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NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center is getting ready for the next big step in the evolution of its main campus in Huntsville, Alabama. Through a series of multi-year infrastructure projects, Marshall is optimizing its footprint to assure its place as a vibrant and vital hub for the aerospace community in the next era.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Near-term plans call for the carefully orchestrated take-down of 19 obsolete and idle structures \u2013 among them the 363-foot-tall Dynamic Test Stand,\u00a0the Propulsion and Structural Test Facility, and Neutral Buoyancy Simulator. These facilities are not required for current or future missions, and the demolitions will help the center transition to a more modern, sustainable, and affordable infrastructure.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese facilities helped NASA make history \u2013 the Dynamic Test Stand was the tallest manmade structure in North Alabama and helped us test both the Saturn V rocket and the space shuttle,\u201d said Joseph Pelfrey, Marshall\u2019s Center Director. \u201cWithout these structures, we wouldn\u2019t have the space program we have today. While it is hard to let them go, the most important legacy remaining are the people that built and stewarded these facilities and the missions they enabled. That same bold spirit fuels us, today. We are committed to carrying it forward to inspire the workforce of tomorrow.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Built in 1964, the Dynamic Test Stand initially was used to test fully assembled Saturn V rockets. In 1978, engineers there also integrated all space shuttle elements for the first time, including the orbiter, external fuel tank, and solid rocket boosters.<\/p>\n
The Propulsion and Structural Test Facility \u2013 better known at Marshall as the \u201cT-tower\u201d due to its unique shape\u00a0\u2013 was built in 1957 by the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency and transferred to NASA when Marshall was founded in 1960. There, engineers tested components of the Saturn launch vehicles, the Army\u2019s Redstone Rocket, and shuttle solid rocket boosters.<\/p>\n
The Neutral Buoyancy Simulator, including its 1.3-million-gallon tank and control room, was built in the late 1960s. From 1969 until its closing in 1997, the facility enabled NASA astronauts and researchers to experience near-weightlessness, conducting underwater testing of space hardware and practice runs for servicing the Hubble Space Telescope. It was replaced in 1997 by a new facility at NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center in Houston.<\/p>\n
Marshall master planner Justin Taylor said the facilities team looked at every possibility for refurbishing the old sites.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe upkeep of aging facilities is costly, and we have to put our funding where it does the most good for NASA\u2019s mission,\u201d he said. \u201cThese are tough choices, but we have to prioritize function and cost over nostalgia. We\u2019re making way for what\u2019s next.\u201d<\/p>\n
To preserve NASA history, the agency has worked with architectural historians over the years on detailed drawings, written histories, and large-format photographs of the sites. Those documents are part of the Library of Congress\u2019s permanent Historic American Engineering Record\u00a0collection, making their history and accomplishments available to the public for generations to come.<\/p>\n
Marshall facilities engineers are still finalizing the details and timeline for the demolitions. Work is expected to begin in late 2024 and end in late 2025.\u00a0Additionally, to support the center\u2019s employees and all the mission work they are doing, Marshall has a few infrastructure projects in design stages that will include the construction of two state-of-the-art buildings within the decade ahead.<\/p>\n
A new Marshall Exploration Facility will offer a two to three story facility at approximately 55,000 square feet located within the 4200 complex. The facility will include an auditorium, along with conferencing, training, retail, and administrative spaces. The new Engineering Science Lab \u2013 at approximately 140,000 square feet \u2013 will provide a modern, flexible laboratory environment to accommodate a new focus for research and testing capabilities.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, NASA\u2019s vision for Marshall is a dynamic, interconnected campus. The center\u2019s master plan features a central greenway connecting its two most densely populated zones \u2013 its administrative complex and engineering complex.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we look towards the aspirational goals we have as an agency, Marshall\u2019s contributions may look different than our past but be no less important,\u201d said Pelfrey.\u00a0\u201cAnd we want our partners, employees, and the community to be part of the evolution with us, bringing complementary skills and capabilities, innovative ideas, and a passion for exploration and discovery.\u201d<\/p>\n
To learn more about NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center, visit:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n