113 – Photos of NASA Stennis Space Center nuclear rocket engine test facility

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Two years ago I visited NASA Stennis Space Center to hear about upcoming NASA plans to develop a new nuclear thermal space rocket and tour the primary test stand where this engine will be tested. I am posting some photos I took of the impressive test facilities. One of the great failures of national space policy over the last four decades is that such facilities have sat unused for long periods of time. True progress in advancing America to becoming a spacefaring nation requires extensive engineering development and testing.

 

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A-3 altitude test facility. The main level is 150 ft above ground level. The domed test cell can be pumped down to simulate altitudes above 100,000 ft where upper stage engines and space engines operate. (Credit: J. M. Snead.)

The A-3 altitude test facility is used to run rocket engines with thrusts up to 1 million pounds at simulated altitudes from 100,000 ft to the vacuum of space. A condensing steam system is used to produce the simulated flight conditions while an exhaust containment system traps, condenses, and cleans the rocket engine’s exhaust. The A-3 may be used to test nuclear thermal rocket engines because the exhaust is contained and the test cell will contain any engine failure.

Domed test cell at the A-3 test stand at Stennis Space Center. (Credit: J. M. Snead.)
Door into the A-3 test cell. (Credit: J. M. Snead.)
Looking up, this is the fixture where the rocket engine is attached with the nozzle pointing down to the bottom of the picture. (Credit: J. M. Snead.)
Canals enable large rocket assemblies as well as propellant supplies to be delivered to the test facility. (Credit: J. M. Snead.)
A-1 test stand where open-air testing of large rocket engines is undertaken. The A-3 test stand is in the distance. (Credit: J. M. Snead.)

James Michael (Mike) Snead is an aerospace Professional Engineer in the United States, an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and a past chair of the AIAA’s Space Logistics Technical Committee. He is the founder and president of the Spacefaring Institute LLC (spacefaringinstitute.net) which is focused on space solar power-generated astroelectricity and the astrologistics infrastructure necessary to enable the spacefaring industrial revolution that will build space solar power energy systems. Mike Snead has been involved in space development since the mid-1980s when he supported the U.S. Air Force Transatmospheric Vehicle (TAV) studies, the National Aerospace Plane program, and the Delta Clipper Experimental (DC-X) project. In 2007, after retiring from civilian employment with the Air Force, he began to study the need for (and politics associated with) undertaking space solar power. Beginning in the late 1980s, he has published numerous papers and articles on various aspects of manned spaceflight, astrologistics, and energy. His technical papers are located at https://www.mikesnead.com and https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mike-Snead/research. His blog is at: https://spacefaringamerica.com. His eBook, Astroelectricity, can be downloaded for free here. He can be contacted through LinkedIn or through email sent to spacefaringinstitute@gmail.com.