Early SPS Engine — brings Apollo back from the Moon

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Early SPS Engine — brings Apollo back from the Moon
Early SPS Engine — brings Apollo back from the Moon

I have been trying to acquire this Apollo CSM engine for many years now. Norton Sales has held onto it for the past 50 years. They received it in 1970 from Rocketdyne after returning the gold bricks they accidentally found in a surplus sales lot (!)

This Service Propulsion System (SPS) engine is in third season of For All Mankind. Specifically, it's a Block I AJ10-137 engine from 1964.

It was constructed by Aerojet General Corporation out of Sacramento, California for the Apollo Lunar Program. It was the first man-rated propulsion system to be certified to take humans beyond earth orbit.

After separating from the Saturn V S-IVB, the SPS engine provided the thrust for all major CSM spacecraft velocity changes throughout an Apollo mission. The engine has a nominal 20,500 pound thrust and could be fired for a minimum of 0.4 seconds.

Its design required that it successfully fired every time on command, or the Apollo Crew would never return home safely after a lunar landing. So it has two independent rocket engines sharing a common combustion chamber (i.e., it has two separately controllable valve assemblies and fuel injectors).

Here is a video overview (PSWD Carlos) and the specs:

MOD AJ10-137 APOLLO ENGINE
NAA/S&ID Part no. ME 901-0007-0003
Contract No. M3J7XA-406014
MFD Date. 4-64
MFR Serial No. 001890000022
MFR Part No. 707170-15

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Taken on: May 24, 2024
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Sets appears in:   • Space Collection 🚀    • Over the Moon 🌙   
Camera: Canon EOS-1D X Mark III, f/8.0, 1/100 sec, 22mm, ISO 2500 (more info) (hide info)
Camera: Canon EOS-1D X Mark III
Lens: Canon EF11-24mm f/4L USM
Aperture: f/8.0
Exposure Time: 0.01 sec (1/100)
Focal Length: 22mm
ISO: 2500
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash
Exposure Program: Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode: Auto
Metering Mode: Multi-segment
White Balance: Auto
Color Space: sRGB
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