Space Power Facility (SPF) is a NASA facility used to test spaceflight hardware under simulated launch and spaceflight conditions. The SPF is part of NASA’s Plum Brook Station, which in turn is part of the Glenn Research Center. The Plum Brook Station and the SPF are located near Sandusky, Ohio (Oxford Township, Erie County, Ohio).
The SPF is able to simulate a spacecraft’s launch environment, as well as in-space environments. NASA has developed these capabilities under one roof to optimize testing of spaceflight hardware while minimizing transportation issues. Space Power Facility has become a “One Stop Shop” to qualify flight hardware for manned space flight. This facility provides the capability to perform the following environmental testing:
- Thermal-vacuum testing
- Reverberation acoustic testing
- Mechanical vibration testing
- Modal testing
- Electromagnetic interference and compatibility testing
The Space Power Facility (SPF) is a vacuum chamber built by NASA in 1969. It stands 122 feet (37 m) high and 100 feet (30 m) in diameter, enclosing a bullet-shaped space. It is the world’s largest thermal vacuum chamber. It was originally commissioned for nuclear-electric power studies under vacuum conditions, but was later decommissioned. Recently, it was recommissioned for use in testing spacecraft propulsion systems. Recent uses include testing the airbag landing systems for the Mars Pathfinder and the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, under simulated Mars atmospheric conditions.
The facility was designed and constructed to test both nuclear and non-nuclear space hardware in a simulated Low-Earth-Orbiting environment. Although the facility was designed for testing nuclear hardware, only non-nuclear tests have been performed throughout its history. Some of the test programs that have been performed at the facility include high-energy experiments, rocket-fairing separation tests, Mars Lander system tests, deployable Solar Sail tests and International Space Station hardware tests. The SPF is located at the NASA Glenn Research Center at the Plum Brook site.
The facility can sustain a high vacuum (10−6 torr, 130 μPa); simulate solar radiation via a 4 MW quartz heat lamp array, solar spectrum by a 400 kW arc lamp, and cold environments (−320 °F (−195.6 °C)) with a variable geometry cryogenic cold shroud. The facility is available on a full-cost reimbursable basis to government, universities, and the private sector.
According to en.wikipedia. Source of photo: internet
