S-3D/LR-79 Engine

The S-3D engine (whose Air Force designation was LR-79), in slightly different configurations, was used in the Jupiter and Thor missiles (and, by virtue of having a Thor as its first stage, early versions of the Delta rocket). The same basic thrust chamber was used in the LR-89 Atlas booster engine, although the turbomachinery had more significant differences.

Based on this engine's lack of engine-mounted start tanks, it would seem that this particular engine is the Jupiter version.

The basic S-3D was uprated and substantially simplified to serve as the basis for the H-1 rocket engine.

From the mid-1950s through the late 1960s, the Jupiter, Thor, Atlas booster, and H-1 rocket engines were manufactured and tested at a Rocketdyne facility in Air Force Plant No. 65, located in Neosho, MO.

The museum's S-3D is displayed at the entrance to the Missile & Space Gallery. There is a second-floor balcony from which the rocket engine can be photographed, allowing inspection of the forward end of the engine. While the Missile & Space Gallery was under construction, the engine was displayed in a temporary location, and I have a few photos of the engine when it was in that location as well.

For additional information on the S-3D engine, see my S-3D rocket engine overview page. For photos of an S-3D installed in a Jupiter, see my photos of the Jupiter tail unit interior at Air Power Park and, for a less-complete S-3D installation, the Jupiter tail unit interior at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. I also have some diagrams of the engine in the Jupiter tail unit.