M-1 (rocket engine)
M-1 rocket engine specifications
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| Country of origin | United States |
|---|---|
| First flight | Development abandoned at pre-prototype stage |
| Manufacturer | Aerojet |
| Status | Abandoned in development stage. |
| Liquid-fuel engine | |
| Propellant | LOX / Liquid hydrogen |
| Cycle | gas-generator cycle |
| Performance | |
| Thrust (vac.) | 1,500,000 lbf (6.67 MN) |
| Thrust-to-weight ratio | 60 |
| Chamber pressure | 1,000 psia |
| Isp (vac.) | 428 seconds (4.20 km/s) |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 7.72 m |
| Diameter | 4.28 m |
| Dry weight | 9068 kg |
Aerojet's M-1 was the largest and most powerful liquid-hydrogen-fueled liquid-fuel rocket engine to be designed and component-tested. The M-1 offered a baseline thrust of 6.67 MN (1.5 million lbf) and 8 MN (1.8 million lbf) as its immediate growth target. If built, the M-1 would be larger and more efficient than the famed F-1 that powered the first stage of the Saturn V rocket to the Moon.
The M-1 traces its history to US Air Force studies from the late 1950s for its launch needs in the 1960s. By 1961 these had evolved into the Space Launcher System design. The SLS consisted of a series of four rocket designs, all built around a series of solid-fuel boosters and liquid-hydrogen-powered upper stages.
The smallest model, intended to launch the Dynasoar, used two 100-inch (2,500 mm) solids and an "A" liquid core. To power the "A" booster, Aerojet was contracted to convert an LR-87, used in the Titan II missile, to run on liquid hydrogen. A prototype was successfully tested between 1958 and 1960. Initial studies of the 100-inch (2,500 mm) solid were also handed to Aerojet, starting in 1959.
The SLS also envisioned a number of much larger designs intended to launch the Air Force's Lunex Project manned lunar landing. Lunex was a direct landing mission, in which a single very large spacecraft would fly to the Moon, land, and return. In order to launch such a design to low Earth orbit (LEO), a very large booster with a 125,000 lb (57,000 kg) payload would be required. These larger SLS designs followed the same basic outline as the smaller Dynasoar booster, but used much more powerful 180-inch (4,600 mm) solids and the "B" and "C" liquid stages. To provide the required power, the liquid stages mounted a cluster of twelve J-2s. To reduce this complexity, the Air Force also had Aerojet start studies of a much larger hydrogen-fueled design that would replace the twelve J-2s with only two engines. These initial studies would eventually emerge as the M-1, with a thrust of 1.2 million pounds force.
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