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Rockets Systems Area

The Rocket Systems Area at NASA GRC’s Plum Brook Station* was an essential to the development of liquid-hydrogen propulsion systems for rocket engines. The RSA contained 11 different facilities that tested turbopumps, engine components, and propellant tanks. Glenn’s development of hydrogen pumping and storage systems was critical to the success of the Saturn and Centaur upper-stage rockets.

History

Drawing depicting locations of various Rocket Systems Area sites
Design and Construction
The NASA Lewis Research Center (known today as the Glenn Research Center) began experimenting with high-energy propellants in the mid-1940s. After ...
Atlas-Centaur on launch pad
Centaur Program
Centaur was a 15000-pound thrust second-stage rocket designed for the military in 1957 and 1958 by General Dynamics. It was the first major rocket to use ...
Two technicians work with Kiwi nozzle
Nuclear Rockets
The Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Applications (NERVA) was a joint NASA and Atomic Energy Commission endeavor to develop a nuclear-powered rocket for ...
K Site chamber with door open and shroud inside.
Pumps and Tanks
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Lewis Research Center’s work with liquid hydrogen began shifting from combustion and cooling to the handling of the ...
B-3 stand in disrepair
Final Years
The steady reduction of NASA’s budget in the late 1960s and early 1970s coincided with the agency’s decision to develop the space shuttle. NASA shelved ...

Facility

Test Loops Inside A Site
Pump Sites
One of the biggest challenges facing the designers of early high-performance liquid rocket engine was pumping the cryogenic fuel and oxidizer from their ...
Atlas horizontal on truck bed in front of E Stand.
E Stand – Dynamics Stand
E Stand was designed to verify the structural integrity of missiles in launch conditions and to study full-scale vehicle pressurization and propellant flow ...
View of the B1 and B3 test stands
B-1 and B-3 Test Stands
The High Energy Rocket Engine Research Facility (B-1) and Nuclear Rocket Dynamics and Control Facility (B-3) were vertical test stands with cryogenic fuel ...
Equipment inside F Site
Turbine Sites
Turbines, which rotate drive shafts at specific speeds, are a critical element of turbopump operation and efficiency. The turbine consists of an inlet, ...
Ground-level Exterior view of J Site
J Site – Rockets System Test Site
J Site, which was located on Taylor Road near the center of the Rocket Systems Area, consisted of five different test facilities used to investigate issues ...
Chamber with door open inside K Site building
K Site – Cryogenic Propellant Tank Facility
K Site was designed to test cryogenic propellant tanks up to an 18-foot diameter in a simulated space environment. These studies included proof testing ...
Trailer pulled up to Nitrogen Building
Support Facilities
Testing at the Rocket Systems Area would not have been possible without the services of an extensive team of individuals and support facilities. ...

Research

Train car inside F Site
Rocket Systems Area Timelines
1941 War Department seizes property to build the PBOW.1 The NACA begins construction of the AERL [future NASA Lewis]. 1943 The NACA’s AERL officially ...
RSA Document Collage
Rocket Systems Area Historic Documents
A collection of links to PDFs of historical documents, monthly status reports, reference material, and technical reports related to the Rocket Systems Area ...
Book Cover - NASA's Hydrogen Outpost
NASA’s Hydrogen Outpost – The Rocket Systems Area at Plum Brook Station is an in-depth look at the RSA facilities, research, and personnel.

*Plum Brook Station was renamed the Neil Armstrong Test Facility in 2021.

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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