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Man in Space A National Historic Landmark Theme Study

I. Unmanned Spacecraft Test Facilities

19. Spacecraft Magnetic Test Facility (Goddard Space Flight Center)
20. Twenty-Five-Foot Space Simulator (Jet Propulsion Laboratory)

These facilities are recommended for designation as National Historic Landmarks because they illustrate the extensive ground support testing facilities needed to accomplish the American unmanned space program—the exploration of the near and deep space environment. The Spacecraft Magnetic Test Facility represents the role of the Goddard Space Flight Center in the American space program. This facility, the only one of its type in NASA's inventory, enables NASA to determine and minimize the magnetic movement of even the largest unmanned spacecraft and thereby eliminate unwanted torques due to the interaction of the spacecraft with the Earth's magnetic field. The Twenty-Five-Foot Space Simulator is the only NASA facility capable of producing the true interplanetary conditions of cold, high vacuum, and intense solar radiation coupled with a large test chamber that can accommodate large space vehicles. Both of these facilities have contributed to the success of the American unmanned space program and represent the technological sophistication of the support facilities necessary to accomplish that program.

Last Modified: Mon, Jan 8 2001 10:00:00 am PDT
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