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LR89

{{Short description|Liquid-fuel rocket engine (Atlas booster)}}

File:Atlas rocket engine - Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum - McMinnville, Oregon - DSC00798.jpg]]

The Rocketdyne LR89 was a liquid-fueled rocket engine developed in the 1950s by Rocketdyne, a division of North American Aviation. It was designed to serve as a booster engine the Atlas rocket family.{{Cite web |title=Rocket Engine Evolution |url=https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/197695/rocket-engine-evolution/ |website=National Museum of the USAF}}{{Cite web |title=Technical Manual: Rocket Engine, USAF Model LR89-NA-5 (Rocketdyne) |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-archive-item/technical-manual-rocket-engine-usaf-model-lr89-na-5-rocketdyne/sova-nasm-2016-0008-ref65 |access-date=2024-10-13 |website=National Air and Space Museum |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=LR-89 (Atlas Booster) Engine |url=http://heroicrelics.org/cosmosphere/engines-lr-89/index.html |access-date=2024-10-13 |website=heroicrelics.org}}{{Cite book |last=Sutton |first=George P. |title=Rocket Propulsion Elements |last2=Biblarz |first2=Oscar |date=2016 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |edition=9th}} The LR89 was a liquid oxygen (LOX) and RP-1 (kerosene) engine.{{Cite web |title=Rocket Propulsion Evolution:5 - Atlas Missile |url=https://www.enginehistory.org/Rockets/RPE05/RPE05.shtml |access-date=2024-10-13 |website=www.enginehistory.org}}

It was used in configurations where it worked alongside the LR105 sustainer engine to enhance thrust in the first stage of the Atlas, being jettisoned when the vehicle weight had been considerably reduced due to propellant consumption.{{Cite web |title=LR-89 (Atlas Booster) Rocket Engine Injector |url=http://heroicrelics.org/info/atlas/lr-89-injector.html |access-date=2024-10-13 |website=heroicrelics.org}}

Description

The LR89 was part of a family of engines that Rocketdyne developed to power the first American ICBMs and satellite launch vehicles.{{Cite web |last=Clark |first=Robert |date=2015-06-11 |title=The First Atlas Test Flights |url=https://www.drewexmachina.com/2015/06/11/first-atlas-tests/ |access-date=2024-10-13 |website=Drew Ex Machina |language=en-US}}{{Cite book |last=Walker |first=Chuck |title=Atlas: The Ultimate Weapon |last2=Powell |first2=Joel |date=2005 |publisher=Apogee Books}} It was a gas-generator cycle engine, in which a portion of the fuel and oxidizer is burned to drive a turbine, which powers the fuel pumps, and featured a hypergolic igniter.{{Cite web |last=Wade |first=Mark |date=2019 |title=LR89-5 |url=http://www.astronautix.com/l/lr89-5.html |access-date=2024-10-13 |website=Encyclopedia Astronautica}}

Versions

The LR89 engine underwent several upgrades throughout its operational life, resulting in multiple versions:{{Cite web |last=Wade |first=Mark |date=2019 |title=XLR89-1 |url=http://www.astronautix.com/x/xlr89-1.html |access-date=2024-10-13 |website=Encyclopedia Astronautica}}

class="wikitable sortable"

!Version

!Year

!Thrust (kN)

!Specific impulse (s)

!Burn Time (s)

!Stage

XLR89-1

|1956

|758.70

|282

|133

|MA-1

XLR89-5{{Cite web |last=Wade |first=Mark |date=2019 |title=XLR89-5 |url=http://www.astronautix.com/x/xlr89-5.html |access-date=2024-10-13 |website=Encyclopedia Astronautica}}

|1958

|758.70

|282

|135

|MA-2

LR89-5

|1960

|822.50

|290

|120

|MA-3

LR89-7{{Cite web |last=Wade |first=Mark |date=2019 |title=LR89-7 |url=http://www.astronautix.com/l/lr89-7.html |access-date=2024-10-13 |website=Encyclopedia Astronautica}}

|1963

|948.00

|294

|259

|MA-5

Atlas stage

The LR89 powered the first Atlas stage, in different configurations:{{Cite web |last=Krebs |first=Gunter D. |date=2024 |title=Atlas Family |url=https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_lau_fam/atlas.htm |access-date=2024-10-13 |website=Gunter's Space Page |language=en}}

  • MA-1 (booster only): two XLR89-1 booster engines and two LR101 vernier engines. Used on Atlas A;
  • MA-1: two XLR89-1 booster engines, an LR105-3 sustainer, and two LR101 vernier engines. Used on Atlas B and Atlas C missiles;
  • MA-2: two XLR89-5 booster engines, an LR105-5 sustainer, and two LR101 vernier engines. Used on Atlas D and Atlas LV-3B;
  • MA-3: two LR89-5 booster engines, an LR105-5 sustainer, and two LR101 vernier engines. Used on Atlas E, Atlas F and Atlas E/F;
  • MA-5: two LR89-7 booster engines, an LR105-5 sustainer, and two LR101 vernier engines. Used on Atlas SLV3, Atlas H, Atlas LV3C, Atlas G and Atlas I.

See also

References

{{Commons category|LR89 (rocket engine)}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Rocket engines}}

Category:Rocket engines using kerosene propellant

Category:Rocketdyne engines

Category:Rocket engines of the United States

Category:Atlas (rocket family)

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