NASA fired up about B-2 upgrades

Editor's note: Look for exclusive Register reporting on major developments at NASA Plum Brook:• Part 1: A sit-down interview with the center's new boss• Part 2: Plum Brook opening its portals to the public• Part 3: Orion "sounding good" in recent tests• Today: B-2 looking more like an A-1 facility PERKINS TWP. — For almost two decades, NASA officials iced all "hotfire" activity inside an aging rocket testing chamber at the Plum Brook Station.But, thanks to a state grant, engineers and space industry leaders will likely have a blast reigniting activity in an upgraded environment.A major job modernizing Plum Brook's B-2 facility recently concluded.The state in 2014 awarded $2 million to Milan-based technology company Sierra Lobo so employees or contractors could inspect and refurbish three pumps required for rocket testing.They removed, repaired and reinstalled the three pumps to ensure better testing opportunities at B-2."Without these upgrades, we would not be able to fire a large engine in our chamber and wouldn't be able to run our exhaust system," said John Zang, Plum Brook's mechanical engineer.B-2's pumps help cool rocket exhaust as it passes from the nozzle throughout the rest of the facility, allowing for productive small rocket engine testing — the first step toward handling larger rocket testing.Space industry leaders characterize the B-2 as Earth's only facility capable of testing full-scale, upper-stage vehicles and rocket engines under high-altitude and space-like conditions.No rocket test has occurred at the B-2, built in the early 1960s, since the Delta III rockets during the late 1990s. The pumps have not been replaced, or even tinkered with, since B-2 opened about 50 years ago at Plum Brook, located in Erie County.NASA staffers, however, expect to resume testing on a lander-type vehicle later this fall."This positions B-2 to be the only facility in the (NASA) agency or in the country, for that matter, that can do unmanned lander testing," said David Taylor, Plum Brook's deputy director. "It helps us to ensure mission success on NASA's robotic missions if we decide to send robotics on the moon, Mars or on an asteroid." Understanding NASA Plum Brook's B-2 facility• The full name is the Spacecraft Propulsion Research Facility, but it's often referred to as B-2• It's known as the world's only facility capable of testing full-scale, upper-stage vehicles and rocket engines under high-altitude and space-like conditions• During testing there, an engine or vehicle can be exposed to low ambient pressures, low background temperatures and dynamic solar heating conditions for prolonged periods of time — tests simulating environments the hardware would likely encounter during orbital or interplanetary travel• The 62-foot vacuum chamber is 38 feet in diameter• Can support 400,000 pounds of thrusting motion• It's the biggest space chamber handling liquid hydrogen in the world• It's the most capable place to test the next generation of space electric propulsion enginesSource: NASAA state grant paid for refurbishing three pumps inside the NASA Plum Brook Station's B-2 facility. The pumps help cool rocket exhaust as it passes from the nozzle throughout the rest of the facility, allowing for productive small rocket engine testing — the first step toward handling larger rocket testing.NASA Plum Brook B-2 facility manager Gerald Hill, left, and Plum Brook mechanical engineer John Zang, right, talk about the recent upgrades to the B-2 Facility.NASA Plum Brook Station mechanical engineer John Zang talks about the recent upgrades made inside the B-2 facility.Outside the B-2 facility at NASA Plum Brook Station.A state grant paid for refurbishing three pumps inside the NASA Plum Brook Station's B-2 facility. The pumps help cool rocket exhaust as it passes from the nozzle throughout the rest of the facility, allowing for productive small rocket engine testing — the first step toward handling larger rocket testing.