Bell Rocket Jet Pack (Individual Lift Device)

Background

Bell Rocket Belt

In the early 1960s, Bell Aerosystems built a rocket pack which it called the “Bell Rocket Belt” or “man-rocket” for the US Army, using hydrogen peroxide as fuel. This concept was revived in the 1990s and today these packs can provide powerful, manageable thrust. This rocket belt’s propulsion works with superheated water vapor. A gas cylinder contains nitrogen gas, and two cylinders containing highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide. The nitrogen presses the hydrogen peroxide onto a catalyst, which decomposes the hydrogen peroxide into a mixture of superheated steam and oxygen with a temperature of about 740 °C. This was led by two insulated curved tubes to two nozzles where it blasted out, supplying the recoil. The pilot can vector the thrust by altering the direction of the nozzles through hand-operated controls. To protect from resulting burns the pilot had to wear insulating clothes.

One Bell Rocket Belt is on display at the Smithsonian Institution’s, National Air and Space Museum annex, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, located near Dulles Airport.

Document Archive

 Small Rocket Lift Device, November 1961 [ 186 Pages, 4.54MB ]

Continue scrolling for more...

Individual Lift Device Records from the U.S. Army, 15 October 1967 [ 93 Pages, 4.54MB ]

 

Video Gallery

 

Follow The Black Vault on Social Media:

This post was published on February 20, 2015 10:39 pm

John Greenewald

Recent Posts

FOIA Release Reveals Secret Charter Behind Creation of Pentagon’s UAP Task Force

Nearly five years ago, The Black Vault filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request…

April 23, 2025

Lake Erie, Saudi Arabia, and Dugway: Army Records Trace UAP Surveillance Footprint

A newly released set of U.S. Army intelligence records offers a rare glimpse into behind-the-scenes…

April 22, 2025

DOD Polygraph Institute 1999 Audiovisual Training Archive

In 1999, the Department of Defense Polygraph Institute (DoDPI) released a bibliography of audiovisual training…

April 8, 2025

J.F.K. Assassination Records Archive – Previously Withheld JFK Assassination Documents Database

Background The assassination of John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, is…

April 7, 2025

The Pentagon Says AATIP Wasn’t About UFOs—But the Man Slated to Take It Over Ended Up Designing the Government’s UAP Strategy

A newly released batch of documents, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), reveals…

April 2, 2025

The “UFO Whistleblower”, Congress, and Classified Briefings: New DoD OIG Emails And What They Reveal

A series of internal Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (DoD OIG) emails referencing…

April 1, 2025