AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS OF MSFC-TEST STAND 116

2016 MSFC AERIALS

TEST ENGINEER DENNIS STRICKLAND CONDUCTS WATER FLOW TESTS AT TEST STAND 116 FOR SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM SCALE MODEL ACOUSTIC TEST SERIES (WITH SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS)

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3rd and Future Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV)

Chosen to power the upper stages of the new Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV) and the Ares V cargo segment, the J-2X engine is a stepped up version of the hydrogen/oxygen-fuelled Apollo-era J-2 engine. It was developed for NASA by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR), a business unit of United Technologies Corporation of Canoga Park, California. As seen in this photograph, the engine underwent a series of hot fire tests, performed on sub scale main injector hardware in the Test Stand 116 at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The injector is a major component of the engine that injects and mixes propellants in the combustion chamber, where they are ignited and burned to produce thrust.

Advanced Space Transportation Program (ASTP)

Chosen to power the upper stages of the new Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV) and the Ares V cargo segment, the J-2X engine is a stepped up version of the hydrogen/oxygen-fuelled Apollo-era J-2 engine. It was developed for NASA by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR), a business unit of United Technologies Corporation of Canoga Park, California. As seen in this photograph, the engine underwent a series of hot fire tests, performed on sub scale main injector hardware in the Test Stand 116 at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The injector is a major component of the engine that injects and mixes propellants in the combustion chamber, where they are ignited and burned to produce thrust.

A 40K Pratt Whitney engine for the National Launch System is test fired at Marshall's Test Stand 116.

This shot offers a bird's eye-view of a Fastrac II engine duration test at Marshall's Test Stand 116. The Fastrac II engine was designed as a part of the low cost X-34 Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV). The purpose for these tests was to test the different types of metal alloys in the nozzle. Beside the engine were six additional nozzels which spray a continuous stream of water onto the test stand to reduce damage to the test stand and the engines. The X-34 program was cancelled in 2001.

This photograph depicts a hot fire test of the Shuttle Booster Separation Motor (BSM) at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) test stand 116. The objective of the test was to test the aft heat seal in flight configuration. The function of the motor is to separate the Shuttle vehicle from the boosters that carry it into space.

Around Marshall

This photodepicts a 15 K Fastrac motor ignition test performed at Marshall Test Stand-116. The Fastrac motor is an alternative low-cost engine which is being developed and tested at Marshall. This engine was to eventually be used on an X-34 launchvehicle. The X-34 program was cancelled in 2001.

Pathfinder

This is a photo of an X-34 40K Fastrac II duration test performed at the Marshall Space Flight Center test stand 116 (TS116) in June 1997. Engine ignition is started with Tea-Gas which makes the start burn green. The X-34 program was cancelled in 2001.

Advanced Space Transportation Program (ASTP)

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- During Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT), members of the STS-116 crew look over equipment they will be working with during their mission to the International Space Station. On the stand at left is Mission Specialist Robert Curbeam. The 19th assembly flight to the ISS, the mission will deliver the third port truss segment, the P5 Truss, to attach to second port truss segment, the P3/P4 Truss, to be assembled in an earlier mission. STS-116 is scheduled for launch in June 2003.

Advanced Space Transportation Program (ASTP)

This double exposure depicts Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC) Test Stand 116 hosting a 60K Bantam Fastrac thrust chamber assembly test. The lower right exposure shows the engine firing in the test stand while the center exposure reveals workers monitoring the test in the interior block house of the test facility. The thrust chamber assembly is only part of the Fastrac engine project to build a low-cost engine for the X-34, an alternate light-weight unmarned launch vehicle. Both the nozzle and the engine for Fastrac are being manufactured at MSFC.

Pathfinder

A close-up view of Bantam duration testing of the 40K Fastrac II Engine for X-34 at Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC) test stand 116. The Bantam test refers to the super lightweight engines of the Fastrac program. The engines were designed as part of the low cost X-34 Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV). The testing of these engines at MSFC allowed the engineers to determine the capabilities of these engines and the metal alloys that were used in their construction. The Fastrac and X-34 programs were cancelled in 2001.

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The crew for mission STS-121 is taking part in a Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) inside the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Standing in front of a work stand are, left to right, Mission Specialists Thomas Reiter and Lisa Nowak, Mission Commander Steven Lindsey, Mission Specialist Michael Fossum, Pilot Mark Kelly, and Mission Specialists Stephanie Wilson and Piers Sellers. Reiter represents the European Space Agency (ESA) and will remain on the space station working with the station crew under a contract between ESA and the Russian Federal Space Agency. He will return to Earth aboard STS-116 or a Russian Soyuz. A CEIT provides hands-on experiences with equipment used on-orbit. Mission STS-121 is the second in the Return to Flight sequence and will carry on improvements that debuted during last year's STS-114 mission and build upon those tests. Launch is scheduled in July. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Around Marshall

In honor of the Centernial of Flight Celebration and commissioned by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), a team of engineers from Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) built a replica of the first liquid-fueled rocket. The original rocket, designed and built by rocket engineering pioneer Robert H. Goddard in 1926, opened the door to modern rocketry. Goddard's rocket reached an altitude of 41 feet while its flight lasted only 2.5 seconds. The Marshall design team's plan was to stay as close as possible to an authentic reconstruction of Goddard's rocket. The same propellants were used - liquid oxygen and gasoline - as available during Goddard's initial testing and firing. The team also tried to construct the replica using the original materials and design to the greatest extent possible. By purposely using less advanced techniques and materials than many that are available today, the team encountered numerous technical challenges in testing the functional hardware. There were no original blueprints or drawings, only photographs and notes. However, this faithful adherence to historical accuracy has allowed the team to experience many of the same challenges Goddard faced 77 years ago, and more fully appreciate the genius of this extraordinary man. In this photo, the replica is shown firing in the A-frame launch stand in near-flight configuration at MSFC's Test Area 116 during the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics 39th Joint Propulsion Conference on July 23, 2003.