Skip to Content

Glenn Research Center

GRC Plum Brook In-Space Propulsion (ISP) Facility

GRC Plum Brook In-Space Propulsion (ISP) Facility
GRC Plum Brook In-Space Propulsion (ISP) Facility
  • 68,000 ft3 chamber
    • ~60 feet high
    • ~38 feet diameter
  • Normal operating ambient pressure without testing rocket engines is 10-9 psia (Lunar atmosphere)
  • Normal operating ambient pressure with testing rocket engines is 0.1 psia
    • Can operate as low as 0.02 psia with new operating procedures
  • Vacuum operated by two three-stage steam ejector system
  • Has studied rocket engine testing for Delta III, Centaur, Morpheus, Vulcan, etc.
  • Vacuum testing for SpaceX Dragon, Gamma-Ray Imager/Polarimeter (GRIPS),
  • Able to include soil within test facility
    • Designing a soil bin by KSC, filter system and collecting approach for lunar simulant for PSI Project
    • Cannot include predominant dust (<10 um)
  • Able to support multiple cryo-propellants
  • Test Chamber
    • 60' tall x 38' diameter
    • 68,047 cu ft available volume
  • Spray Chamber
    • 120' tall x 67' diameter
    • 324,592 cu ft available volume (assuming 30' water)
  • Exhaust Train
    • 50,575 cu ft available volume
  • Facility Manager POC: Hal Weaver (GRC H000)
  • Test Lead POC: Brian Jones (GRC H000)

GRC Mechanism Exposure to Regolith Simulator

GRC Mechanism Exposure to Regolith Simulator
GRC Mechanism Exposure to Regolith Simulator
  • Small vacuum-capable facility for exposing mechanism concepts to lunar (or other surface) regolith environments for durability testing, advanced technology development, and other performance evaluations in simulated surface operations
  • The primary focus of the test rig is to advance mechanism life in “dusty” terrestrial missions, such as long-term habitation of the lunar or martian surfaces
  • Operational: August 2020 (estimate)
  • POC: Adam Howard

GRC “Dirty” Vacuum Chamber (VF13)

GRC Dirty Vacuum Chamber VF13
GRC Dirty Vacuum Chamber VF13
  • Dedicated 'dirty' thermal vacuum chamber operated with up to 1-ton of lunar soil simulant
  • Dimensions
    • Maximum internal volume of 6.35 m3
    • internal dimensions- 3.6 m tall, 1.35 m diameter with cold wall, 1.5 m without cold wall
      • Fixed base 1.08 m deep + removable cap 2.52 m tall
  • Thermal capability
    • Removable cold wall in cap (top 2.5 m of chamber)
      • Temperature control from ambient to liquid nitrogen temperatures
      • 2 semi circular halves, independently controlled to achieve temperature gradients
      • Minimum temperature 80k (liquid nitrogen cooled)
    • Fixed base has separate liquid nitrogen cooling, independent of cold wall
      • Supports cooling of soil bin (existing bin is 0.278 m diameter, 1.2 m tall)
    • Liquid nitrogen is supplied from a 55,000 gallon dewar
  • Vacuum capability
    • Achievable pressure on the order of 10-6 Torr, with soil
    • Variety of customization electrical and mechanical feed-through
    • Four vacuum pumps to accommodate range of pressure regimes and pump rates
    • Ports available for gas fed from portable bottles, to achieve customization pressures and gas compositions (e.g., MARS environment)
  • Facility operation
    • PLC control software allows for unattended operation for majority of pump down and cooling
    • Customization digital data acquisition system supporting over 80 channels
    • Internal cameras for optical access
  • POC: Mike McVetta

GRC Warm/Cold Seal Leak Testing

GRC Warm Cold Seal Leak Testing
GRC Warm Cold Seal Leak Testing
  • Objective: Measure seal and gasket leak rates under representative operating conditions
  • Testing capabilities:
    • Temperatures of -99 to 392°F (-73 to 200°C)
    • Leakage measurements using helium or air
    • Adjustable pressure differential across seal (typically 14.7 psid)
    • Multiple chambers and fixtures
  • POC: Pat Dunlap

GRC Particle Filtration Lab

GRC particle filtration lab fractional efficiency filter tester
GRC particle filtration lab fractional efficiency filter tester (full system filter media tester- DOP testing, scanning mobility particle sizer/condensing particle counters, analysis software)
  • Particle measurement and detection
  • Aerosol detection equipment
    • Optical particle counters
      • Hand held and Lab grade
    • Condensing particle counters
    • Cascade impactor (mass based measurement)
    • Laser Doppler and Phase Doppler anemometer
    • Light sheet imaging
  • Note there is also a group developing miniature particle sensors for fire safety.
  • POC: Juan Agui

