Rocket engine test facility
Encyclopedia
A rocket engine test facility is a location where rocket engine
s may be tested on the ground, under controlled conditions. A ground test program is generally required before the engine is certified for flight. Ground testing is very inexpensive in comparison to the cost of risking an entire mission or the lives of a flight crew.
The test conditions available are usually described as sea level ambient or altitude. Sea level
testing is useful for evaluations of start characteristics for rockets launched from the ground. However, sea level testing does not provide a true simulation of the majority of the operating environment of the rocket. Better simulations are provided by altitude test facilities.
A typical sea level test stand may be designed to restrain the rocket engine in either a horizontal or vertical position. Liquid rocket
engines are usually fired in a vertical position because the propellant pump intakes are designed to draw fuel from the bottoms of the fuel tank
s. The effect of the propellant weight on the thrust measurement system
(TMS) must be accounted for as the engine is firing. The rocket exhaust is directed into a flame bucket or trench. The flame trench is designed to redirect the hot exhaust to a safe direction and is protected by a water deluge system that both cools the exhaust and also reduces the sound pressure
level (loudness
). The sound pressure level of large rocket engines has been measured at greater than 200 decibels — one of the loudest man-made sounds on earth.
Solid rocket
engines may be fired in either a vertical or horizontal orientation. The thrust measurement system does not need to account for the changing weight of the rocket in a horizontal position. The associated flame trench need not be so sturdy as with a vertical test stand, however a water system may be less effective at reducing the sound pressure level.
All test stands require safety provisions to protect against the destructive potential of an unplanned engine detonation. The safety provisions generally include siting the stand some minimum distance from inhabited areas or other critical facilities, placing the stand behind a thick concrete blast wall or earthen berm, and using some form of inerting system
(either gaseous nitrogen or helium) to eliminate the buildup of explosive mixtures.
An altitude facility is much more complex than a sea level facility. The rocket is installed inside an enclosed chamber which is evacuated to a minimum pressure level before rocket firing. A typical chamber operating pressure of 0.16 psia (equivalent to an altitude of 100,000 feet) is established inside the chamber by some form of mechanical pumping. Mechanical pumping is typically provided by steam ejector/diffusers. If the products of combustion from the rocket firing include flammable or explosive material
s, the chamber must be inerted, typically with gaseous nitrogen (GN2). The inerting process prevents build-up of potentially explosive materials inside the chamber or exhaust ducting.
Test Alliance https://rockettest.ssc.nasa.gov/nrpta/
NASA Rocket Propulsion Test Program Office https://rockettest.ssc.nasa.gov/
Rocket engine
A rocket engine, or simply "rocket", is a jet engineRocket Propulsion Elements; 7th edition- chapter 1 that uses only propellant mass for forming its high speed propulsive jet. Rocket engines are reaction engines and obtain thrust in accordance with Newton's third law...
s may be tested on the ground, under controlled conditions. A ground test program is generally required before the engine is certified for flight. Ground testing is very inexpensive in comparison to the cost of risking an entire mission or the lives of a flight crew.
The test conditions available are usually described as sea level ambient or altitude. Sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
testing is useful for evaluations of start characteristics for rockets launched from the ground. However, sea level testing does not provide a true simulation of the majority of the operating environment of the rocket. Better simulations are provided by altitude test facilities.
Sea level tests
The advantage of sea level static testing is simplicity. The facility must restrain the rocket and direct the rocket exhaust safely toward the open atmosphere. Structural integrity, system operations, and sea level thrust can be measured and verified. However, rockets are primarily intended for operations in very thin or no atmosphere. Systems that work well on the ground may behave very differently in space.A typical sea level test stand may be designed to restrain the rocket engine in either a horizontal or vertical position. Liquid rocket
Liquid rocket
A liquid-propellant rocket or a liquid rocket is a rocket engine that uses propellants in liquid form. Liquids are desirable because their reasonably high density allows the volume of the propellant tanks to be relatively low, and it is possible to use lightweight pumps to pump the propellant from...
engines are usually fired in a vertical position because the propellant pump intakes are designed to draw fuel from the bottoms of the fuel tank
Fuel tank
A fuel tank is safe container for flammable fluids. Though any storage tank for fuel may be so called, the term is typically applied to part of an engine system in which the fuel is stored and propelled or released into an engine...
s. The effect of the propellant weight on the thrust measurement system
Systems of measurement
A system of measurement is a set of units which can be used to specify anything which can be measured and were historically important, regulated and defined because of trade and internal commerce...
