Author Topic: Edwards AFB rocket propulsion test stands  (Read 32871 times)

Offline Blackstar

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Edwards AFB rocket propulsion test stands
« on: 05/06/2011 01:22 am »
I'm trying to figure out the designations of the different test stands at the Edwards AFB rocket propulsion laboratory.  I'm not finding good information online.  I have some papers describing the various facilities, but cannot find a map that indicates what test stand is what.

Here are some photos of the test stands that I have figured out.

To the right are the water tanks known as the "Five Sisters."  These provide water for cooling the test stands.

The stand at center, with the building on top, is Test Stand 1-C.  This is the one that blew up with the Titan IV motor back in 1991.  To the left of that is what I think is Test Stand 1-D.  That is a former F-1 rocket stand, long mothballed.  Behind it, at center, with only the top of the crane visible, is what I think is Test Stand 1-E.  That is also a former F-1 rocket stand. 

Note that the white building is the National Hover Test Facility, where they test kinetic kill vehicles and things like that.

Offline Blackstar

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Re: Edwards AFB rocket propulsion test stands
« Reply #1 on: 05/06/2011 01:23 am »
Here is a cutaway of Test Stand 1-C, from a 1986 Environmental Impact Statement.  You can see how the Titan SRM was mounted inside the building.

Offline Blackstar

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Re: Edwards AFB rocket propulsion test stands
« Reply #2 on: 05/06/2011 01:25 am »
Another closeup of 1-C, 1-D and 1-E.

UPDATE: This may be 1-D, the test stand on the left in the top picture.
« Last Edit: 05/06/2011 12:50 pm by Blackstar »

Offline Blackstar

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Re: Edwards AFB rocket propulsion test stands
« Reply #3 on: 05/06/2011 01:27 am »
Okay, these are the stands that are confusing me.  I don't know what they are designated.  They are the westernmost test stands, located on the side of the facility closest to Edwards AFB itself.  I think they may be former Atlas and Thor test stands, long retired.  Any ideas?

Also attached is a Google Earth view of three stands.  One has clearly been dismantled.  The A-frame is on the right in the satellite view.  All three stands clearly look long-abandoned, with no vehicles nearby and no indication that they are maintained in any way.
« Last Edit: 05/06/2011 01:58 am by Blackstar »

Offline Blackstar

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Re: Edwards AFB rocket propulsion test stands
« Reply #4 on: 05/06/2011 01:28 am »
AMENDED: Okay, I now have this figured out.  In the upper photo, the partially-dismantled test stand on the right is no longer in use.  The test stand in the center is part of Area 1-120 Complex.  It is Test Stand 2-A.  To the left of that (right next to it) is Test Stand 1-A.  On the back of the ridge (the rectangular thing sticking up with the two prominent spheres on top at the far left of the photo) is Test Stand 1-B, a former F-1 rocket test stand.

Test Stand 2-A was recently refurbished (2004) for horizontal tests.  At bottom is a recent picture.

« Last Edit: 05/06/2011 08:18 pm by Blackstar »

Offline Blackstar

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Re: Edwards AFB rocket propulsion test stands
« Reply #5 on: 05/06/2011 01:31 am »
Here is a closer view.  I know that the pad on the right is the only "active" large test stand on the facility.  In fall of last year it was being prepped for a component test (i.e. not an entire rocket, but maybe only a turbopump).  The one in the middle is a former F-1 test stand (in fact, many of the big test stands were formerly F-1 test stands).  It may be in reserve right now, not planned for any new rocket tests, but able to be refurbished relatively quickly.

And I really don't know what the test stand is in back.  It is not built like these other ones.

You can see all three stands in the satellite view on Google Earth.
« Last Edit: 05/06/2011 01:59 am by Blackstar »

Offline Blackstar

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Re: Edwards AFB rocket propulsion test stands
« Reply #6 on: 05/06/2011 01:42 am »
Here is a picture from Google Earth.  This shows the active test stand at left, and the retired F-1 test stand at middle.  I do not know what the stand is at right.  I think these are 1-A, 1-C and 2-A, but I'm not sure.

