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dsc71230.jpg

Overall view of the "plumbing" on the forward end of the Ascent Propulsion System engine.

Picture 6 of 8.

This is the fuel supply duct; the oxidizer supply is obscured by it.

Note the bulbous reservoir at the end of the fuel duct. During engine development, the engine suffered from hard starts; it was discovered that this could be solved by admitting the oxidizer into the combustion chamber before the fuel. Rather than changing the timing on the valves or otherwise modifying the engine start sequence, engineers added this reservoir to the end of the fuel duct, delaying the fuel's entrance into the combustion chamber.

 
APS Engine (Davidson Center) at U.S. Space & Rocket Center
Time picture taken Sat Nov 7 10:22:32 2009
Location picture taken Saturn V Hall
Davidson Center for Space Exploration
U.S. Space & Rocket Center
Huntsville, AL
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