestion for a cool site. The children in your family…or the young at heart…might enjoy this.

    http://www.wechoosethemoon.com/

    Reply
  5. conformation_change Avatar
    conformation_change

    Converting a Tesla into a hybrid! Maybe SpaceX could help you with something *slightly* safer than hypergolics?

    Reply
  6. Leino88 Avatar
    Leino88

    i think yer deviously trying to figure out how to retrofit this to one of yer rockets.

    Reply
  7. ideastoday Avatar
    ideastoday

    Wasn’t the landing on the 20th? 😉

    Verrrry cool piece of hardware.

    Reply
  8. Victor1 Avatar
    Victor1

    Launch on the 17th, landing on the 20th.

    May I be the first to suspect that Steve Jurvetson is actually ‘the man who fell to earth’ and is assembling his return rocket? Go Bowie!

    Reply
  9. Todd Huffman Avatar
    Todd Huffman

    Congrats!

    An exciting piece of history!

    Reply
  10. paranoidroid Avatar
    paranoidroid

    Bring it out to BALLS!

    Reply
  11. sbove Avatar
    sbove

    Lot No: 99
    APOLLO REACTION CONTROL ROCKET ENGINE.

    this was a steal at $22k

    http://www.bonhams.com/cgi-bin/public.sh/pubweb/publicSite.r?sCo...

    Reply
  12. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    Why? (I have no experience in these kinds of auctions and wondering about what makes something more collectable)

    paranoidroid: heh, various BALLS photos and videos were a big hit at the SpaceX board meeting today.

    Victor1: 16th and 20th you mean, yes?

    avlxyz: correct. Used to control orientation.

    fnazeeri: Yes! P.S. they still have the tooling for the Saturn V….

    Go Baby Go

    Reply
  13. msamaclean © Avatar
    msamaclean ©

    I spent part of the Mission watching it on the tube at a Shakey’s Pizza, ( high school). …and I thought my giant piston from a blown, injected alcohol funny car was cool!…;-P

    Reply
  14. In Memoriam: jerryfi_99 Avatar
    In Memoriam: jerryfi_99

    Congrats! Nice purchase. My rule of thumb, is that it is worth what I am willing to pay for it. As far as being collectible, it depends on how many like items there are vs the number of interested bidders (and the size of their billfolds). IMO, I think you got a steal (assuming that you want it, and can afford it ;-). I added a couple of artifacts to my flickr page- Now taking bids…. (Just joking- they’re not for sale even if someone wanted them;)

    Reply
  15. Vanita Avatar
    Vanita

    Cool!

    Better keep you eye on it. Once someone, and I presume something – anthropomorphically speaking, experiences being in space, there is always a desire to return. This engine will undoubtedly try to crawl into your rocketry bag every time you head out for a desert launch.

    Reply
  16. ideastoday Avatar
    ideastoday

    Going to set it on your desk? What a conversation starter…

    Reply
  17. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    exactly! I was low bidding on several items, but this is the one I really wanted….

    V – so true… even in our dreams. And I was just packing my rocketry bag for tomorrow. We are having a little launch at NASA Ames with 40 Saturn V models. As we speak, I am waiting for the soldering iron to warm up to hardwire the batteries together in the rocket videocam (so the g-force of launch won’t lose electrical contact when the battery springs compress)

    Reply
  18. JeffSech Avatar
    JeffSech

    That’s way cool, Steve. I’ve always had a soft spot (theoretically) for hypergolic fuels. 😉

    I’ll tell you what I’d like to have in the den: an F-1 injector plate.

    Good luck with your launch.

    Reply
  19. pushkar_ Avatar
    pushkar_

    Awesome man, Congrats!

    Reply
  20. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    cxJeff – Yes – ignition simplicity in a vacuum. I am in the middle of a very cool book called Apollo and they describe the trial and error mods to the injector angles to prevent combustion instability. If you ever see one of those for sale, please let me know!

    The Apollo engine arrived today, and I am giddy happy. It’s heavier than I imagined, and clearly hand crafted.

    Reply
  21. JeffSech Avatar
    JeffSech

    Apollo is certainly on my all-time desert island list. I am positively evangelical about that book.

    I’ll let you know if I see an injector plate, if you’ll let me know if you find any of Glynn Lunney’s old coffee cups.

