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Rocket Engine Test Facility

The Rocket Engine Test Facility (RETF) conducted experimental tests of high-energy propellants and rocket engine components that were integral to the U.S. Space Program from 1957 to 1995. The RETF was designated a National Historic Landmark for its contributions to the Apollo Program. This website was designed to preserve the legacy of the RETF for future generations.

History

Exterior view of the Rocket Engine Test Facility in the evening on September 12, 1957.
Origins of the RETF
The Rocket Engine Test Facility (RETF) was a unique facility designed in the early 1950s to test high-energy propellants and rocket engine designs. The ...
Apollo Era Testing
Just weeks after the completion of the Rocket Engine Test Facility (RETF), the Soviet Union ushered in the Space Age with the launch of Sputnik I. The ...
Engine firing in test stand.
Shuttle Era Testing
After the Apollo Program, researchers used the Rocket Engine Test Facility (RETF) for a number of research programs that contributed to the development of ...
Engine firing in test stand
Final Years
After years of negotiation, NASA removed the Rocket Engine Test Facility (RETF) in 2004 to make way for a runway expansion at the adjacent Cleveland ...

Facility

Cutaway view of the RETF facility and its related components (1985)
RETF Buildings and Systems
The Rocket Engine Test Facility (RETF) originally included two major components: a control center in Building 100, and a test cell in Building 202. There ...
Two operators in control room
Conducting a Test
This page describes the basic theory of rocket propulsion and the steps necessary to test an engine at the Rocket Engine Test Facility (RETF). This ...

Research

RETF HAER Report Chart
RETF Publications
The historic mitigation effort yielded several types of publications that document the history of the Rocket Engine Test Facility (RETF). These included a ...
Sample RETF historical documents
RETF Historic Documents
Collection of links to PDFs of historical documents, reference material, technical reports related to the Rocket Engine Test Facility’s (RETF) ...
Staff in control room
RETF Staff
The Rocket Engine Test Facility (RETF) relied on a diverse group of researchers, engineers, technicians, and mechanics to develop test programs, install ...
Cover of RETF history book
Ideas Into Hardwareisa peer-reviewedhistoryoftheRETF.

About the History Office

SPC bulkhead.
Historic Preservation
NASA Glenn Research Center has a number of historic facilities, some of which have been demolished in recent years. Many of these sites had not been fully ...
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