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A collection of links to PDFs of historical documents, monthly status reports, reference material, and technical reports related to the Rocket Systems Area and Plum Brook Station.
Plum Brook Station*
Historic Documentation
- NASA’s Hydrogen Outpost: Rocket Systems Area at Plum Brook Station (NASA SP-2016-628)
- B-1 and B-3 Historic Engineering Report (2010)
- NASA-Ohio Preservation Office Agreement(2012)
- RSA Original Website (PDF version)
- B-1 and B-3 Original Website (PDF version)
- Rocket Systems Area Exhibit Display
- B-1 and B-3 Exhibit Display
- Science in Flux: NASA’s Nuclear Program at Plum Brook (NASA SP-2006-4317)
Land Acquisition and Construction
- Saga of the PBOW (1945)
- Evaluation of the PBOW (1958)
- Acquisition of Additional Plum Brook Property (1958)
- NACA Construction House Bill (1957)
- Rocket Systems Area Construction Articles (1959-65)
Shutdown
- Plum Brook Closure Press Release (1973)
- Termination of Plum Brook Activities (1973)
- Bruce Lundin Talk to Plum Brook Staff (1974)
- Plum Brook Phased Down article (1974)
- Dugan Helps Plum Brook article (1973)
- Potential Use of Plum Brook Facilities (1973)
- Potential Programs for Plum Brook (1973)
Standby
- Plum Brook Station Review (1976)
- Wind Turbine 10th Anniversary (1985)
- NASA Large Wind Turbine Program (1982)
- Plum Brook Chronology 1940–85
- Plum Brook Facilities Status (1985)
- PBS is Lewis Best Secret article (1991)
Reference
Liquid Hydrogen Development
- Liquid Hydrogen as Jet Fuel for High-Altitude Aircraft (1955)
- Liquid Hydrogen as a Propulsion Fuel, 1945–1959
- Seizing the Space Initiative
Nuclear Propulsion
- To the End of the Solar System: The Story of the Nuclear Rocket
- NERVA Nuclear Rocket Program (1965)
- A Historical Perspective on the NERVA Program (1991)
Centaur Program
- Taming Liquid Hydrogen: The Centaur Upper-Stage Rocket
- Centaur Launches (1962-2012)
- Centaur Program Overview (1963)
- Centaur D-1A pamphlet (1973)
- Titan/Centaur Viking B Flight Report (1976)
- History of Centaur Press Release (1984)
- Titan-Centaur—NASA’s Newest Launch Vehicle (1973)
- Centaur Launched a Generation of Interplanetary Missions (2013)
Turbopumps and Propellant Tanks
- NASA Axial-Flow Turbopumps SP (1978)
- NASA Centrifugal Turbopump SP (1973)
- Liquid Rocket Turbopump Inducers SP (1971)
- Liquid Rocket Metal Tanks and Components SP (1974)
Facilities
Miscellaneous Site Information
- Capabilities and Facilities of Plum Brook (c1970)
- Plum Brook Tour Brochure (c1969)
- Plum Brook Current Facilities
- Lewis Facilities to Study Cavitation in Pumps (1964)
- K Site Cryogenic Fluid Systems Testing (1994)
- B-1 and B-3 Work Schedules (1962)
- B Complex layout
- B Complex Property Details (2009)
- B-1 Facility Resume (1960s)
- B-1 Historic Engineering Report Description
- Nuclear Rocket Evaluation at B-1 memo (1962)
- B-1 NERVA Apparatus Description (1964)
- B-1 End Condition Statement (1973)
- B-3 Facility Resume (1960s)
- B-3 Historic Engineering Report Description
- B-3 Nuclear Rocket Flow Facility (1969)
- B-3 Stand Description (1974)
- B-3 Nuclear Rocket Test Facility (1969)
- B-3 Stand Readied for NERVA (1967)
Floor Plans
- A Site Description and Floor Plans
- B-1 Floor Plans and Description
- B-3 Floor Plans and Description
- C Site Description and Floor Plans
- D Site Description and Floor Plans
- E Stand Description and Floor Plans
- F Site Description and Floor Plans
- I Site Description and Floor Plans
- J Site Description and Floor Plans
- K Site Description and Floor Plans
- Engineering Building Plans and Description
- Control Buildings Plans and Descriptions
Operations Reports
Plum Brook facilities managers were required to contribute updates to station management on the activities at each facility during a given month. Management compiled this information into a Test Operations Report or Status Reports for the entire station. These volumes have been divided by particular facility for this website.
