NASA is preparing to enter a new era of Moon and Mars exploration. Before it does, the agency is overdue for some remodeling of its facilities.
Two historic test stands at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, will be demolished on Saturday as part of a broader plan to modernize the space agency’s facilities. The Propulsion and Structural Test Facility and Dynamic Test Facility were used to test the Saturn V rocket, which launched astronauts to the Moon, as well as the Space Shuttle. Neither tower has been in use for decades and has accumulated unwarranted maintenance over the years.
“Each one of these structures helped NASA make history,” Rae Ann Meyer, acting center director at Marshall, said in a statement. “While it is hard to let them go, they’ve earned their retirement.”
Two for 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 the Saturn launch vehicles.
The Saturn family of rockets was pivotal to the U.S. space program, boasting a level of engineering and power unmatched at the time. Saturn V, a massive, three-stage heavy-lift rocket, was used to launch the Apollo missions to the Moon.
NASA used the Dynamic Test Stand, built in 1964, to test the fully assembled Saturn V rockets before the vehicle was accepted for full flight status. Standing at 360 feet tall (111 meters), Saturn V could not be recovered once it launched. Therefore, any major issues had to be resolved at the test stand before the rocket reached the launch complex at Kennedy Space Center.
Following testing of Saturn V, the Dynamic Test Stand was modified to test components of the Space Shuttle, including the orbiter, external fuel tank, and solid rocket boosters. The T-tower was also used for testing the Space Shuttle’s solid rocket motor in the 1990s.
The last time the Dynamic Test Stand was put to use was in the early 2000s, used as a drop tower for microgravity testing, according to NASA. It was once the tallest human-made structure in northern Alabama.
Out with the old
The two towers will be demolished as part of a larger initiative to remove 25 outdated facilities that no longer serve a purpose for NASA. “This work reflects smart stewardship of taxpayer resources,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a statement. “Clearing outdated infrastructure allows NASA to safely modernize, streamline operations, and fully leverage the infrastructure investments signed into law by President Trump to keep Marshall positioned at the forefront of aerospace innovation.”
NASA is also getting rid of the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator. Built in 1968, the facility was one of the few places in the world that could recreate the weightlessness of being in space. NASA used the simulated zero-gravity environment for testing Skylab missions, along with tests to repair NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.
The tank, designed to hold up to nearly 1.5 million gallons of water, was replaced by a larger facility at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in 1997.
All three facilities were made national landmarks in 1985 for their contributions in furthering human spaceflight. NASA is also looking to preserve the legacy of the facilities by maintaining the sense of scale and engineering achievement they represent. The agency has partnered with Auburn University to create high-resolution digital models of each facility, using LiDAR and 360-degree photography of the structures before their demolition.
“These structures are not safe,” Meyer said. “By removing these structures that we have not used in decades, we are saving money on upkeep of facilities we can’t use. We also are making these areas safe to use for future NASA exploration endeavors and investments.”
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