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All test stands require safety provisions to protect against the destructive potential of an unplanned engine detonation. The safety provisions generally include building the stand some minimum distance from inhabited areas or other critical facilities, placing the stand behind a thick concrete blast
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engines may be fired in either a vertical or horizontal orientation. The thrust measurement system does not need to account for the changing weight of the rocket in a horizontal position. The associated flame trench need not be so sturdy as with a vertical test stand, however a water system may be
188:
The facility must restrain the rocket and direct the rocket exhaust safely toward the open atmosphere. Structural integrity, system operations, and sea level thrust can be measured and verified. However, rockets are primarily intended for operations in very thin or no atmosphere. Systems that work
246:
An altitude facility is much more complex than a sea level facility. The rocket is installed inside an enclosed chamber which is evacuated to a minimum pressure level before rocket firing. A typical chamber operating pressure of 0.16 psia (equivalent to an altitude of 100,000 feet) is established
204:(TMS) must be accounted for as the engine is firing. The rocket exhaust is directed into a flame bucket or trench. The flame trench is designed to redirect the hot exhaust to a safe direction and is protected by a water deluge system that both cools the exhaust and also reduces the
66:
testing is useful for evaluations of start characteristics for rockets launched from the ground. However, sea level testing does not provide a true simulation of the majority of the operating environment of the rocket. Better simulations are provided by altitude test facilities.
46:
may be tested on the ground, under controlled conditions. A ground test program is generally required before the engine is certified for flight. Ground testing is very inexpensive in comparison to the cost of risking an entire mission or the lives of a
247:
inside the chamber by some form of mechanical pumping. Mechanical pumping is typically provided by steam ejector/diffusers. If the products of combustion from the rocket firing include flammable or
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251:, the chamber must be inerted, typically with gaseous nitrogen (GN2). The inerting process prevents build-up of potentially explosive materials inside the chamber or exhaust ducting.
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212:). The sound pressure level of large rocket engines has been measured at greater than 200 decibels — one of the loudest man-made sounds.
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engines are usually fired in a vertical position because the propellant pump intakes are designed to draw fuel from the bottoms of the
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decreases with increasing altitude. Effects of the lower air pressure include higher rocket thrust and lower heat transfer.
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A typical sea level test stand may be designed to restrain the rocket engine in either a horizontal or vertical position.
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Sea- level and High
Altitude Test Facilities- Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, India
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The advantage of altitude testing is to obtain a better simulation of the rocket's operating environment.
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852:"NTS San Bernardino — World-Class High Pressure/High Flow Fluid and Rocket Engine Testing"
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Location where rocket engines may be tested on the ground, under controlled conditions
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231:(either gaseous nitrogen or helium) to eliminate the buildup of explosive mixtures.
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896:"Redlands, Loma Linda, Riverside, California Rocket Motor Production Facilities"
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767:, a private non-profit organisation operating on open source principles
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320:
300:
105: in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
918:"Historic Silicon Valley site becoming new public open space preserve"
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National
Technical Systems' NTS Rocket and Fluids Test Laboratory at
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997:"SpaceX Leases Pad in New Mexico for Next Grasshopper Tests"
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224:
830:"Northrop Grumman Capistrano Test Site Special Collection"
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well on the ground may behave very differently in space.
639:
Rocket ground test facilities outside the United States
259:
54:
The test conditions available are usually described as
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less effective at reducing the sound pressure level.
200:. The effect of the propellant weight on the thrust
808:"Lockheed Martin Santa Cruz Facility, California"
1111:
940:"Marshall Space Flight Center Test Capabilities"
449:'s Portrero Canyon and Laborde Canyon test sites
254:
596:Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center
468:'s Remote Rocket Engine Test Facility in the
328:'s Skytop Rocket Test Propulsion Facility at
1104:NASA Rocket Propulsion Test Program Office
786:"Astra – Alameda's Hometown Rocket Company"
601:SpaceX Rocket Development and Test Facility
988:
165:Learn how and when to remove this message
964:"NASA's Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility"
810:. The Center for Land Use Interpretation
176:
29:
874:"Beaumont California Rocket Test Sites"
503:'s Coyote Ridge testing sites south of
1112:
994:
587:Arnold Engineering Development Center
745:- (No longer in use) United Kingdom.
730:- (No longer in use) United Kingdom.
642:
416:San Bernardino International Airport
378:Astra (American spaceflight company)
369:Astra (American spaceflight company)
330:Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake
263:
260:Test facilities in the United States
103:adding citations to reliable sources
74:
920:. The Mercury News. August 12, 2016
514:Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems
181:Sea Level engine test stand at the
13:
832:. San Diego Air & Space Museum
788:. Alameda Post. September 16, 2022
610:SpaceX high-altitude test facility
70:
14:
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267:
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898:. Lockheed Martin. 14 June 2022
455:'s Redlands Proving Grounds in
90:needs additional citations for
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910:
888:
876:. Lockheed Martin. 2 June 2022
866:
844:
822:
800:
778:
380:'s testing facility at former
1:
984:EMRTC Rocket Engine Test Site
771:
496:Santa Susana Field Laboratory
402:'s Capistrano Test Site near
313:Air Force Research Laboratory
255:Rocket ground test facilities
114:"Rocket engine test facility"
556:Marshall Space Flight Center
447:Grand Central Rocket Company
411:'s rocket testing facilities
183:John C. Stennis Space Center
7:
579:Hancock County, Mississippi
453:Lockheed Propulsion Company
443:Lockheed Propulsion Company
364:Vandenberg Space Force Base
40:rocket engine test facility
25:Rocket Engine Test Facility
10:
1151:
1051:Rocket Propulsion Elements
743:High Down Rocket Test Site
438:Rancho Cordova, California
420:San Bernardino, California
393:'s Santa Cruz Facility in
315:Propulsion Directorate at
18:
995:Leone, Dan (2013-05-13).