- A Site Status Reports (1963-68)
- B1 Stand Status Reports (1963-71)
- B3 Stand Status Reports (1965-74)
- C Site Status Reports (1963-68)
- D Site Status Reports (1963-65)
- E Stand Status Reports (1963-68)
- F Site Status Reports (1963-74)
- G Site Status Reports (1963-64)
- I Site Status Reports (1963-67)
- J1 Status Reports (1961-68)
- J2 Status Reports (1961-66)
- J3 Status Reports (1961-68)
- J4 Status Reports (1961-64)
- J5 Status Reports (1961-66)
- K Site Status Reports (1964-74)
Technical Reports
Turbopumps
- Flow Range and Stability of Inducer-Impeller Combinations (1969)
- Performance of Line-Mounted 80° Inducer in Hydrogen (1967)
- Performance of Helical Inducer Operated in Hydrogen(1967)
- Change in Pressure Requirement in Low Temperature Hydrogen(1968)
- Effect of Leading Edge Thickness on Inducer Performance (1970)
- Performance of 78° Helical Inducer in Hydrogen(1976)
- Operation of Liquid Fluorine Pump in Cavitating Flow (1968)
Heat Transfer in Nuclear Systems
- Investigation of Hot-Gas Side Heat Transfer (1965)
- Hot-Gas-Side Heat Transfer in Hydrogen-Oxygen Rocket (1971)
- Hot-Gas-Side Heat Transfer with/without Film Cooling (1972)
- Coolant-Side Heat Transfer Rates for Rocket (1973)
- Heat Transfer of Water-to-Hydrogen Heat Exchanger (1969)
Fluorine Compatibility
- Handling of Fluorine Mixtures in Rockets (1967)
- Compatibility of Materials with Fluorine Mixtures (1966)
- Reaction of Spills of Fluorine upon Various Materials (1966)
Centaur Structural Dynamics
- Atlas-Centaur-Surveyor Longitudinal Dynamics Tests (1967)
- Experimental Longitudinal Dynamics of Atlas Vehicle (1968)
- Experimental Lateral Bending of Atlas-Centaur-Surveyor (1969)
- Bending Strength of Atlas Booster Beyond Skin Wrinkling (1969)
- Centaur Standard Shroud B-3 Setup
- CSS Cryogenic Unlatch Tests (1973)
- Centaur Standard Shroud articles (1972)
- CSS Static Ultimate Load Structural Tests (1975)
- Full Jettison Test Dynamics Analysis (1974)
Nuclear Propellant Flow Systems
- Flow System Startup of a Full-scale Nuclear Rocket (1965)
- Nuclear Rocket Simulator, Flow Initiation with No Turbine Gas (1964)
- Nuclear Rocket Simulator Tests, Flow Initiation (1964)
- B1 NERVA Start Up Dynamics and Control (1966)
- Cooldown of Regenerative Nozzle in Nuclear Rocket Facility (1967)
- B-3 Full-Scale Unfueled Nuclear Rocket (1966)
- Low-Speed Operation of Hydrogen Centrifugal Turbopump (1969)
- Helium Requirements for Pressurization of Centaur Hydrogen Tank (1969)
- Helium Requirements for Pressurization of Centaur Oxygen Tank (1970)
- Performance of Line-Mounted 80° Inducer in Hydrogen (1967)
- Performance of Helical Inducer Operated in Hydrogen(1967)
- Change in Pressure Requirement in Low Temperature Hydrogen(1968)
- Effect of Leading Edge Thickness on Inducer Performance (1970)
Tank Insulation
- External Insulation System for Hydrogen Tanks(1965)
- Ground Hold Study of Hydrogen Tank Insulation (1965)
- Compressed Multilayer Insulation System for Rocket (1963)
- Study Under Groundhold Conditions of Insulation Systems(1965)
- SEMI Prefabricated Panels for Cryogenic Tanks(1968)
- Lightweight, Self-Evacuated Insulation Panels (1970)
- Multilayer Insulation Containing 20 to 160 Layers (1974)
- Performance of Replaceable Multilayer Insulation(1977)
- Integrated Thermal Protection for Long-Term Storage(1977)
Tank Pressurization
- Performance of 78° Helical Inducer in Hydrogen(1976)
- Pressurant for Discharge of Methane From Tank (1974)
- Hydrogen Discharge of Hydrogen From 5-foot Tank (1969)
- Helium Discharge of Hydrogen From 5-foot Tank (1970)
- Hydrogen Discharge of Hydrogen From 13-foot Tank (1969)
- Helium Discharge of Hydrogen From 13-foot Tank (1970)
*Plum Brook Station was renamed the Neil Armstrong Test Facility in 2021.