This company is producing liquid fuel rocket motors since 1946.

-They were used in multiple USAF and NASA programs, in vehicles such as the Bell-XS-1, Nike-Ajax, LEM, Agena, Centaur, Thor or Minuteman III.

-The company began denominating "Bell Aerosystems Company" and lately "Bell Aerospace Textron".

"Bell RMI"

-The Bell RMI-6000 C-4 engine broke the sound barrier for the first time on the Bell-XS-1 aircraft. With four combustion chambers of two different sizes, they tried to make the engine controllable.

-The Bell "Hustler", so Agena engines were known in the beginning, were used in B-58 "Hustler" nuclear weapons with rocket propulsion (hence its name). They were also installed in the Thor-Agena and Atlas-Agena.

"Agena engine"

-Actually the "Agena-A", which was its popular name, had reference "Bell 8048" and the US Military reference was LR81-B1.

-It used nitric acid and UDMH. Its thrust in vacuum was 7,000 kgf approximately. Hypergolic propellant henceforth.

"Bell 8096"

-Later versions of the Agena were the "8096" that used nitric acid and dimethyl-hydrazina.

-Agena 8247 engines, which are similar to the 8096, have been used in hundreds of missions. They have a unique combustion chamber and a turbo pump to feed it.

"Bell-Agena, later version"

-In the LEM or Lunar Module, the 8258 engines with single-ablative chamber were used. They used a mixture, half and half of Hydrazina (UDMH) and NitrogenTetroxide. It was developed between 1964 and 1965, as the Lunar Module Ascent Engine.

"The LEM's engine"

"The LMAE's engine"

-In the 1950s, test engineer Harold M. Graham gave a demonstration of a personal portable rocket lift system, in accordance with the US Army Transportation Research Command (Trecom). This system became known as SRML or Small Rocket Lift Device.

-The engine's manufacturing and tuning was carried out by Bell Aerosystems Company.

"SRML demonstration"

"Rocket Belt, Bell no 2"

-A significantly improved variant of the one shown in the illustration, we could see in a spectacular exhibition at the Opening Ceremony of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

From appendix 6: In the main text the 8048 model rocket engine is mentioned. At the National Museum of the USAF we could get a picture of it.

"Bell 8048 model"

-Used in the first Agena rockets, they were very useful to put satellites into orbit during the years 1950-1960.

-And as an engine in the second stage of the USAF ballistic missiles.

-Sometimes Agenas are coupled as second stages on the Atlas, Titan and Thor.

-Other names of this same engine have been the generic XLR-81, and sometimes Hustler in the missile that was carried on board the supersonic B-58 "Hustler" bomber .

-The 8048 delivered 15,000 lbs of thrust and burned nitric acid as oxidant, and Dimethyl Hydrazine Asimétrica.

-The operating time was 120 seconds and entire engine can be swiveled to give gimbaled thrust.

The best known rocket engines of this brand are:
-8048
-8081 (XLR8A-BA)
-8096 (YLR81-BA)
-8247 (XLR81BA-13)
-The Chariot model
-LR-65
-LR-67
-LR67B-1
-LR81B-1
-XLR-65B-1

"Bell 8096 (YLR81-BA)"

-The 8096 engine was installed on the Agena missile, and that is why it is sometimes simply known as "Agena".

"Bell 8096 Agena engine"