Marshall Space Flight Center Test Capabilities Jeffrey T. Hamilton' Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812 The Test Laboratory at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center has over 50 facilities across 400+ acres inside a secure, fenced facility. The entire Center is located inside the boundaries of Redstone Arsenal, a 40,000 acre military reservation. About 150 Government and 250 contractor personnel operate facilities capable of all types of propulsion and structural testing, from small components to engine systems and structural strength, structural dynamic and environmental testing. We have tremendous engineering expertise in research, evaluation, analysis, design and development, and test of space transportation systems, subsystems, and components. Nomenclature BTU British Thermal Unit, measure of heat CH4 methane ET Space Shuttle External Tank acceleration of gravity, 32 Ws2 g GH2 gaseous hydrogen GHe gaseous helium GN2 gaseous nitrogen GOX gaseous oxygen gallons/minute, measure of volume flow rate lbf pounds force, measure of force lbm pounds mass lb/s poundds, measure of mass flow rate LCH4 liquid methane LH2 liquid hydrogen LOX liquid oxygen PO inlet pressure PPm parts per million, measure of concentration psia lb/in2a bsolute Psig Ib/in2 gage, pressure referenced to atmosphere RP- 1 Rocket Propellant 1, refined kerosene rpm revolutions per minute SPS samples per second SRS Shock Response Spectrum, impulse response, measured in g 's TO inlet temperature TPS Thermal Protection System W watts, measure of energy I. Introduction T HE Test Laboratory at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has existed as long as the Center; in fact, the oldest facilities were built by the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency and were in existence before NASA was created. Marshall's test capability has been and remains a critical national asset. While many fascinating papers could be written about the history of these facilities, this paper focuses on the existing capabilities relevant to the current NASA mission. *Technical Assistant, Test Laboratory, ETO1, MSFC, AL 35812; AIAA Member 1 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics , I , 11. Major Facilities and Capabilities The test facilities at Marshall Space Flight Center are physically located in four areas, known as the East, West, and North Test Areas, and the Structural and Environmental Test Area. For the purposes of this paper they are classified by type of facility and test supported, rather than geographically. There are four major classes of facilities: Propulsion test facilities; Structural test facilities; Environmental test facilities; and Wind Tunnel facilities. A. Propulsion test facilities The propulsion test facilities at MSFC are used for testing of sub-scale injectors, injector elements, thrusters, gas generators, turbopumps, igniters, oxygen and hydrogen cold flow components, solid and hybrid motor propellants and materials, hot gas material characterization, and engine systems using liquid hydrogen, methane, and kerosene. The remainder of this paper details these facilities, their salient characteristics, and recent test programs. The Advanced Fuels Facility is a multi-propellant test bed used for comparison testing of exotic hydrocarbon fuels with a baseline fuel, testing of subscale combustion devices, and new technologies such as the laser ignition of RP-1. Capabilities include GN2, GH2, GHe, RP-1, Missile Grade Air, a Thrust Measurement system, and laser ignition and diagnostics systems. The Advanced Fuels skid can accommodate small combustion devices about 1-ft by 1-ft by 2-ft and up to 1,000 pounds thrust on the thrust table. Devices can be tested using O X ,G H2. Rp-1, and other hydrocarbon fuels with conventional or laser ignition devices. For fuels comparison testing, two nine-gallon fuel tanks rated at 750 psig are used. The fuel flow rate is 0.5 Ibk Combustion is initiated using Rp-1, and then the tanks are switched while the engine is firing for real-time performance comparison of an alternative fuel with RP-1. The Solid Propulsion Test Facility has two positions, horizontal and vertical, for testing 