Reaction Motors
| Company type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rocket technology |
| Founded | 1938 |
| Defunct | April 17, 1958 |
| Fate | Merged into Thiokol as Reaction Motors Division, disbanded 1972 |
Area served | United States |
Key people | Lovell Lawrence Jr, George Edward Pendray, James Hart Wyld |
Reaction Motors, Inc. (RMI) was an early American maker of liquid-fueled rocket engines, located in New Jersey. RMI engines with 6,000 lbf (27 kN) thrust powered the Bell X-1 rocket aircraft that first broke the sound barrier in 1947, and later aircraft such the X-1A, X-1E, and the Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket. A 20,000 lbf (89 kN) thrust RMI engine also powered the Viking research rocket, the first large liquid-fueled US high-altitude rocket. RMI was merged with Thiokol in 1958, where it produced the XLR-99 engine that powered the X-15 rocket aircraft.