GRC Gases and Aerosols from Smoldering Polymers (GASP) Lab

GRC Gases and Aerosols from Smoldering Polymers (GASP) Lab smoke chamber
GRC Gases and Aerosols from Smoldering Polymers (GASP) Lab smoke chamber
  • GASP aka “Smoke Lab”
  • 326 liter smoke chamber
  • Used for many other types of aerosol testing for Life Support projects, lint emission testing for the crew clothing, Velcro particle emission testing and tested a number of miniaturized aerosol and gas sensors.
  • Suite of aerosol instruments to measure the aerosols inside: mass concentration, number concentration, particle size distributions, etc.
  • Chamber can be purged down to about 2 particles/cm3 for a clean background environment
  • POC: Marit Meyer

GRC Lunar Dust Adhesion Bell Jar

GRC Lunar Dust Adhesion Bell Jar
GRC Lunar Dust Adhesion Bell Jar
  • Studies (under vacuum) effects of lunar dust simulant interactions with space power system components.
  • Mechanical transport system provides dust application on test surfaces and provides triboelectric charging of dust particles.
  • 0.6 m diameter, 0.75 m long cylinder
  • 10-7 - 10-8 Torr base operating pressure
  • Capabilities
    • In situ dust conditioning
    • In situ dust activation
    • In situ dust sieving
    • In situ calorimetry
  • High intensity solar simulator
  • 30 K cold box
  • Thermal characterization mode
  • Fabric abrasion mode
  • Rotation wear mode
  • Research Projects & Potential Uses
    • Effect of dust on thermal control surfaces in the lunar environment
    • Adhesion of dust on sensitive surfaces in the lunar environment
    • Abrasion of space suit fabrics by dust in the lunar environment
    • Effectiveness of dust sealing technologies in the lunar environment
    • Wear of mechanisms by entrained dust in the lunar environment
    • Evaluating adherence of lunar stimulants to various power-system component surfaces and coatings while at operating temperatures.
    • Evaluating thermal performance of high-temperature radiators evaluated as function of dust coverage.
    • Adding solar simulator to conduct solar cell performance tests as function of dust coverage and temperature while in vacuum environment.
    • Evaluating lunar dust abatement techniques.
    • Studying dust-particle behavior in electrostatic fields.
  • POC: Sharon K. Miller

GRC SLOPE Lab (Soils Lab)

  • Description
    • Large soil tank (12m x 3m 0.3m) containing GRC-1 lunar simulant for vehicle performance testing
    • Adjustable tilting soil tank (6m x 5m x 0.3m, 0 to 45 deg) for sloped surface operations
    • Sink Tank (12m x 3m x 0.6m) containing a high-sinkage soil (Filliti) used to simulate vehicle entrapment conditions on Mars
    • Drawbar pull rig uses feedback control to apply desired pull force to a vehicle during performance testing
    • Various equipment for preparing large soil batches (mixer, vibrating table, oven, sieve shakers)
  • Environmental Capability
    • Vacuum: N/A
    • Radiating sources: N/A
    • GRC-1, Filliti simulants, Can operate with any simulant with no modification
  • Test Capabilities
    • Test duration: User defined
    • Power to experiments: self contained (battery) or tethered (wall AC power)
    • Data: Drawbar force/ time, photogrammetric tracking
    • Remote operation/data evaluation capability: vehicle/test dependent
    • Thermal management of tested hardware: lab ambient (air conditioned)
  • Costs
    • Maintenance/upkeep: minimal
    • Test operations: no specific costs for facility operations
    • Upgrades (if planned/budgeted): props being built for tilt-bed to allow for regular maintenance of hydraulic lifts
  • Demand Forecast/Customers
    • Testing of roving vehicle tires anticipated (Mars Sample Return)
    • ISRU
  • POC: Collin Creager

Additional GRC Facilities

  • GRC TSI Fractional Filter Tester
  • GRC Bacterial Filter Element Test Apparatus
  • GRC Particle Measurement Lab
  • GRC Planetary Dust Filtration Flow Loop
    • Can operate over a range of reduced pressures
      • Originally deigned for Constellation to test filters at reduced pressure atmospheres that mimic a lander cabin (~8 to 10 psia) or airlock (~4 psia)
    • Also called Mars Atmospheric Flow Loop or Filtration Flow Loop
  • Optical measurements of varying dust coatings
    • In reflectance or transmission
  • POC: Phil Abel