NASA is getting ready
to open a new state-of-the-art laboratory for cutting-edge research
into advanced propulsion systems -- technologies that one day could
power space vehicles to Mars, to Jupiter or to destinations never
before imagined.
The July 29 ribbon-cutting ceremony officially opens NASA's
Propulsion Research Laboratory for business. Part of NASA's
Marshall Space Flight Center, the facility is housed on a 21-acre
site on Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala.
In April, the new laboratory became home to scientists and
engineers of the Marshall Center's Propulsion Research Center, a
key NASA organization that conducts advanced space propulsion
technology research and testing. The move consolidated work
previously scattered among seven buildings at Marshall, providing a
centralized location for advanced propulsion research, promoting
better communication between researchers and enabling an
environment for breakthroughs in technology.
The lab also will accommodate researchers from across the United
States, providing engineers and scientists from NASA, government
agencies -- such as the Department of Defense -- universities and
industry with the resources and space needed for short-term and
long-term experiments. These researchers are provided the
opportunity to work at the facility through partnerships or Space
Act agreements.
"This facility is intended to be a national resource for the
entire propulsion research community -- a place where NASA
engineers, scientists, and our industry partners and academia can
come together and share ideas," said David King, director of the
Marshall Center. "As NASA moves forward to realize the goals of the
Vision for Space Exploration, the lab will play a key role in
development of advanced propulsion technologies to accomplish our
mission in space."
The 108,000-square-foot facility is 600 feet long -- the size of
two football fields. Its contemporary design, by Jacobs Facilities,
Inc. in Orlando, Fla., reflects not only its surrounding
environment but also the unique, evolving needs of the Marshall
Center's Propulsion Research Center. The laboratory complements
nearby buildings -- with its NASA colors of white, blue and gray --
and its fa�ade, with swooping curves, is intended to
visually represent the state-of-the-art work being done inside. The
design also allows for easy expansion, housing offices in a central
location at the front of the building and the facility's labs in
the back. This feature allows the building to grow to meet future
research demands without disrupting work currently being conducted
at the facility.
"The central and guiding design theme we continuously focused on
was blending an appropriate mix of flexibility, capability and
potential for additional growth," said Harold Gerrish, who was
responsible for development of researcher requirements for the lab.
"This facility will be able to support the rapid changing demands
of advanced propulsion research while also facilitating synergism
among researchers, scientists and engineers."
The Propulsion Research Laboratory, constructed by Baggette
Construction Company in Decatur, Ala., encompasses 26 labs and
several support areas -- more than 66,000 square feet of usable
space for large-scale and small-scale advanced propulsion research
experiments. Individual labs range in size from 360 square feet to
10,000 square feet. The facility's 12-foot-wide corridors and
oversized doors allow large equipment and experiments to be moved
easily from one room to another. High-bay areas reaching as high as
55 feet and equipped with 5 to 15-ton bridge cranes also provide
the necessary space for large experiments. A separate 7.5 to 10
megawatt electrical substation allows the laboratory to conduct
high-power experiments without disrupting service to other parts of
the Marshall Center.
"The Propulsion Research Laboratory is at the forefront of new
ideas and capabilities in advanced propulsion research," says Steve
Rodgers, manager of the Propulsion Research Center. "The work we're
doing here could revolutionize space travel and pave the way for a
new era of exploration throughout the Solar System."
The versatility of the new laboratory allows for a broad range
of study in fields -- some of which may seem like science fiction
today, but could become a reality a few decades from now.
Technologies now under review include solar energy, advanced
chemical propulsion, and high power plasma propulsion technologies
that don't rely on conventional propellant.
Other scientists at the facility will study high-energy
propulsion systems based on fission, fusion and antimatter
technologies. Fission is the release of a large amount of energy by
splitting atomic nuclei. The energy density of fission is 10
million times that of state-of-art chemical reactions, such as the
liquid oxygen/hydrogen combustion system used to power the Space
Shuttle. Fusion releases energy by fusing nuclei together -- a
process similar to what takes place continuously in the Sun and
other stars. Antimatter energy is obtained when equal but opposite
particles -- such as protons and antiprotons -- collide. This
collision releases tremendous amounts of energy -- more than any
known reaction in physics.
The Propulsion Research Laboratory also will provide an
invaluable educational tool to university and K-12 students and
teachers to inspire the next generation of space explorers -- as
only NASA can. The facility includes a visitor's gallery that will
capture the imagination with interactive propulsion research
displays and exhibit kiosks that showcase the work of the
laboratory. Closed-circuit plasma screens will give visitors a look
inside the facility's labs and chambers to see firsthand the
experiments being done, and a 20-by-20 projection screen will show
video clips and educational films about propulsion and future
missions into our Solar System.
The Marshall Center is
a key leader in NASA's development of space transportation systems,
including future-generation launch vehicles and in-space propulsion
systems. The Propulsion Research Center is a member of the National
Space Science and Technology Center, or NSSTC, which provides an
additional resource for propulsion study by NASA and its academic
partners. The NSSTC, a Huntsville-based clearinghouse for
cutting-edge space science and propulsion research in operation
since 2001, was founded by the Marshall Center and local, state and
national university partners and other federal agencies.