Apollo: The Race To The Moon

by Catherine Bly Cox

In the F-l, just pumping the propellants to the combustion chamber raised unprecedented demands. The F-l used liquid oxygen (LOX) and R.P.-1, a form of kerosene. The pumps, one for the fuel and one for the LOX, had to deliver the kerosene from the tankage to the combustion chamber at the rate of 15,741 gallons per minute, and the LOX at the rate of 24,811 gallons per minute. Driven by a 55,000-horsepower turbine, the pumps had to operate at drastically different temperatures: 60 degrees Fahrenheit for the fuel, –300 degrees for the LOX, while the turbine itself ran at 1,200 degrees. To complicate matters, the whole assembly had to be light and compact enough to fit on board the rocket and nonetheless sturdy enough to resist the pressures, vibrations, and other stresses of launch and flight.