48-inch diameter solid rocket motors to 100,OOO pounds thrust vertically inverted (nozzle up) and 24-inch diameter solid rocket motors to 172,000 pounds thrust horizontally. This facility or combustion environment to evaluate performance data, solid rocket motor internal case instrumentation, non- asbestos insulation materials, nozzle 3 designs, materials, and new inspection techniques such as Real- Time Radiography. The Solid The Test Cells are used for up to 5000 pounds thrust solid and hybrid test articles. The test cells are a group of 11 adjacent reinforced-concrete, blast-resistant positions measuring 15 feet wide by 15 feet deep by 10 feet high that have the pressurizing gases and propellants for testing sc rocket engines. The cells are less expensive to run than other facilities due to the small amounts of propellant required to perform tests. Active positions are now Y 2 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronauti I . involved in small scale Shuttle solid motor and External Tank foam environment generation for materials and instrumentation evaluation and also support real-time radiography of solid rocket motor composite nozzles. Test Facility 115 is a multipurpose, multi- position facility capable of testing small or subscale engine systems and medium pressure, small flow rate combustion devices. The facility’s compact size makes it ideal for 7 testing subscale components. It was recently used by an in-house MSFC combustion component development program known as the Modular Table 3. Test Facility 115 Capabilities LH2/C& 2,200 gallons at 1,500 psig 500 gallons at 3,000 psig CHdRp- 1 20 gallons at 3,000 psig LH2 flow 1.5 lbls RP-1 flow 7 Ibls I LC& flow 4.5 lbls I LOX 500 gallons at 3,000 psig, future 25,000 I Hydraulics 10 gpm at 3,000 psig Low meed digital data I 200 SDS High speed digital data 250,000 sps Real-time video with sound 30 frames per second High meed film camera 400 frames Der second I I High speed digital video 1,000 frames per second for 52 seconds- Test Facility 116 is ideal for testing high-pressure engine system components, turbo pumps, valves, cryogenic propellant system components, and combustion devices to 150,000 pounds thrust. This multi-position stand can run multiple tests simultaneously and also can be used for acoustic environmental simulation tests. There are six 3 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics positions at this facility: Turbine Blade Position, Acoustic Model Position (30,000-lb thrust), Turbopump Position, Pre-burner Position (50,000-lb thrust), High-flow Water Position, and the 60,000-lb Thrust Position (upgraded 40K Position). Most recently, Test Facility 116 was used for testing the 50,000 pound thrust RS-88 LC for the Orbital Space Plane Pad Abort Demonstrator test. Table 4. Test Facility 116 Capabilities LH2 2,200 gallons at 6,000 psig 2,000 gallons at 8,500 psig LH2 flow 60k position: 25 lb/s Pre-burner position: 90 lb/s Turbine Blade position: 3 Ib/s RP-l/High Pressure Water 3,000 gallons at 4,750 psig 3,000 gallons at 2,700 psig RP-l/High Pressure Water flow 60k position: 100 lb/s Turbopump position: 60 lb/s I HHiigghh--ffllooww ppoossiittiioonn:: 77,,550000 ggppmm ffoorr 1111..88 ss I LLOOXX 33,,000000 ggaalllloonnss aatt 55,,225500 ppssiigg LLOOXX SSttoorraaggee I 2288,,000000 ggaalllloonnss aanndd 1144,,000000 ggaalllloonnss ~ I LLOOXX ffllooww 6600kk ppoossiittiioonn:: 116600 llbb//ss Pre-burner position: 160 lb/s Acoustic Model position: 20 Ib/s Turbine Blade position: 10 lb/s Turbopump position: 160 lb/s GH2 600 ft3 at 10,000 psig 1,250 ft3 at 15,000 psig 1.5 -inch line at 4,400 psig GH2 flow Pre-burner position, 10 lb/s Acoustic Model position, 2 Ib/s GHe 1.5-inch line at 4,200 psig GN2 1,250 ft3 at 10,000 psig 700 ft3 at 8,000 psig 3-inch line, 4,200 psig Missile-Grade Air 1.5-inch line, 3,500 psig Industrial water 150 Dsig Hydraulics 50 gpm at 3,000 psig Low speed digital data 200 sps High meed digital data 250.000 SDS 1 Real-time video with sound 30 frames per second High meed film camera I 400 frames Der second I High speed digital video 1,000 frames per second for 52 seconds Test Facility 500 is a six position stand designed for hazardous testing of