612:at Las Cruces, New Mexico
566:White Sands Test Facility
479:Jet Propulsion Laboratory
409:Mojave Air and Space Port
356:United States Space Force
343:Naval Base Ventura County
227:, and using some form of
34:Rocket firing at the WSTF
1120:Aerospace system testing
713:NII-229 (NIIKhIMMash) -
631:Engine Test Facility at
430:Douglas Aircraft Company
404:San Clemente, California
1075:Bilstein, R.E., (2003)
697:ISRO Propulsion Complex
584:United States Air Force
470:Angeles National Forest
371:'s testing facility in
309:United States Air Force
1026:"XCOR Main Propulsion"
765:Copenhagen Suborbitals
570:Las Cruces, New Mexico
483:Edwards Air Force Base
461:Loma Linda, California
395:Santa Cruz, California
317:Edwards Air Force Base
185:
35:
1049:Sutton, G.P., (1976)
682:DLR Lampoldshausen -
487:Goldstone, California
466:Marquardt Corporation
436:'s SACTO facility in
382:Castle Air Force Base
360:Space Systems Command
180:
33:
21:Glenn Research Center
1007:on September 3, 2013
660:adding missing items
575:Stennis Space Center
505:San Jose, California
457:Redlands, California
281:adding missing items
99:improve this article
42:is a location where
1062:Lawrie, A., (2005)
501:United Technologies
386:Atwater, California
373:Alameda, California
249:explosive materials
966:. NASA. 2021-11-02
734:Woomera Test Range
658:; you can help by
633:Mojave, California
561:Plum Brook Station
550:, Elkton Controls)
347:San Nicolas Island
339:United States Navy
326:United States Navy
279:; you can help by
202:measurement system
186:
36:
1125:Rocket propulsion
1097:Rocket Propulsion
684:Baden-Württemberg
676:
675:
362:'s facilities at
297:
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175:
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56:sea level ambient
1142:
1077:Stages To Saturn
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1003:. Archived from
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544:Elkton, Maryland
540:Northrop Grumman
518:Promontory, Utah
400:Northrop Grumman
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738:South Australia
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605:McGregor, Texas
592:New Mexico Tech
391:Lockheed Martin
345:'s facility on
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229:inerting system
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19:For the former
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1130:Rocket engines
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1099:Test Alliance
1091:
1090:External links
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1028:. www.xcor.com
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116: –
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110:Find sources:
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88:This section
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1044:Bibliography
1030:. Retrieved
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1009:. Retrieved
1005:the original
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968:. Retrieved
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947:. Retrieved
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922:. Retrieved
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900:. Retrieved
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846:
834:. Retrieved
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812:. Retrieved
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790:. Retrieved
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701:Mahendragiri
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241:Air pressure
238:
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216:Solid rocket
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97:Please help
92:verification
89:
59:
55:
53:
39:
37:
749:Refshaleøen
667:August 2008
616:Blue Origin
534:Orbital ATK
288:August 2008
49:flight crew
1114:Categories
1032:2017-03-13
1011:2013-08-03
970:2023-01-31
949:2023-01-31
924:January 1,
902:January 1,
880:January 1,
858:January 1,
836:January 1,
814:January 1,
792:January 1,
772:References
763:, Used by
753:Copenhagen
705:Tamil Nadu
656:incomplete
620:Corn Ranch
568:(WSTF) at
546:(Formally
520:(formerly
492:Rocketdyne
434:Rocketdyne
351:California
334:California
321:California
301:California
277:incomplete
198:fuel tanks
125:newspapers
1095:National
1001:SpaceNews
481:sites at
155:July 2018
64:Sea level
426:Dormant
210:loudness
60:altitude
757:Denmark
715:Zagorsk
688:Germany
548:Thiokol
526:Thiokol
445:'s and
432:'s and
305:Active
208:level (
139:scholar
1082:
1069:
1064:Saturn
1056:
945:. NASA
723:Russia
141:
134:
127:
120:
112:
943:(PDF)
854:. NTS
709:India
146:JSTOR
132:books
1080:ISBN
1067:ISBN
1054:ISBN
926:2023
904:2023
882:2023
860:2023
838:2023
816:2023
794:2023
485:and
475:NASA
459:and
225:berm
118:news
736:-
662:.
622:at
618:'s
603:at
594:'s
577:at
530:ATK
494:'s
477:'s
418:in
384:in
358:'s
341:'s
311:'s
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101:by
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27:.
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