Offline Blackstar

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Re: Edwards AFB rocket propulsion test stands
« Reply #7 on: 05/06/2011 01:44 am »
Test Stand 1-C (the one with the American flag painted on the side of the tall shed) is at center here.  1-D is at top.  1-E is at right.  The white building at left center is the National Hover Test Facility.

Offline kevin-rf

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Re: Edwards AFB rocket propulsion test stands
« Reply #8 on: 05/06/2011 01:59 am »
Here is a cutaway of Test Stand 1-C, from a 1986 Environmental Impact Statement.  You can see how the Titan SRM was mounted inside the building.

Now, that is a test stand. I never knew any large solids where tested that way. That has to be quite a test stand to survive a full duration SRM burn.

The AJ-260-2 was mounted flamey side up, so it does not count ;)
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Offline Blackstar

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Re: Edwards AFB rocket propulsion test stands
« Reply #9 on: 05/06/2011 02:01 am »
And just so you know what these things look like in action, here is one of the stands during an F-1 engine test.  This is Test Stand 1-C, which is now the test stand with the big shed on top of it, the one that blew up in 1991.
« Last Edit: 05/06/2011 02:05 am by Blackstar »

Offline kevin-rf

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Re: Edwards AFB rocket propulsion test stands
« Reply #10 on: 05/06/2011 02:31 am »
I realize it's 50 years out of date, but there was an Atlas site posted a while back that had some really nice photo's of Atlas's on the test stands. Btw googling "Leuhman Ridge atlas" does turn up a picture of an Atlas RUD on one of the test stands.

I assume you are writing an article for something, no?

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Offline Blackstar

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Re: Edwards AFB rocket propulsion test stands
« Reply #11 on: 05/06/2011 11:46 am »
I assume you are writing an article for something, no?

Already written, but I need to confirm the ID of the test stands.  Problem is that I cannot find a map of the overall facility.  Their web presence is limited.

Offline Blackstar

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Re: Edwards AFB rocket propulsion test stands
« Reply #12 on: 05/06/2011 12:46 pm »
I've updated some of this based upon new information.  See above.

The currently active test stand is 2-A.  Here's an article from 2004:

http://www.californiaspaceauthority.org/html/press-releasesandletters/pr040114b.html


Offline Art LeBrun

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Re: Edwards AFB rocket propulsion test stands
« Reply #13 on: 05/06/2011 05:11 pm »
I thought I could read stand and building numbers on the photo but the scan seems to be not so sharp. 1957 drawing.

If you like the old images here is one...........
1958 launch vehicle highlights: Vanguard TV-4 and Atlas 12B

Offline max isp

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Re: Edwards AFB rocket propulsion test stands
« Reply #14 on: 05/06/2011 05:37 pm »
There were five test stands with six positions constructed and used for F-1 firings. These were split into two test areas located on the northeast end of Luehman Ridge.

-   Area 1-120, now known as the Advanced Launch System Complex. This area consists of three liquid rocket stands, with five firing positions, a control center and various support facilities. Vertical stand 1-A is a single position stand designed for 1,500,000 lbs thrust rocket systems. Vertical stand 1-B is a dual position stand now capable of 6,000,000 lbs thrust rocket systems. All three positions (1-A, 1-B1 and 1-B2) were used for F-1 engine testing. The 1-A (for Atlas) and 1-B (for Thor) test stands had been used since the 1950s, but were adapted for the first Saturn F-1 firings in 1961. Stand 1-A underwent further modification in the spring of 1964 as the flame deflector and eroded ground adjacent to this needed rework. A third stand in this complex, stand 2-A, is a two-position horizontal stand designed for 750,000 lbs thrust component testing. This stand was never used for F-1 engine firings although it was used to test F-1 Thrust Chamber Assemblies. Stand 2-A underwent an $18.5 million, 18 month, modernization and refurbishment activity that was completed as recently as January 2004.

