a estar the advanced solid rocket motor
court is essential to the continued
launch of a space shuttle into the year
2000 and beyond use of the redesigned
motors in the shuttle program of the
mid-1990s will greatly improve flight
safety reliability and performance
Stennis Space Center in Hancock County
Mississippi has been selected as the new
site for testing of the rocket motors
the test facility an associated easement
area cover over 130 9,000 acres the
proposed test area for the advanced
solid rocket motor is located in the
eastern half of the fee area north of
the access canal and east of the
existing test stands used for the
testing of the space shuttles main
engines the new asrm test n will be at
least six miles from the nearest
community testing of the new motors is
scheduled to begin in late nineteen
ninety-two 8motor tests are planned for
the first two years followed by two
tests per year there after each test
will last about two minutes nASA has a
considerable database of experience in
the testing and launching of solid
rocket motors likewise NASA also has
access to the experience of Department
of Defense
since nineteen sixty four nASA has
launched 143 vehicles using solid
propellants included in the number are
32 space shuttle flights since 1981 from
Kennedy Space Center employed in all
these years nASA has seen no negative
environmental impact of the critical
Florida ecological system or wildlife
habitat a habitat which includes the
manatee bald eagle and approximately 50
other threatened and endangered species
likewise NASA has accomplished 22
firings of the Space Shuttle solid
rocket motors at a site in Utah the test
site is just four miles from farmlands
where crops are grown in cattle graves
nASA has extensively monitored many
tests with ground instrumentation and
aircraft measurements the combustion
byproducts ride the thermal plume up to
a 20,000 foot altitude then dissipate
over a very large area this experience
coupled with advanced field certified
computer modeling efforts provides NASA
with the confidence to test at Stennis
Space Center
the Stennis Space Center was constructed
with an adequate buffer zone to ensure
proper acoustical protection relating to
test firing the asrm test and location
was chosen to minimize noise to the
surrounding communities testing will
only be done under proper weather
conditions to minimize sound effects
related to testing a noise monitoring
program will also be established to
verify actual levels of noise resulting
from test firing noise levels will be
below those experienced during the
earlier Saturn stage testing done at
Stennis Space Center in the Apollo
program public announcements will be
made prior to all tests a portion of the
Stennis Space Center area where the asrm
test and will be built is defined as a
wetlands and therefore requires a
wetlands permit from the US Army Corps
of Engineers as required by law this
area will be replaced by creating
wetlands and another area of Stennis
Space Center in order for construction
to start at the test site the Corps of
Engineers must approve NASA's
replacement wetlands plan and issue a
permanent in addition to the wetlands
permit an air permit must also be issued
to NASA before construction of the test
n can occur dr. Becky McCaleb
Environmental Officer at Stennis Space
Center has been involved in the
environmental impact studies and permits
associated with the advanced solid
rocket motor program information on the
project was released in the
environmental impact statement as well
as in public meetings with adjacent
communities a typical test scenario as
it will occur at Stennis Space Center is
explained by dr. Michaela advanced solid
rocket motors will be tested at Stennis
Space Center using a man-made deflector
to protect the soils or mechanically
turn the exhaust upward the exhaust
consisting of primarily 127 tons of
hydrogen fluoride 212 tons of aluminum
oxide and water vapor will be released
in 135 seconds and rapidly rise above
the mixing layer spanning altitudes of 1
to 3 miles and more above the ground the
boater burn rate characteristics
producing exhaust 6,000 degrees
Fahrenheit for the initial velocities
eight times the speed of sound assuring
dispersion at high altitudes unlike the
exhaust from industrial smokestacks NASA
will assure dispersion of the motor
exhaust using both on-site and off-site
modern meteorological monitoring
techniques to determine atmospheric
conditions firings will only be
conducted when wind conditions and
atmospheric stability fully comply with
permit restrictions established by the
Mississippi Bureau of pollution control
and the US Environmental Protection
Agency permanent restrictions will be
developed through comprehensive computer
analyses consideration of worker and
public health and protection and
maintenance of the quality of our
wildlife souls plants and water
resources
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