LH2, LOX, solid, and hybrid propulsion components and subsystems including combustion devices, propellant pumps, bearings, tanks and valves. The bearing drives are a 500 horsepower diesel engine with a variable-speed transmission to 40,000 FPM for the LOX position and a pressurizing gas (GN2) with an electro-hydraulic valve controller for the LH2 position. The six positions at this facility are: 4 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astrona , LH2LOX Component Test Position A and Test Position B, the 24-inch Solid/LOX Hybrid Motor Position, the LOX Bearing Test Position, the LH2 Bearing Test Position, and the Propellant Tank Position. Test Facility 500 is presently being I d by KT Engineering of Huntsville, Alabama to test their modular thruster desi Table 5. Test Facility 500 Capabilities LH2 5,000 gallons at 2,000 psig 36,000 gallons at 100 psig (elevated) 100.000 gallons at 75 Dsig (inactive) LH2 flow 11 lb/s LN2 Flow 35 lb/s 3,000 gallons at 2,000 psig LOX Storage 28.000 gallons at 50 Dsig The Advanced Engine Test Facility is a 1,000,OOO pound thrust LOXIRP-1 and LOXnH2 test facility. This two-position, tri-propellant facility is capable of evaluating and characterizing full-up engine and vehicle stage systems in the vertical configuration. Position 1 is configured as a LOX/LH2 position with the piping interface designed to mate to a Space Shuttle Main Engine with a thrust structure rated for 375,000 pounds. Thrust measurement is available. Position 2 is configured as a LOX/RP-1 position with the piping interface designed to mate to the Atlas propulsion module for testing the Russian RD180 engine with a thrust structure rated for 900,000 pounds. Thrust measurement is available in the vertical direction only in Position 2. The Advanced Engine Test Facility has been used to test a single Space Shuttle Main Engine 66 times. It was also used to hot-fire the Lockheed Martin Atlas RD-180 LOX/RP-1 engine four times. It is presently is a stand-by mode with purges active. LH2 Position 1: 75,000 gallons at 50 psig 450.000 gallons at 100 osig storage LH2 flow 11 lbls RP-1 6,000 gallons at 130 psig 14,000 gallons at 150 psig 20,000 gallons storage LOX Position 1: 23,000 gallons at 150 psig Position 2: 12,000 gallons at 130 psig LOX Storage 78,000 gallons at 100 psig LOX flow 1,288 lb/s, limited only by 25 ft/s LOX velocity constraint 5 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics , B. Structural Facilities Structural Strength Test provides load environments to simulate launch, on-orbit, and landing conditions for development, qualification, acceptance and research testing of space flight hardware. It maintains the capability for instrumentation (strain gages, deflections, loads, pressures, temperature, and humidity), data acquisition (4,600 channels), pressure control (ambient and cryogenic), flow control (pneumatic, ambient liquids, cryogenic LN2, LHe, and LH2), temperature control and mechanical load control. Test facilitJI (Building 4572) accommodates full scale test articles ith high loads and pressures. 4,600 instrumentatioIn chal nnels are a\r ailable. along with a large inventory of load cells, pressure sensors, and displacement sensors. I I Table 7. Hazardous Structural Test Facility, Building 4572 I Test Bay dimensions 40-ft x 94-ft x 48-ft I Floor Reinforced concrete 5-ft thick Removable for test article installation and Cryogenic Structural Test Facility (Building 4699) can be used to evaluate the structural integrity of tanks and other propulsion components under a variety of conditions using compression, sheer, and tension loads, while filled 6 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics with gases or cryogens. Inside the facility is a 304 by 30-ft concrete test pad measuring 2 ft thick. The Cryogenic Structural Test Facility most recently was used for the Northrop-Grumman composite hydrogen tank tests. I 1 Table 8. Cryogenic Structural Test Facility Capabilities 28,000 gallons at 50 psig storage GHz 3-inch line, 3,100 psig GHe I-inch line, 4,200 psig GNZ 3-inch line, 4,200 psig Missile-Grade Air I-inch line, 3,500 psig Industrial water 150 Dsig Hydraulics 10 gpm at 3,000 psig ~~ Low speed digital data 200 sps