The Zero Gravity Research Facility at the

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Glenn Research Center NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field is a NASA center within the cities of Brook Park and Cleveland between Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and the Rocky River Reservation of Cleveland Metroparks, with a subsidiary facilit ...

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is a unique facility designed to perform tests in a

reduced gravity Weightlessness is the complete or near-complete absence of the sensation of weight. It is also termed zero gravity, zero G-force, or zero-G. Weight is a measurement of the force on an object at rest in a relatively strong gravitational fi ...

environment. It has successfully supported research for the United States

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programs and numerous uncrewed projects. The facility uses vertical drop tests in a

vacuum chamber A vacuum chamber is a rigid enclosure from which air and other gases are removed by a vacuum pump. This results in a low-pressure environment within the chamber, commonly referred to as a vacuum. A vacuum environment allows researchers to con ...

to investigate the behavior of components, systems, liquids, gases, and combustion in such circumstances. The facility consists of a concrete-lined shaft, in diameter, that extends below ground level. A steel vacuum chamber, in diameter and high, is contained within the concrete shaft. The pressure in this vacuum chamber is reduced to 13.3

pascals The pascal (symbol: Pa) is the unit of pressure in the International System of Units (SI), and is also used to quantify internal pressure, stress, Young's modulus, and ultimate tensile strength. The unit, named after Blaise Pascal, is defined ...

(1.3 atm) before use. Test equipment is typically mounted in a cylindrical container, and has a maximum weight of . Equipment dropped in the chamber experiences microgravity for about 5.15 seconds before landing in a deceleration cart filled with expanded styrofoam beads; it typically experiences 32g during deceleration, but may range up to 65g. The service building at the top of the shaft contains a shop area, control room, and a

clean room A cleanroom or clean room is an engineered space, which maintains a very low concentration of airborne particulates. It is well isolated, well-controlled from contamination, and actively cleansed. Such rooms are commonly needed for scientif ...

. Assembly, servicing, and balancing of the experiment vehicle are accomplished in the shop area. Tests are conducted from the control room, which contains controls for the "pump down" of the vacuum chamber, the experiment vehicle pre-drop checkout, release and the data retrieval system.

History

The Zero Gravity Research Facility was built in 1966 as part of NASA's Centaur upper-stage rocket development program. In order to ensure proper firing and functioning of upper-stage rockets, NASA needed to understand the behavior of fluids (importantly, the liquid gases fueling the rockets), in the reduced gravity where they would fire. The facility was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1985 for its role in the early space program.

References

External links

Zero Gravity Research Facility
{{authority control Buildings and structures in Cleveland Glenn Research Center Buildings and structures completed in 1966 National Historic Landmarks in Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Cleveland, Ohio Weightlessness