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  • Reaction Motors XLR11 Rocket

    The XLR11 was the first liquid-fuel rocket engine developed in the United States for use on airplanes, and it had a long career powering important research aircraft. An XLR11 engine powered the first airplane to break the speed of sound, the Bell X-1, in 1947, and also powered other X-1 models.

  • Aerojet-General LR87 Liquid Rocket

    The LR87 is a liquid-fueled rocket engine first used on Titan Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs). LR87 variants also powered the first stages of Titan space boosters in the Gemini manned spaceflight program and various Titan space launch vehicles. Though this powerful engine is in reality

  • Rocketdyne LR79

    The LR79 rocket engine was a reliable workhorse for U.S. Air Force space and missile launches between 1958 and 1980. Variants of this liquid-fueled engine powered Jupiter and Thor Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles (IRBMs), Juno II satellite boosters, and Saturn I and IB rockets used in the

  • Teal Ruby

    Experimental Early Warning SensorThis satellite, known as spacecraft P80-1, carried an experimental infrared telescope code named “Teal Ruby.” Designed to detect heat, Teal Ruby was meant to give early warning of enemy aircraft crossing the polar region toward the United States during the Cold

  • HEXAGON KH-9 Reconnaissance Satellite

    HEXAGON KH-9 reconnaissance satellites were the largest and last U.S. intelligence satellites to return photographic film to earth. During the Cold War, 19 HEXAGON missions imaged 877 million square miles of the Earth’s surface between 1971-1986.HEXAGON’s main purpose was wide-area search. Analysts

  • HEXAGON KH-9 Film Recovery Vehicle

    HEXAGON KH-9 reconnaissance satellites featured four recovery vehicles or “buckets” that dropped back to earth from orbit carrying exposed reconnaissance camera film for processing. A mapping camera attached for some missions at the front of the satellite added a fifth, smaller bucket. U.S. Air

  • GAMBIT 3 KH-8 Reconnaissance Satellite

    Please Note: This artifact is currently in storage and off public display.The GAMBIT 3 KH-8 photo reconnaissance satellite improved on the GAMBIT 1 KH-7 by providing much better image resolution. GAMBIT 3’s stereoscopic cameras focused on details in small target areas, while other satellites

  • GAMBIT 1 KH-7 Film Recovery Vehicle

    GAMBIT reconnaissance satellites returned exposed film to earth in re-entry vehicles or “buckets” that separated from the satellite, fell through the atmosphere, and descended by parachute. US Air Force aircraft plucked the buckets from the sky at around 15,000 feet. This GAMBIT 1 return capsule’s

  • GAMBIT 1 KH-7 Reconnaissance Satellite

    Please Note: This artifact is currently in storage and off public display.The GAMBIT 1 KH-7 satellite was the first American space reconnaissance system to consistently return high-resolution photographs. GAMBIT 1 vehicles flew from 1963-1967 and were the first satellites to feature stereo cameras.

  • Lockheed Martin Titan IVB Rocket

    The Titan IVB was the U.S. Air Force’s largest and most powerful expendable single-use rocket. It was a space launch vehicle used to place satellites into orbit. Titan IVB rockets boosted payloads into low earth orbit, polar orbit, or geosynchronous (stationary) orbit from either Cape Canaveral,