(TMS) must be accounted for as the engine is firing. The rocket exhaust is directed into a flame bucket or trench. The flame trench is designed to redirect the hot exhaust to a safe direction and is protected by a water deluge system that both cools the exhaust and also reduces the sound pressure
Sound pressure
Sound pressure or acoustic pressure is the local pressure deviation from the ambient atmospheric pressure caused by a sound wave. Sound pressure can be measured using a microphone in air and a hydrophone in water...
level (loudness
Loudness
Loudness is the quality of a sound that is primarily a psychological correlate of physical strength . More formally, it is defined as "that attribute of auditory sensation in terms of which sounds can be ordered on a scale extending from quiet to loud."Loudness, a subjective measure, is often...
). The sound pressure level of large rocket engines has been measured at greater than 200 decibels — one of the loudest man-made sounds on earth.
Solid rocket
Solid rocket
A solid rocket or a solid-fuel rocket is a rocket engine that uses solid propellants . The earliest rockets were solid-fuel rockets powered by gunpowder; they were used by the Chinese in warfare as early as the 13th century and later by the Mongols, Arabs, and Indians.All rockets used some form of...
engines may be fired in either a vertical or horizontal orientation. The thrust measurement system does not need to account for the changing weight of the rocket in a horizontal position. The associated flame trench need not be so sturdy as with a vertical test stand, however a water system may be less effective at reducing the sound pressure level.
All test stands require safety provisions to protect against the destructive potential of an unplanned engine detonation. The safety provisions generally include siting the stand some minimum distance from inhabited areas or other critical facilities, placing the stand behind a thick concrete blast wall or earthen berm, and using some form of inerting system
Inerting system
An inerting system increases the safety of a fuel tank, ball mill, or other sealed or closed-in tank that contains highly flammable material. Inert in scientific terminology means ‘not readily reactive with other elements; forming no chemical compounds or something that is not chemically...
(either gaseous nitrogen or helium) to eliminate the buildup of explosive mixtures.
Altitude tests
The advantage of altitude testing is to obtain a better simulation of the rocket's operating environment. Air pressure decreases with increasing altitude. Effects of the lower air pressure include higher rocket thrust and lower heat transfer.An altitude facility is much more complex than a sea level facility. The rocket is installed inside an enclosed chamber which is evacuated to a minimum pressure level before rocket firing. A typical chamber operating pressure of 0.16 psia (equivalent to an altitude of 100,000 feet) is established inside the chamber by some form of mechanical pumping. Mechanical pumping is typically provided by steam ejector/diffusers. If the products of combustion from the rocket firing include flammable or explosive material
Explosive material
An explosive material, also called an explosive, is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure...
s, the chamber must be inerted, typically with gaseous nitrogen (GN2). The inerting process prevents build-up of potentially explosive materials inside the chamber or exhaust ducting.
Test facilities in the United States
- ATKATKATK may refer to:*America's Test Kitchen, a cooking show on PBS*Alliant Techsystems, a mid-level United States aerospace and defense contractor*Accessibility Toolkit, a GNOME software development toolkit*ATK motorcycles, an off-road motorcycle manufacturer...
Promontory Point, UtahPromontory Point, UtahPromontory Point, Utah, is the southernmost edge of the Promontory Mountains in southern Box Elder County, Utah, centered approximately at , with an elevation of 1285 meters above sea level... - RocketdyneRocketdyneRocketdyne was a Rocket engine design and production company headquartered in Canoga Park, California, United States. The company was related to North American Aviation for most of its history. NAA merged with Rockwell International, which was then bought by Boeing in December, 1996...
Santa Susana Field LaboratorySanta Susana Field LaboratoryThe Santa Susana Field Laboratory is a complex of industrial research and development facilities located on a 2,668 acre portion of the Southern California Simi Hills in Simi Valley, California, used mainly for the testing and development of Liquid-propellant rocket engines for the United States...
