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FIRST STEPS TOWARD SPACE - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

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300 SMITHSONIAN ANNALS OF FLIGHT<br />

-<br />

FIGURE 5.—Oxygen test stand.<br />

*&<br />

*T fr<br />

regulators with the outlet connection. In this<br />

fashion I was able to completely bypass the regulator,<br />

conforming to the letter, if not the spirit, of<br />

the rule book, giving the appearance (see Figure 5),<br />

at least to the casual observer, that the regulator was<br />

being employed!<br />

For this series of tests, a new thrust chamber was<br />

built of light-gauge stainless steel, designed to be<br />

water cooled and equipped to accept interchangeable<br />

nozzles, either metal or refractory. With this<br />

chamber, and the test stand modified for the use<br />

of gaseous oxygen, a final program of tests was performed<br />

in December 1938. The initial tests were<br />

performed to evaluate refractory nozzles. Silica,<br />

alumina, and tungsten carbide were tried. Only<br />

the latter gave reasonable success, although it<br />

tended to oxidize. The tungsten carbide nozzle also<br />

cracked from thermal shock, but the pieces remained<br />

in place. 7<br />

r1 ) l<br />

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