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NASA NTRS1998

Performance of the Spacecraft Propulsion Research Facility During Altitude Firing Tests of the Delta 3 Upper Stage

The Spacecraft Propulsion Research Facility at the NASA Lewis Research Center's Plum Brook Station was reactivated in order to conduct flight simulation ground tests of the Delta 3 cryogenic upper stage. The tests were a cooperative effort between The Boeing Company, Pratt and Whitney, and NASA. They included demonstration of tanking and detanking of liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen and helium pressurant gas as well as 12 engine firings simulating first, second, and third burns at altitude conditions. A key to the success of these tests was the performance of the primary facility systems and their interfaces with the vehicle. These systems included the structural support of the vehicle, propellant supplies, data acquisition, facility control systems, and the altitude exhaust system. While the facility connections to the vehicle umbilical panel simulated the performance of the launch pad systems, additional purge and electrical connections were also required which were unique to ground testing of the vehicle. The altitude exhaust system permitted an approximate simulation of the boost-phase pressure profile by rapidly pumping the test chamber from 13 psia to 0.5 psia as well as maintaining altitude conditions during extended steady-state firings. The performance of the steam driven ejector exhaust system has been correlated with variations in cooling water temperature during these tests. This correlation and comparisons to limited data available from Centaur tests conducted in the facility from 1969-1971 provided insight into optimizing the operation of the exhaust system for future tests. Overall, the facility proved to be robust and flexible for vehicle space simulation engine firings and enabled all test objectives to be successfully completed within the planned schedule.

Meyer, Michael L.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Mir Glovebox Facility

The Glovebox Facility on Mir was developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center for use on the space shuttle middeck and modified slightly for use on the Mir Space Station. Its design is based on a similar facility provided by the European Space Agency for use on Spacelab and flown on the USML-I and 2 missions. Its purpose is to provide a work space for experiments which is isolated from the manned environment while allowing a high degree of access to the experiment apparatus. It also provides experiment power, lighting, and data acquisition. This facility has successfully supported 7 experiments representing the fluid physics and combustion disciplines during NASA increments 2 - 5. During over 400 hours of operation, only 3 minor facility anomalies were encountered, none of which prevented science operations or resulted in hazardous conditions. No in-flight maintenance has been required through increment 5. Crew comments have been generally favorable, stressing the usefulness, reliability and ease of use of the facility. The success of the glovebox to date demonstrates the value of this type of multi-use facility in a space station environment.

Kroes, Roger L.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Liquid Engine Test Facilities Assessment

The John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC) requested The Aerospace Corporation to examine the current testing capability of all existing large liquid engine test facilities located in the United States. That information along with projected liquid rocket engine development was used to examine future liquid rocket engine testing facilities needs in the coming decade. Current domestic liquid engine test facilities capabilities, when examined against engine concepts for the coming decade, indicate there are ample facilities offering altitude simulation during test. In addition, it was observed that many contractor facilities have limited ambient test capability of larger thrust engines under current consideration. Finally, it was concluded that diminished contractor participation engine development testing will drive this activity to the government sector. Only three facilities are seen as key contributors to engine testing in the coming decade, namely John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC), Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), and Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). Past rocket engine test experience was evaluated as a possible resource for projecting future engine test needs. A database comprised of various engine models and the level of testing performed to flight qualify those systems for their first flight was constructed. For comparison purposes in this study, development and qualification efforts were totaled and treated as one test program. Based on experience with past Air Force programs, the time on the test stand accounts for typically 50% or more of the total program time. Historical data show that the time to design and develop new engines has increased over the last 40 years, most likely due to scarcer resources in today's funding environment.

Adams, Michael J.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Fuel-Flexible Gas Turbine Combustor Flametube Facility

Facility modifications have been completed to an existing combustor flametube facility to enable testing with gaseous hydrogen propellants at the NASA Glenn Research Center. The purpose of the facility is to test a variety of fuel nozzle and flameholder hardware configurations for use in aircraft combustors. Facility capabilities have been expanded to include testing with gaseous hydrogen, along with the existing hydrocarbon-based jet fuel. Modifications have also been made to the facility air supply to provide heated air up to 350 psig, 1100 F, and 3.0 lbm/s. The facility can accommodate a wide variety of flametube and fuel nozzle configurations. Emissions and performance data are obtained via a variety of gas sample probe configurations and emissions measurement equipment.

Little, James E.↗

NASA NTRS2004

A Summary of DOD-Sponsored Research Performed at NASA Langley's Impact Dynamics Research Facility

The Impact Dynamics Research Facility (IDRF) is a 240-ft.-high gantry structure located at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The IDRF was originally built in the early 1960's for use as a Lunar Landing Research Facility. As such, the facility was configured to simulate the reduced gravitational environment of the Moon, allowing the Apollo astronauts to practice lunar landings under realistic conditions. In 1985, the IDRF was designated a National Historic Landmark based on its significant contributions to the Apollo Moon Landing Program. In the early 1970's the facility was converted into its current configuration as a full-scale crash test facility for light aircraft and rotorcraft. Since that time, the IDRF has been used to perform a wide variety of impact tests on full-scale aircraft, airframe components, and space vehicles in support of the General Aviation (GA) aircraft industry, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), the rotorcraft industry, and the NASA Space program. The objectives of this paper are twofold: to describe the IDRF facility and its unique capabilities for conducting structural impact testing, and to summarize the impact tests performed at the IDRF in support of the DOD. These tests cover a time period of roughly 2 1/2 decades, beginning in 1975 with the full-scale crash test of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter, and ending in 1999 with the external fuel system qualification test of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. NASA officially closed the IDRF in September 2003; consequently, it is important to document the past contributions made in improved human survivability and impact tolerance through DOD-sponsored research performed at the IDRF.