High meed digital data 250.000 RDS Real-time video with sound I 30 frames per second I High meed film camera I 400 frames Der second I High speed digital video I 1,000 frames per second for 52 seconds I Structural Strength Test High Bay Facility consists of two adjacent high-bay areas inside Building 4619. They feature 4,600 channels of data acquisition; support for four large scale tests in parallel; engineering data computed in background during acquisition; test-generated 3D Finite Element Model displays; and stress analyst stations to SUDDO~~re al time monitoring and plotting. The following two tables summarize the \3 C: api abill il :ies Access door dimensions 40-ft x 40-ft Reaction floor dimensions 64-ft x 154-ft, 11-ft thick Tie-downs Load plates (each containing four tie- downs) symmetrically affixed on IO-ft centers. Each plate capable of 340 klbf in tension and 44 klbf in shear. ' . , Cranes Two 25-ton bridge cranes each with one 25-ton trolley. Each trolley has independent 20-ton and 5-ton hooks; 80-ft hook height Test article height UD to 75-ft Universal Test Machines Tensile and compressive loads 120 klbf, 260 klbf, 2 Mlbfand 3 Mlbf Modular test frames Three frames accommodate loads of 10, 50, and 100 klbf. Frame volumes: 6-ft cube, 10-ft cube, and 20-ft cube Load application Hydraulic actuators (l-lB-inch to 33-inch bore) Closed loop servo load control: 1, 128 channel system or 2,64 channel systems; 1,48 channel system; 2,32 channel systems Closed loop pressurization system: Hydrostatic to 1, OOO psig; pneumatic to 5.000 Dsig Table 10. Structural Strength Test Central High-Bay Facility Access door dimensions I 57-ft x 75-ft klbf in tension and 19.4 klbf in shear. Total shear reaction capability 2.4 Mlbf Crosshead Positioned from 40-ft to 115-ft height in I I 5.5-inch increments. Reaction capability 30 Mlbf. Cranes Two 30-ton bridge cranes each with two 15-ton single hook trolleys. Test Article height Up to 100-ft high by 54-ft diameter Structural Dynamics Modal test provides experimentally determined frequency, damping and mode shape (eigenvalues and eigenvectors) of flight structural systems and components, DC-35,000 Hz. Provides experimental data to verify and correlate analytical finite element models of flight hardware. The fixed base facility available. The componentkmall channel capability provides both fixed-base boundaries and free-free boundaries. The scanning laser vibrometer allows non-contact measurements to characterize the dynamics of inflatable systems. The segmented adaptive optics lab (36 segment primary mirror) has all segments actively controlled (tip & tilt to 200 Hz, piston to 90 Hz) and features a Hartmann-Shack wave-front sensor with interferometer resolution to 632 nm. The facility also includes a micro-gravity vibration isolation lab for vibration isolation actuator development 8 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and test and for micro-gravity payloadsupport equipment vibration and acoustic emission characterization over the International Space Station required range of 0.01-300 Hz. Structural Dynamics Vibration Test is used to verify design concepts subject to flight vehicle dynamic loads (launch, on-orbit, and landing) and to certify flight nt, and components) for flight \5 vehicle dynamic loads. Capabilities include eight lectromagnetic shakers (up to 40,000 Ibf) that can accommodate a test article up to 5 ft2. Signal conditioning and acquisition is provided by two systems with 32 channels of response and control data and two systems with 16 channels of response and control data. Modes of vibration spectra available include sine and random, sine on random and random on random, and classical shock and shock response spectrum (SRS). Structural Dynamics Vibroacoustics test is used to verify design concepts subject to flight vehicle dynamic loads (launch, on-orbit, and landing), to ceztify flight articles (payloads, support equipment, and components) for diffuse field environment to 165 dB and progressive waves to 170 dB with transmissibility ranging from reverberation to anechoic. Excitation control is provided by eight microphone channels. Acoustic excitation is available up to 200 kW.T he facility can accommodate a test article up to 500 ft3 through 8-ft by 8-ft access doors. The anechoic chamber is quieter than NC-40 requirements and allows sound pressure and sound power measurements. Structural Dynamics Pyrotechnic Shock test is used to verify design concepts subject to flight vehicle generate pyrotechnic excitation sources that up to 36000 g’s SRS and 20,000 Hz. Instrumentation includes accelerometers capable of up to 50,000 g’s. Test articles up to 500 ft3 can be accommodated. Signal conditioning and data acquisition is provided by a 16-channel system. Time and Shock Response Spectrum analysis is provided. 