    Reply
  22. www.PaulAylettPhoto.com Avatar
    www.PaulAylettPhoto.com

    Did this component go to the moon?

    Reply
  23. Spaceaholic.com Avatar
    Spaceaholic.com

    Neither mine nor Steve’s were used in flight – they were test articles from development of the Apollo Command Module’s Reaction Control System…

    Reply
  24. www.PaulAylettPhoto.com Avatar
    www.PaulAylettPhoto.com

    A neat collectable nonetheless :o)

    Reply
  25. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    He also has a blueprint from Rocketdyne:

    Reply
  26. JeffSech Avatar
    JeffSech

    It’s still staggering to think that those schematics were all hand-drawn, electronics were analog, etc. etc.

    Technology remains the servant to the brain.

    Reply
  27. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    yeah, pretty mind boggling…. Here are some more images from Rocketdyne. Cutaway of SE 8-2 Apollo CM RCS Engine (shown with installed variable length nozzle extension): se_8_cutawayTest firing:
    se_8_testse_8_rcs_engine_locations
    and some more history from spaceaholic:
    "Rocketdyne SE 8-2 Apollo Command Module Reaction Control System (RCS) bi-propellant thrust chamber assembly manufactured second quarter 1964. The Command Module (CM) RCS provided the impulses required for controlling spacecraft rates and attitude during the terminal phases of the mission after separation of the CM from the Service Module (SM) through atmospheric reentry. Attitude control was critical to maintaining correct heatshield orientation while transiting the reentry corridor to splashdown.

    12 of these pressure fed engines were installed on the CM and utilized the propellants Nitrogen Tetroxide (N2O4) as oxidizer and Monomethylydrazine (MMH) as fuel at a 2:1 ratio (by weight); pressurized helium gas served as the the propellant transferring agent. This propellant combination is hypergolic so no independent ignition source is necessary. SE-8’s were integrated on the CM in 2 (redundant) systems of 6 engines, with individual thrust chambers provisioned to enable clockwise and counterclockwise roll, positive and negative yaw, and positive and negative pitch.

    The engine has the option of being pulse fired, producing short thrust impulses or continuously fired for steady state thrust level of 93 lbs/414 N with a specific impulse of 274 seconds. Because it is ablatively cooled, the SE 8-2 has a limited operational life (maximum aggregate firing time) of 130 seconds (Pulsing) or 273 seconds (including 200 seconds of steady state operations).

    The fuel and oxidizer engine injector valves contain orifices which meter the propellant flow at the 2.1:1 ratio. Injector valves were automatically controlled by the CM’s controller reaction jet ON-OFF assembly (commanded via the Apollo Guidance Computer) or manually enabled in Direct Manual Mode for rotational maneuvers with the Rotation controller. Direct Manual mode also served as a backup mode to control RCS engine operation in the event ON-OFF mode fails. The SE 8-2 injector valves are spring-loaded closed, energized open and utilize two coaxially wound coils, one each respectively for the manual and direct manual mode. Ignition is approximately 14 millisecond from receipt of electrical command "ON" signal.

    The Injector consists of a 16 unlike doublet splash plate design, containing 16 fuel and 16 oxidizer passages that impinge upon a splash plate within the combustion chamber. The thrust chamber is fabricated in four segments, the combustion chamber ablative sleeve, throat insert, ablative material, asbestos and a fiberglass wrap. The inner section of the engine incorporates a 6 degree wrap ablative sleeve (pre-charred to eliminate the requirement for a crematic liner) with a graphite, zirconium diboride/silicon composite refractory throat insert. A 45 degree nozzle body comprised of high-silica, fabric-reinforced laminated phenolic wrapped ablator is externally covered by a fiber glass overwrap. The combustion chamber casing is a welded stainless steel can. Expansion ratio is 9:1. A conformal nozzle extension (not included on the artifact in this collection) is provided to duct the engine exhaust gases through the spacecraft heatshield (the extension does not significantly alter the engines expansion ratio and is scarfed after installation to match the precise contour of the Apollo Command Module’s thermal protection system).

    A temperature control system incorporating transducers mounted on the engine injector was used to provide crew situational awareness (via a control panel indicator) of the engine temperature status. Prior to firing, if engine temperature was not within specs, the crew had the option of energizing the fuel and oxidizer solenoid control valve direct coils to heat up the engines to the requisite minimum temperature of -10F"

    Reply

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