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you

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plum Brook a field station of the Lewis

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research center is located about 50

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miles west of Lewis on sixty four

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hundred acres of land this vast acreage

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provides the required clear zones needed

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for safely conducting potentially

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dangerous aerospace tests several large

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unique aerospace test facilities are

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located at plum Brook these facilities

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are available to support major national

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aerospace test programs one of these

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facilities the space power facility is

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the world's largest space environment

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simulation chamber 100 feet in diameter

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x 122 feet high in this chamber large

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space bound hardware can be ground

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tested in a severe environment similar

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to that encountered in space the chamber

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air can be removed to simulate the

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vacuum conditions of space up to an

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altitude of about 145 statute miles

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charged argon gas can be added to the

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chamber while it's at vacuum to simulate

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the actual space plasma environment of

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low-earth orbit the very cold

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temperatures of space can be duplicated

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by means of a cryogenic cold wall the

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very hot temperatures by means of a

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quartz lamp heater even the actual

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sunlight experienced in space can be

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simulated with an existing 400 kilowatt

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arc lamp in 1989 under a cooperative

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agreement between the General Dynamics

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Corporation and NASA this chamber

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supported payload fairing separation

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tests for a new generation of atlas 1

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launch vehicles a few months after

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testing at plum Brook the newly designed

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fairing successfully protected the

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combined release and radiation effects

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satellite as it was launched into

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low-earth orbit on board the atlas sent

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our vehicle in 1990 the space power

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facility qualified expensive flight

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hardware for the SDI program here you

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see a 100 kilowatt power

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why being processed in a class 10,000

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clean room located inside the huge

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vacuum chamber ground testing of this

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power supply simulated performance in a

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high altitude space plasma environment

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more recently this chamber supported

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jettison testing of the eighty six foot

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tall 16-foot diameter titan for payload

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fairing under a cooperative agreement

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between the US air force the martin

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marietta company and nasa this fairing

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the largest ever tested in a vacuum

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chamber had internal payload space

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dimensions approximating the Space

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Shuttle Orbiter Bay here you see the ten

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thousand pound titan four fairing being

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jettisoned under vacuum conditions in

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the test chamber at plum brook scheduled

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for nineteen ninety-three is the Erion

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five payload fairing separation test for

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the european space agency and for 1994

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and ninety-five the Space Station

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freedom electric power generation system

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test for the NASA Lewis research center

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and the Space Station freedom laboratory

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module radiator test for the Johnson

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Space Center not only is the space power

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facility the world's largest space

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environment testing chamber it is also

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the world's only large vacuum chamber

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capable of handling the highly

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radioactive tests that would be needed

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to develop space nuclear electric power

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generation systems this is possible

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because the chamber walls are made of

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aluminum which has a low Neutron capture

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cross section this keeps the chamber

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walls from becoming highly radioactive

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if a space nuclear power reactor is

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operated inside the aluminum chamber is

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contained within a second vacuum chamber

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that has eight foot thick concrete walls

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which serve as a radiation shield

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adjacent to the chamber is a large

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disassembly area which also has eight

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foot thick concrete walls this building

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can be used for remote control

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disassembly of large radioactive

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hardware

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after tests are complete although the

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space power facility has not yet been

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used for nuclear testing it stands ready

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to support such space power supply

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development programs another of plum

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brooks world-class facilities is the

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spacecraft propulsion research facility

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here large upper stage rocket vehicles

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can be hot fired in a simulated space

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environment a 38-foot diameter by 55

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foot high stainless steel vacuum chamber

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is capable of simulating pressures of 1

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times 10 to the minus 6 tour or about

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115 statute miles altitude a full-sized

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launch vehicle up to 100,000 pound

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thrust capability can be loaded in the

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chamber through the top hatch and

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secured to the bed plate a cryogenic

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cold wall simulates the cold

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temperatures of space a quartz lamp

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heater array simulates the heat from the

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Sun the facility was designed and built

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to safely handle the large quantities of

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liquid hydrogen and oxygen carried on a

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fully fueled centaur vehicle in test

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firings of fueled vehicles conducted by

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remote control from a blockhouse a half

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mile away vehicles experience an

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environment similar to that in space at

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the moment of firing an 11 foot diameter

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high vacuum valve springs open at the

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bottom of this diffuser tube and

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releases the rocket exhaust products to

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the spray chamber below the 150 foot

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deep spray chamber is filled with a

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chilled water spray that is used to cool

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down the exhaust from the rocket at the

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same time huge steam ejectors pump out

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the exhaust products from the firing and

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maintain a high altitude condition

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throughout the tests in 1987 the vacuum

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chamber portion of this facility

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supported testing of flight hardware for

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the SDI program

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ground testing of high-voltage power

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supplies in a simulated space plasma

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environment determined flight

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performance in advance this facility may

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be fully reactivated to support advanced

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upper stage launch vehicle development

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for programs such as the space

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exploration initiative to Mars the third

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space environment chamber at plum Brook

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the 25 foot diameter cryogenic

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propellant tank facility is being used

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to develop the technology for storing

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and transferring liquid hydrogen in

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space recently an 800-gallon slush

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hydrogen batch production plant the

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nation's first was constructed at the

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site to support development testing for

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the national aerospace plane here you

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see liquid hydrogen being converted to

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slush using the freeze-thaw method in

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the generator at plum Brook previously

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slush hydrogen had been produced only in

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leader sized quantities in the

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laboratory in addition to its three

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large space environment chambers plum

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Brook also has a large hypersonic wind

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tunnel capable of performing flow tests

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at Mach 5 6 or 7 high-pressure nitrogen

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gas stored in a high volume tank

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adjacent to the facility is released and

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flows through a three megawatt

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electrical heater that raises its

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temperatures to nearly 2,500 Kelvin then

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sufficient oxygen is added to the hot

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nitrogen to produce an heir composition

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the heated air flows through a

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hypersonic flow nozzle and passed the

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model a large steam ejector also pulls a

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vacuum on the test chamber to help

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establish the flow pattern and

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assimilate a high altitude condition the

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hypersonic tunnel facility was last used

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in 1974 to test a hypersonic research

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engine at Mach 7 conditions under a

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joint program between the garrett

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corporation

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and NASA currently it's being

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reactivated by NASA to support generic

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hypersonic research and is expected to

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be operational by mid nineteen ninety

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three the four major facilities at plum

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Brook together with the surrounding

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clear zone land the infrastructure and

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the train staff provide a significant

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national test capability available to