9 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics C. Environmental Test Facilities The Environmental Test Facility in Building 4619 provides space thermal vacuum simulation environments for development, qualification, acceptance and research testing of space flight hardware. The facility is located in the West High Bay, a 704b y 150-ft space with a 244x 354 access door and two 20-ft x 30-ft access doors. The 704 by 150-ftc oncrete floor is ten feet thick. The facility features two overhead bridge cranes with dual independent trolley hooks, one with 20,000 pound capacity and one with 6,000 pound capacity. Hook height is 80-ft. The Environmental Test Facility provides the following test capabilities: thermal vacuum; vacuum bakeout; optical cleanliness vacuum bakeout; life-cycle testing; launch depre testing. Test Facilities include 14 Thermal Vacuum Test Thermal Humidity Test Chambers; 1 Thermal Altitude Chamber; 1 Class 10K Clean Room; and 1 Class l00K Clean Room. The facility performs 270-340 Tests and Test Series per year. The following chart shows the various chambers and their salient characteristics. " CHAMBER PRIMARY USE VACUUM TEMPERATURES THERMAL DIMENSIONS * PRESSURES CONDITIONMG VI Optical Cleanliness 5 x 10-~t orr Ambient to 180 OC Infrared Lamps 4 ft dia. x 7 ft v2 Optical Cleanliness 5 x lo4 torr Ambient to 180 "C Infrared Lamps 4 ft dia. x 10 ft v3 Life Cycle 5 x lo4 torr -100 to 100T Infrared Lamps, LNz 4 ft dia. x 10 ft V4 & V8 Vacuum Bakeout 1 x lo4 torr Ambient to 175 "C Infrared Lamps 2 ft dia. x 2.5 ft v5 Vacuum Bakeout 1 x IO4 torr -170 to 150 'C Infrared Lamps, LN, 3 ft dia. x 4 ft V6 Vacuum Bakeout 1 x IO-' torr -170 to 150°C Infrared Lamps, LNz 3 ft dia. x 4' BUNDLE lhermal Vacuum I x 10-~to rr Ambient to 180 OC Infrared Lamps 3 ft dia. x 5v v7 Optical Cleanliness 5 x 10-~t orr -170 to 150 "C Infrared Lamps, LNz 8 ft dia. x 10 ft v9 Launch Depress 1 x IOd torr Ambient Infrared Lamps, LN, 4 ft dia. x 7 ft v10 Life Cycle 5 x IO4 torr Ambient to 100 OC Infrared Lamps, LN2 1.5 ft dia. x 1.5 ft v11 lhermal Vacuum 1 x IOd torr Ambient to 180 "C Infrared Lamps, LNZ 8 ft dia. x 10 ft v12 lhermal Vacuum 1 x lod torr -100 to 100°C Infrared Lamps, LNz 1.5 ft dia. x 2 ft Sunspot Thermal Vacuum 1 x IO4 torr -170 10 200 OC Infrared Lamps, LN, 10 ft dia. x 12 ft v20 Thermal Vacuum 1 x IO4 torr -170 to 200 "C Infrared Lamps, LN2 20 ft dia. x 27 ft TH-I, TH-2, TH-3 Thermal Humidity Ambient -70 to 190 "C Electrical Resistive, 4 ft x 4 ft x 4 ft Refrigeration TH-4 & TH-8 Thermal Humidity Ambient -70 to 160 "C Electrical Resistive, 4 ft x 4 ft x 4 ft Refrigeration TA-I Thermal Altitude Ambient to 100,OOO ft -70 to 190 "C Electrical Resistive, 4 ft x 4 ft x 4 ft Refrigeration The Environmental Test Facilities have recently been used for External Tank Development Flight Instrumentation Relay Assembly Thermal Cycle Qualification .and Acceptance Tests; International Space Station Control Moment Gyro Flight Support Equipment Adjustable Shims Thermal Vacuum Tests; and Reinforced Carbon-Carbon Crack Repair Deliquification tests. The Hydrogen Cold Flow Facility is a low-pressure, high-flow-rate closed loop cold flow test facility with two 225,000 gallon hydrogen storage tanks. It is a multi-purpose facility for low pressure system tests of hydrogen engine and subsystem components. Liquid hydrogen can flow from one 225,000-gallon storage tank through the test article into a second 225,000-gallon storage tank at a rate of 1,800 gallons per minute. The rate can be increased to 10 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics