APS Engine

The Air Zoo has a "bare" lunar module Ascent Propulsion System thrust chamber, lacking the usual propellant lines, valve package, and injector. This allowed a look into the ablatively-cooled combustion chamber and throat.

Actually, the Air Zoo has two such APS thrust chambers; both were on pallets, with only one readily accessible for photography on my first trip. Most of these photos are of the one identified as "Part No. 1990003" and "Serial No. 32117B".

I made a second trip to the Air Zoo. For that trip, I arranged to have the thrust structures tipped on their side, so that I could compare an unfired thrust structure to the hot-fired APS engine section at the Cradle of Aviation.

One of these the APS thrust chambers was displayed by the "old" Michigan Space & Science Center.