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NASA Breaks Ground For Advanced Propulsion Research Lab
Huntsville - Jul 09, 2002 NASA sbroke ground Monday on a state-of-the-art research facility intended to revolutionize 21st century space propulsion, helping to power future space vehicles on journeys to the farthest reaches of the solar system -- and, eventually, beyond it. The Propulsion Research Laboratory -- part of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center -- will be housed on a 21-acre site on Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala. It will be occupied primarily by propulsion scientists and technologists from the Marshall Center's existing Propulsion Research Center. "This world-class facility sets the stage for propulsion research that will utterly revolutionize space travel as we know it," said Marshall Center Director Art Stephenson, who was expected to share earth-turning duties at the ceremony with U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama and U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer of Alabama's 5th Congressional District. "Scientific exploration of our solar system and the galaxy beyond can no longer afford to be delayed by the limitations of conventional propulsion technologies," Stephenson added. "Today, we turn over the first sods of earth for construction," said Dr. Stephen L. Rodgers, manager of the Propulsion Research Center. "In very short order, we will turn over the conventions of modern space travel as we know it, and rewrite the textbook on how future deep-space missions are flown." The 108,000-square-foot facility will provide office and laboratory space for propulsion research and small-scale experiments supporting cheaper, more efficient and safer access to space. Studies will be conducted in a number of fields, including solar energy, advanced chemical propulsion technologies, and processes based on fission, fusion and antimatter. Construction is expected to be completed in April 2004 The facility's site was a natural choice, Rodgers said, given the Marshall Center's existing, world-class, propulsion-study resources, as well as Marshall's partnership with the National Space Science and Technology Center. The NSSTC, a Huntsville-based clearinghouse for cutting-edge space science and propulsion research, was founded by the Marshall Center, along with local, state and national university partners and other federal agencies. It has been in operation since 2001. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Space Transport at NASA/MSFC SLI NEWS SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com
Successful First Test For Vega's Zefiro 9 Engine
Paris, France(ESA) Dec 28, 2005Flames, smoke and a deafening noise accompanied the first firing test of Vega's Zefiro 9 third-stage solid rocket motor. A first examination of the data indicates that everything went well at the test carried out yesterday at Salto de Quirra in southeast Sardinia. |
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