The Lunar Module’s Descent Propulsion System (DPS) was the first engine in history that could throttle continuously in deep space — a breakthrough that made Apollo’s lunar landing possible. This engine had to ignite once, vary its thrust smoothly from 10 to 100 percent, avoid combustion instability, and hold steady while the LM hovered just feet above the Moon.
In this video, we explore the real engineering behind the DPS: its hypergolic fuels, injector plate design, the early “chugging” instability problem, throttle control logic, and how the engine kept working even as Apollo 11 pushed it to its limits.
If you enjoy deep dives into Apollo engineering, this one’s for you.

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📘 Recommended Reading for Space Enthusiasts.

Explore the real stories, engineering, and people behind the Apollo Program — these are the best books to deepen your knowledge:
Rocket Men — The daring story of Apollo 8’s first journey around the Moon → https://amzn.to/4hd9XX9
Carrying the Fire — Astronaut Michael Collins’ personal account of Apollo 11 → https://amzn.to/47ncWZI
Stages to Saturn — NASA’s official history of the Saturn V rocket → https://amzn.to/4759EsN
Digital Apollo — Human and Machine in Spaceflight → https://amzn.to/42GvkKt.
Failure Is Not an Option — Mission Control’s untold story → https://amzn.to/4n8QCYz.