NASA is preparing to enter a new era of exploration of the Moon and Mars. Before that could happen, the agency ran out of time to overhaul its resources.
Two historic test stands at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, will be demolished Saturday as part of a broader plan to modernize the space agency’s facilities. The Propulsion and Structural Test Facility and the Dynamic Test Facility were used to test the Saturn V rocket, which launched astronauts to the Moon, and the Space Shuttle. Neither tower has been in use for decades and has accumulated unnecessary repairs over the years.
“Each of these agencies helped NASA make history,” said Rae Ann Meyer, director of the Marshall Space Center, in a statement. statement. “Although it is difficult to let them go, they have received their retirement.”
Two of the history books
The Propulsion and Structural Test Facility, also known as the T-tower, was built in 1957 by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and later transferred to NASA in 1960. At the Marshall Center, the tower was used to develop Saturn launch vehicles.
The Saturn family of rockets was central to the US space program, boasting a level of engineering and power unmatched at the time. The Saturn V, a large, three-stage rocket, was used to launch the Apollo missions to the Moon.
NASA used the Dynamic Test Stand, built in 1964, to test fully assembled Saturn V rockets before the vehicle was accepted for full flight status. Standing at 360 meters (111 feet) long, the Saturn V was undetectable upon launch. Therefore, any major issues had to be resolved at the test site before the rocket reached the Kennedy Space Center launch pad.
After the Saturn V test, the Dynamic Test Stand was modified to test Space Shuttle components, including the orbiter, external fuel tank, and solid rocket boosters. The tower was also used to test the solid rocket engine of the Space Shuttle in the 1990s.
The last time the Dynamic Test Stand was used was in the early 2000s, it was used as a microgravity test stand, according to NASA. It was once the tallest man-made structure in northern Alabama.
Go out with the old one
The two towers will be demolished as part of a larger plan to remove 25 obsolete facilities that no longer serve NASA’s purpose. “This mission demonstrates smart stewardship of taxpayer resources,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a statement. “Clearing outdated infrastructure allows NASA to safely transition, streamline operations, and take full advantage of the infrastructure investments signed into law by President Trump to keep Marshall at the forefront of aerospace innovation.”
NASA is also removing the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator. Built in 1968, this facility was one of the few places in the world that could recreate the weightlessness of being in space. NASA used a simulated zero-gravity environment for experiments on the Skylab mission, as well as for testing and repairing NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.
The tank, designed to hold nearly 1.5 million gallons of water, was replaced by a larger one at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in 1997.
All three of these facilities were made national landmarks in 1985 for their role in advancing human space flight. NASA also looks to preserve the institutions’ legacy by maintaining a sense of scale and independent engineering achievements. The institute partnered with Auburn University to create high-resolution digital models of each facility, using LiDAR and 360-degree images of the buildings prior to their demolition.
“These buildings are not safe,” Meyer said. “By removing these buildings that we haven’t used in decades, we’re saving money by keeping buildings that we can’t use. We’re also making these areas safe for future NASA efforts and investments.”