-   Area 1-125, now known as the Large Systems Complex. This area consists of three large rocket stands and necessary support structures and equipment. This complex was built specifically for F-1 engine testing and was activated in mid 1964. Vertical stand 1-C, activated on 10 June 1964, today can support solid rocket motors with thrusts up to 1,600,000 lbs. Vertical stand 1-D is capable of firing engines up to 1,500,000 lbs thrust. It was built in the first half of 1964 and first fired an F-1 engine on 1 July 1964. Vertical stand 1-E originally had the same characteristics as stand 1-D, but is now the location of the National Hover Test Facility (NHTF). This stand was activated in September 1964. NASA formally accepted the complex on 9 October 1964 with a firing ceremony witnessed by Wernher Von Braun. All three stands (1-C, 1-D and 1-E) were used for F-1 engine firings. In addition to the F-1, some Saturn H-1 engine firings were performed at this complex.

Offline Blackstar

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Re: Edwards AFB rocket propulsion test stands
« Reply #15 on: 05/06/2011 05:54 pm »
Thanks for that.  Although I had most of that (from an AIAA paper) it confirms things a little more.

I've now been able to figure out that as you stand on the desert (I think it's called "Rocket Road") and face Leuhman Ridge, the large test stands are divided into three sections.

Assuming that to the right is west (closest to the main Edwards base and the Rogers Dry Lake), and left is east, then this is what you get:

-far right: three old abandoned large test stands (I don't yet know their designation).  These were apparently the first ones built at the facility and used for Atlas and Thor tests.  One is an A-frame structure.  Google Earth shows that they're clearly abandoned.  There is a photo on the net of one of them blowing up, and the caption indicates that it was not repaired.

-center: 1-A, 2-A, and 1-B (from left to right, respectively).  1-A was developed for Atlas (see the image Art posted above) and converted for F-1 tests.  2-A is the only currently active large test stand, refurbished in 2004 and used for horizontal component testing.  1-B could be put back into service if it is refurbished, but there are no current plans to do so.  (I don't know about 1-A.)

AMENDED: I got the order wrong.  The Test Stand to the left of 2-A is actually Test Stand 1-A, and Test Stand 1-B is on the backside of the ridge.

-far left: 1-C (the one with the shed and the American flag), not used since Titan IV SRM testing in the early 1990s.  1-D, which was apparently also refurbished in the mid-2000s and may be equipped for horizontal testing.  And around the back side of the ridge, 1-E, where the test stand is apparently still intact, but the other supporting facilities have been converted for use with the NHTV.

Alas, I don't have software for labeling images, or I would just grab an overall image from Google Earth and put names and arrows on it, labeling the different test stands.

What I would love to get is an overall map of the facility that showed all of this, but no luck so far.  The facility's web presence is pretty poor, and I suspect that the fact that they're located in the Mojave Desert but managed out of Ohio might mean that their public communications are nearly nonexistent.
« Last Edit: 05/06/2011 08:15 pm by Blackstar »

Offline Jim

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Re: Edwards AFB rocket propulsion test stands
« Reply #16 on: 05/06/2011 06:08 pm »
There are some maps of Atlas facilities at EAFB on the  Peter Hunter Atlas CD.

Online AnalogMan

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Re: Edwards AFB rocket propulsion test stands
« Reply #17 on: 05/06/2011 07:33 pm »
Not sure if this is of any help - I overlaid the 1986 Environmental Impact Assessment map on top of a Google Earth image (scaling of the line drawing is a little distorted, but I placed it with best eye alignment on the test stand area)

Offline Blackstar

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Re: Edwards AFB rocket propulsion test stands
« Reply #18 on: 05/06/2011 08:13 pm »
Actually, that _is_ useful, because it indicates that the pad that is on the backside of the ridge, behind 2-A, is 1-B.  I have to amend what I wrote earlier.

Offline Blackstar

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Re: Edwards AFB rocket propulsion test stands
« Reply #19 on: 05/08/2011 01:32 pm »
Thanks to a tip from Jim, I looked at Peter Hunter's Atlas set.  Only found one map, but it depicts the early Atlas test stands.
« Last Edit: 05/08/2011 01:32 pm by Blackstar »

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