(Closed) - NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
- Rocket Engine Test FacilityRocket Engine Test FacilityRocket Engine Test Facility was the name of a facility at the NASA Glenn Research Center, formerly known as the Lewis Research Center, in Ohio....
- Marshall Space Flight CenterMarshall Space Flight CenterThe George C. Marshall Space Flight Center is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. The largest center of NASA, MSFC's first mission was developing the Saturn launch vehicles for the Apollo moon program...
http://www.msfc.nasa.gov - Plum Brook Station http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/testfacilities/plumbrook.html
- White Sands Test FacilityWhite Sands Test FacilityWhite Sands Test Facility is a U.S. government rocket engine test facility and a resource for testing and evaluating potentially hazardous materials, space flight components, and rocket propulsion systems. NASA established WSTF on the White Sands Missile Range in 1963...
(WSTF) http://www.wstf.nasa.gov/Propulsion/Systems.htm - John C. Stennis Space CenterJohn C. Stennis Space CenterThe John C. Stennis Space Center , located in Hancock County, Mississippi, at the Mississippi-Louisiana border, is NASA's largest rocket engine test facility.- History :...
http://www.ssc.nasa.gov
- Rocket Engine Test Facility
- USAF Arnold Engineering Development CenterArnold Engineering Development CenterArnold Engineering Development Center is a ground-based flight test facility operated by the US Air Force Materiel Command.-Mission statement:The AEDC mission is to:...
http://www.arnold.af.mil - New Mexico TechNew Mexico Institute of Mining and TechnologyNew Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology is a university located in Socorro, New Mexico....
Energetic Materials and Testing Research Center EMRTC Rocket Engine Test Site - Air Force Research LaboratoryAir Force Research LaboratoryThe Air Force Research Laboratory is a scientific research organization operated by the United States Air Force Materiel Command dedicated to leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable aerospace warfighting technologies; planning and executing the Air Force science and...
at Edwards AFBEdwards Air Force BaseEdwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...
, CA http://www.pr.afrl.af.mil/ - Pratt & Whitney Space Propulsion test facilityhttp://www.edfinc.com/portfolioSpaceShuttle.html
- SpaceXSpaceXSpace Exploration Technologies Corporation, or more popularly and informally known as SpaceX, is an American space transport company that operates out of Hawthorne, California...
Test Facility, McGregor, TX
Rocket ground test facilities outside the United States
- Lampoldshausen - Baden-WürttembergBaden-WürttembergBaden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, European UnionEuropean UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958... - Liquid Propulsion Systems CentreLiquid Propulsion Systems CentreThe Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre , located at three places, Valiyamala, near Nedumangad in Thiruvananthapuram District, Kerala, Mahendragiri in Thirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu and Bangaluru, Karnataka...
- MahendragiriMahendragiriMahendragiri is the name of a hill in southern Tamil Nadu, near Nagercoil, in Kanyakumari district. It is part of the southern tip of the Western Ghats, with an elevation of ....
, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahendragiri]], Tamil NaduTamil NaduTamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... - NII-229 (NIIKhIMMash) - Zagorsk, Moscow OblastMoscow OblastMoscow Oblast , or Podmoskovye , is a federal subject of Russia . Its area, at , is relatively small compared to other federal subjects, but it is one of the most densely populated regions in the country and, with the 2010 population of 7,092,941, is the second most populous federal subject...
, RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects... - RAF SpadeadamRAF SpadeadamRAF Spadeadam is a Royal Air Force station in Cumbria, England close to the border with Northumberland. It is the home of the 9000 acre Electronic Warfare Tactics Range, making it the largest RAF base in the United Kingdom.-History:...
- (No longer in use) United Kingdom.
External links
National Rocket PropulsionSpacecraft propulsion
Spacecraft propulsion is any method used to accelerate spacecraft and artificial satellites. There are many different methods. Each method has drawbacks and advantages, and spacecraft propulsion is an active area of research. However, most spacecraft today are propelled by forcing a gas from the...
Test Alliance https://rockettest.ssc.nasa.gov/nrpta/
NASA Rocket Propulsion Test Program Office https://rockettest.ssc.nasa.gov/