Object Details
Manufacturer
Boeing Rocketdyne
Summary
This is the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME). Three SSME's plus two Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) power the reusable Space Shuttle. Each SSME produces 375,000 lbs of thrust or a total of 1,125,000 lbs and uses liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as propellants.
This SSME is made of up of components of SSMEs that have flown into space. The flights have included the first four Shuttle missions, the second Hubble Space Telescope repair mission, the missions that launched the Magellan and Galileo space probes, and the John Glenn flight. The engine was donated by Rocketdyne to the Smithsonian in 2004.
Alternate Name
Space Shuttle Main Engine
Credit Line
Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Boeing, Rocketdyne.
Date
2004
Inventory Number
A20040205000
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
PROPULSION-Rocket Engines
Materials
Nozzle, partly steel; throat, copper; injector plate, steel; pipes along nozzle, non-ferrous metal; hoops around nozzle, non-ferrous metal; bulbous joint, on main pipe, on powerhead, steel; 6-inch pipe, steel; smaller pipes, primarily aluminum, some with diagonal yellow plastic wrappings; red rubber pipe holders on both sides of powerhead; impeller or pump, on left, non-ferrous metal; equi-distant nuts around this impeller, non-ferrous metal; identical impeller on right, steel; clear covering over cutaways of both impellers, plexiglass; largest, curved, main pipe around top of powerhead, from back of left impeller to back of right impeller, steel; low, V-shaped large pipe at bottom of powerhead, non-ferrous; sphere under lower right of powerhead, near right impeller, non-ferrous; black plastic wire protectors on right side of powerhead; large rectangle protruding at angle on right side of powerhead, with many electrical cables leading into it, with black and white plastic insulated wires, some wires with braided, silver, non-ferrous metal insulation; others exposed; some with white plastic covering and soft, fabric insulation; transporter, overall, steel
Dimensions
Overall: 9 ft. 9 in. × 13 ft. 6 in. × 7 ft. 8 in., 14125lb. (297.2 × 411.5 × 233.7cm, 6407.1kg)
3-D (SSME Stand): 532 × 259.1 × 239.7cm (17 ft. 5 7/16 in. × 8 ft. 6 in. × 7 ft. 10 3/8 in.)
Country of Origin
United States of America
See more items in
National Air and Space Museum Collection
Data Source
National Air and Space Museum
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nasm_A20040205000