LR-105 (Atlas Sustainer) Engine

The museum displays a somewhat stripped-down LR-105 (Atlas sustainer) engine.

The Atlas employed a "stage and a half" concept, with two outer booster engines and the central sustainer igniting at lift-off. A bit over two minutes later, the booster engines shut down and were jettisoned along with the missile boattail, leaving the central sustainer engine to propel the missile to its final velocity. (At the time, it was difficult enough to reliably ignite a stationary rocket engine on the ground, much less air-start an engine at velocity.)

The Air Zoo has a more-complete LR-105.

Also see my LR-105 cut-away page.