Overview of NASA's White Sands Test Facility

1. Economic Impact of WSTF - Fiscal Year 2011

3. NASA Vision
To reach for new heights
and reveal the
unknown, so that what
we do and learn will
benefit all humankind.

4. WSTF Mission Statement
Our mission is to provide the
expertise and infrastructure to
test and evaluate spacecraft
materials, components, and
propulsion systems to enable
the safe exploration and use
of space.

5. WSTF Location

6. WSTF Background
• Constructed 1962-64 to
Support Apollo Project
• Component Facility of NASA
Johnson Space Center
• Occupies 28 square miles of
the SW Corner of White
Sands Missile Range
(WSMR)
• Annual Budget
~$79 Million (FY10)
• ~60 NASA and
~660 Contractor Personnel
(FY10)

7. WSTF Background (Con’t)
• Large Buffer Zone and
Controlled Remote
Property for Hazardous
Testing
• Moderate Desert Climate
Ideal for Year-round
Testing
• Environmental Permits in
Place for Hazardous
Testing

8. Organization Chart
WSTF Manager
John P. McManamen
Deputy Manager
Robert M. Cort
Associate Manager-Technical
David L. Baker
Office of Procurement (BA)
Jesse Brennan – Lead
Administrative Officer
Patsy A. Segura
Financial Management (LA)
Heather M. Moncrief – Lead
Information Technology (IT)
James M. Krupovage
NS3
Safety & Mission Assurance
Alton B. Luper
Chief
RC
Facility Engineering Office
Chief, John J. Villegas
Deputy – J. Todd Kaufman
RD
Propulsion Test Office
Robert R. Kowalski
Chief
RE
Environmental Office
Radel L. Bunker-Farrah
Chief
RF
Materials and Components
Laboratories Office
Chief, Harold D. Beeson
RH
Technical Services Office
Mary A. Burke
Chief

9. High Energy Blast Facility

10. Capabilities
•
Rocket Propulsion Testing
and Evaluation
•
Oxygen Systems Testing
and Analysis
•
Propellants and
Aerospace Fluids Testing
and Analysis
•
Hypervelocity Impact
Testing
•
Composite Pressure
Systems Testing and
Analysis

11. Propellant Testing
Titanium Alloy Burning in
8 psia Oxygen

12. Space Environment Simulation Testing

13. STS-35 Space Shuttle window pit from orbital debris impact
Hypervelocity Impact Test Laboratory

14. Composite Pressure Systems
Testing and Analysis

15. WSTF Training Courses

16. Customer Base
• Johnson Space Center International Space
Station, Payloads, Crew
Training, and Special Projects
• NASA Headquarters and
Other Field Centers
– MPCV, SLS
• Other US Government
Agencies - ADFSW, Army, EPA, DOD, DOE,D
OT (National Highway Traffic
Safety & Federal Aviation
Administrations), Navy
Research Lab, USAF, VAFB

17. Customer Base (Con’t)
• Commercial Industry Aerojet, Armadillo
Aerospace, ASTM G4
Community, Blue
Origin, Boeing, Cobham, Defe
nse Advanced Research
Projects Agency, National
Center for
Manufacturing, Orbital
Sciences Corp, Pratt &
Whitney, Scaled
Composites, Inc., SpaceX, and
Wendell Hull & Associates

18. Space Shuttle Test and Evaluation
Acronyms
•APU – Auxiliary Power Unit
•ARCS – Aft Reaction Control
System
•COPV – Composite Overwrapped
Pressure Vessels
•FRCS – Forward Reaction
Control System
•OMS – Orbital Maneuvering
System

19. International Space Station (ISS)
Flight Components
Orbital Debris Impact
Propulsion Systems
ORCA
(Oxygen
Recharge
Compressor
Assembly)
Hydrazine Detector
(Gold Salt)
NORS
(Nitrogen/Oxygen
Recharge System)
Materials Compatibility
Oxygen Monitors

20. Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle
Crew Cabin Materials
and Experiment
Hypervelocity Impact Testing
(Orbital Debris Impact)
Materials Compatibility
Payloads
Offgassing
Engine Testing
Propulsion Thruster
Maintenance and Repair
Composite Overwrapped
Pressure Vessels

21. Space Launch Systems
Materials Compatibility
Engine Testing
Composite Overwrapped
Pressure Vessels
Offgassing
Payloads

22. Facilities
•
Rocket Engine System Test Stands
with Vacuum
•
Long-duration Large-altitude
Simulation System
•
Full-scale Hypergolic and Cryogenic
Propulsion Test Systems
•
Chemistry and Metallurgical
Laboratories
•
Flight Component
Repair, Refurbishment, and Test
Facilities
•
High Energy Blast Facility
•
Oxygen-enriched Atmosphere Test
Facilities
•
Hypergolic Materials and
Components Test Facilities
•
Hypervelocity and Low Velocity
Impact Test Facilities
•
White Sands Space Harbor (WSSH)

23. Materials and Components Laboratories Office
• Micrometeoroid/Debris
Hypervelocity Impact Testing
• Propellant and Explosion
Hazards Assessment
• Research on Flammability of
Materials including Metals in
Oxygen-enriched Atmospheres

24. Materials and Components Laboratories Office
Components Failure
Test and Analysis
Molecular Analysis of Surface Effects
using X-ray Photoelectron
Spectroscopy

26. Materials and Components Laboratories Office
Flammability Testing

27. Technical Services Office
Critical Flight
Hardware
Assembly
Flight Critical System
Components Refurbishment
Flight Hardware
Production

28. Technical Services Office
Precision Cleaning of
Flight Critical Items
Measurement Standards
and Calibration Lab
Industrial and Scientific Imaging
and Documentation

29. Technical Services Office
Machine and Weld
Valve Repair Facility

30. Propulsion Test Office
Shuttle PRCS Thruster Hot-fire Testing
Cassini – Saturn Orbit Insertion
Engine Test
Minuteman Qualification Firing

31. Propulsion Test Office
LOX Methane Engine Test

32. Propulsion Test Office
Night Firing of Shuttle Forward RCS Primary and Vernier Thrusters

33. Propulsion Test Office
Static Firing of DC-X with Four
LOX/Hydrogen RL10-A5 Engines
Test Firing R4D Engine

34. Educational and Community Outreach
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
NASA Explorer Schools in New Mexico
Design Competitions
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of
Science and Technology) Robotics Program
New Mexico
Mathematics, Engineering, Science
Achievement (MESA) and MESA USA
Schools & Regional Science and Engineering
Fairs
Science Education Alliance and the Science
Advisor (SCIAD) Program
Educational Tours of WSTF
•
•
•
•
•
•
DC-9 Microgravity Fly High Program
X PRIZE and International Symposium for
Personal & Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS)
Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce Military
Affairs Committee
Doña Ana County Spaceport Educational
Initiative
Hydrogen Technology Partnership (HyTeP)
Oxygen and Hydrogen Safe System Operations
Training to New Mexico State University
(NMSU) and area hospitals

35. Educational Outreach