Machine generated contents note: ch. 1 Setting the Stage: The Worldwide Rocket Craze of the 1920S-30S -- The Founding and Founders of RMI -- American Interplanetary Society Roots -- Earliest Concepts of Space Flight -- The Rocket Enters the Picture -- The Role of Jules Verne -- Tsiolkovsky -- Goddard -- The "Space Rocket" Concept Enters the Public Consciousness -- Oberth -- Oberth and Goddard Compared -- Esnault-Pelterie (REP) -- Oberth and Valier Trigger the Space Fad -- The Space Fad Opens in Russia -- Other Space Groups and the Birth of the Word "Astronautics" -- Goddard in Retrospect -- Enter the V-2 -- Endnotes -- ch. 2 Jimmy Wyld's Breakthrough and the Founding of RMI -- Enter James H. Wyld -- Jimmy Joins the ARS -- Earliest ARS Experiments -- The Evolution of Wyld's Regeneratively Cooled Motor -- Initial and Later Tests of Wyld's Motor -- The Beginning of the War and the Start of RMI -- RMI Sets Up Shop and Glimpses of its Early Operations Note continued: First Employees and First Budget -- Endnotes -- ch. 3 The War Years -- RMI Starts Operations -- Aerojet -- RMI's Earliest Motor Designations -- RMI's Earliest Engine Developments -- RMI's Initial Rocket Testing -- Establishing the Franklin Lakes Test Site -- Layout of the Franklin Lakes Site -- Move to Pompton Plains -- The 1,000-lb-Thrust Milestone is Reached -- Pierce's Role in RMI -- The 3,000-lb-Thrust Motor -- The JATO Phase -- Goddard and RMI -- Preparing for the Live JATO Flights -- The JATO Flights -- The Aftermath -- RMI Enters the Missile Field -- the Gorgons -- RMI's Early Work with Pulsejets -- RMI Starts Exploring Rocket Aircraft -- Endnotes -- ch. 4 RMI's "Black Betsy" in the Bell X-1 -- The Financial Woes -- The Noise Complaints -- Move to Lake Denmark -- The Resojet Work Continues -- Background of X-1 Engine Development -- Earlier Beginnings of the Rocket Plane in the U. S. Army Air Forces Note continued: Earlier Beginnings of the Rocket Plane in the U.S. Navy -- The Navy's Attempted Wartime Rocket-Propelled Interceptor -- Goddard's Involvement -- Transfer of Rocket Engine from the Navy to the Army Air Forces -- Rapid Development of the X-1 Engine -- Nicknamed "Black Betsy" -- The Mouse Story -- Further Development of the Engine and the Engine Team -- Pump Headaches -- Emergence of the Pressure-Fed Version of the Engine -- Testing and Development at Lake Denmark -- Pump Problems Solved -- The 6000C-4 Installed in the X-1 and First Flights -- Yeager's Flights -- Endnotes -- ch. 5 Betsy's Legacies: Other Supersonic Planes to Lifting Bodies -- X-1's Milestones Beyond the First Mach 1 Flight -- Weight and Dimension Discrepancies of the X-1 Engine in the Literature -- X-1 #3 Aircraft and Conclusion of Bell X-1 Program -- Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket -- Air-Launch Flights of the "All-Rocket" D-558-2 -- The III-Fated Bell X-1D -- The Bell X-1A -- The X-1B Note continued: The BellX-1C -- The Bell X-1E -- The XF-91 Thunderceptor -- The XP-92 -- The Lifting Bodies -- Endnotes -- ch. 6 RMI's Missile Motors: Gorgons to Bullpups -- The Gorgon Family of Missiles -- The Lark Missile -- MX-774: Predecessor of the Atlas -- The Rascal and Hawk Missiles -- Enter the Packaged Liquid-Propellant Motors: The Sparrow III -- Bullpup A -- Bullpup B -- White Lance Inputs into the Bullpup -- Bullpups Procured by Other Nations -- Larger Packaged-Liquid Efforts -- The Bomarc Booster -- Corvus -- Lance -- Condor -- Endnotes -- ch. 7 RMI Enters Space: The Viking -- V-2 Rocket First into Space -- First Viking Rocket into Space -- Origins of the Viking Rocket Engine -- Origins of the Sounding Rocket -- Origin of the Viking Vehicle -- Initial Development of the Engine -- Martin Company Inputs to the Viking Engine -- Viking's Gimbaling System -- Early Testing of the Viking Engine -- Viking Model 1 Flights -- Viking Model 2 Flights Note continued: The Viking Rocket in the Vanguard Program -- The Viking as a Technological Celebrity in Popular Culture -- Endnotes -- ch. 8 Last Major Triumph: The X-15 -- Earliest Proposals for Black Betsy in the X-15 -- Origins of the XLR-11S in the X-15 Program -- Adaptation of the XLR-11s to the X-15 -- Rollout of X-15 with Interim Engine and XLR-11 Flights -- Technological Roots of the XLR-99 -- The XLR-30 Engine: Direct Ancestor of the X-15 Power Plant -- The X-15 Aircraft Engine Competition -- Scott Crossfield's Role in the X-15 Engine Development -- Early Development of the XLR-99 -- Firing Tests of XLR-99 -- Maiden Flight of the X-15 with the "Big Engine" -- The Operational XLR-99 Test Flights -- Endnotes -- ch. 9 Surveyor on the Moon -- High Hopes for Small Engine Market -- Vernier Origins -- Start of the Surveyor Project -- A Closer Look at the Surveyor Verniers -- Surveyor, the Spacecraft -- The Verniers on the Spacecraft -- Developmental Challenges Note continued: Developmental Headaches -- The NASA/Contractor Preoperational Qualification Tests -- The Surveyor Missions -- The C-1 -- Starmite -- Endnotes -- ch. 10 Miscellaneous Projects: Rocket Boats to Jump Belts -- Rocket Assault Boat -- Guy Lombardo's Interest in a Rocket Speed Boat -- Rocket-Boosted Autogiros -- Project Pinwheel -- Rocket on Rotor (ROR) -- Rocket-Propelled Ice Sled -- Jump Belts: Solid-Propellant Types ("Hot Gas") -- Jump Belts: Gaseous Types -- Aircraft Takeoff Catapults -- Rocket-Powered Aircraft Ejection Seats -- Hyprox Steam Generator -- Rocket Train Brakes to Rocket Drills -- Rocket Sleds -- Rocket-Propelled Drones -- Underwater Devices -- Endnotes -- ch. 11 RMI and RMD: Postscripts and Epilogue -- Background -- Postscript to RMI's Early Financial Woes and the Entry of Laurance S. Rockefeller -- Later Fates of the Four Founders -- A Closer Look at RMD's Noise and Damage Suits Note continued: RMI's Most Serious Accident: Explosion of the "Super P" Engine -- Efforts to Build a Large-Scale Engine -- The Merger with Thiokol -- Expanded Facilities -- Growth in Propellant Research -- Atomic Propulsion -- Plasma and Ion Research -- RMD's Final Years -- RMD's Last Project: ARE -- End of the Company -- Final Postscript: the Old RMI "Blockhouse" -- Epilogue -- Endnotes.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.