Rocketdyne RS-2101 Insertion Engine Valve/Injector Assembly designed for application on the Mars Viking Orbiter, measuring approximately 8.5″ x 6.5″ x 5″, marked on the edge: "Model No. 54-105, Ser No. 6." This propellant valve/injector assembly was designed to supply both fuel and oxidizer to the Viking orbiter flight version insertion motors.
NASA sent two Viking spacecraft to Mars in the summer of 1976. Each was comprised of an orbiter, which would photograph the surface, and a lander, which would study the surface and conduct several experiments. The Rocketdyne RS-2101 engine was utilized to provide midcourse trajectory corrections while the Viking was en route to Mars and executed the orbital insertion and orbit trim maneuvers of the Orbiter/Lander spacecraft upon arrival at the red planet. The whole spacecraft would orbit the planet for approximately one month, using the images relayed back to mission control to identify a landing site. The landers then separated and soft landed on the Martian surface, touching down in July and September of 1976.
Both orbiters and landers eventually failed or were shut down, but not before achieving all of the mission's scientific objectives, including imaging the Martian surface and searching for evidence of life on the planet. No sale/export of this item to non-US citizens or entities.