Jackson, Karen E.↗

NASA NTRS2005

Facility Activation and Characterization for IPD Turbopump Testing at NASA Stennis Space Center

The Integrated Powerhead Demonstrator (IPD) is a 250K lbf (1.1 MN) thrust cryogenic hydrogen/oxygen engine technology demonstrator that utilizes a full flow staged combustion engine cycle. The Integrated Powerhead Demonstrator (IPD) is, in part, supported by NASA. IPD is also supported through the Department of Defense's Integrated High Payoff Rocket Propulsion Technology (IHPRPT) program, which seeks to increase the performance and capability of today's state-of-the-art rocket propulsion systems while decreasing costs associated with military and commercial access to space. The primary industry participants include Boeing-Rocketdyne and GenCorp Aerojet. The IPD Program recently achieved two major milestones. The first was the successful completion of the IPD Oxidizer Turbopump (OTP) hot-fire test project at the NASA John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC) E-1 test facility in June 2003. A total of nine IPD Workhorse Preburner tests were completed, and subsequently 12 IPD OTP hot-fire tests were completed. The second major milestone was the successful completion of the IPD Fuel Turbopump (FTP) cold-flow test project at the NASA SSC E-1 test facility in November 2003. A total of six IPD FTP cold-flow tests were completed. The next phase of development involves IPD integrated engine system testing also at the NASA SSC E-1 test facility scheduled to begin in early 2005. Following and overview of the NASA SSC E-1 test facility, this paper addresses the facility aspects pertaining to the activation and testing of the IPD oxidizer and fuel turbopumps. In addition, some of the facility challenges encountered and the lessons learned during the test projects shall be detailed.

Sass, J. P.↗

NASA NTRS1997

Facilitating Science--The International Space Station Fluids and Combustion Facility

Scientists in many fields would like to perform experiments on the International Space Station (ISS) to take advantage of the unique environment of microgravity (which is the near-absence of gravity). The ISS will provide the opportunity for scientists to perform microgravity tests over much longer time periods than previously available on the space shuttle--months rather than hours or days--providing more data that could lead to new discoveries. Many of the experiments on ISS will be conducted through the use of new microgravity science facilities. A microgravity science facility is a complete system of on-orbit and ground (on-Earth) hardware, software, operations, and plans that have been optimized to perform sustained microgravity research in one or two scientific disciplines. The facility concept includes hardware that remains on-orbit (because of its general usefulness) and a small amount of unique hardware that is developed for each principal investigator. Such unique hardware customizes the facility to perform a given principal investigator's experiment effectively. Many facilities are planned for the ISS to accommodate scientists' needs. While the quality and quantity of scientific data are being improved, per-experiment costs will be lowered relative to other ways of performing such experiments. The NASA Lewis Research Center is developing a Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF) to perform microgravity fluids and combustion experiments on the ISS. The FCF will be the lowest cost, most resource efficient approach to performing fluid physics and combustion science experiments on the ISS. Experiments performed in the FCF will be 3 to 9 times less expensive than similar Spacelab experiments. Moreover, use of key ISS resources, such as upmass, power, cooling, and astronaut crew time, will be cut by the same factor.

Winsa, Edward A.↗

NASA NTRS2002

High-Pressure Gaseous Burner (HPGB) Facility Completed for Quantitative Laser Diagnostics Calibration

A gas-fueled high-pressure combustion facility with optical access, which was developed over the last 2 years, has just been completed. The High Pressure Gaseous Burner (HPGB) rig at the NASA Glenn Research Center can operate at sustained pressures up to 60 atm with a variety of gaseous fuels and liquid jet fuel. The facility is unique as it is the only continuous-flow, hydrogen-capable, 60-atm rig in the world with optical access. It will provide researchers with new insights into flame conditions that simulate the environment inside the ultra-high-pressure-ratio combustion chambers of tomorrow's advanced aircraft engines. The facility provides optical access to the flame zone, enabling the calibration of nonintrusive optical diagnostics to measure chemical species and temperature. The data from the HPGB rig enables the validation of numerical codes that simulate gas turbine combustors, such as the National Combustor Code (NCC). The validation of such numerical codes is often best achieved with nonintrusive optical diagnostic techniques that meet these goals: information-rich (multispecies) and quantitative while providing good spatial and time resolution. Achieving these goals is a challenge for most nonintrusive optical diagnostic techniques. Raman scattering is a technique that meets these challenges. Raman scattering occurs when intense laser light interacts with molecules to radiate light at a shifted wavelength (known as the Raman shift). This shift in wavelength is unique to each chemical species and provides a "fingerprint" of the different species present. The facility will first be used to gather a comprehensive data base of laser Raman spectra at high pressures. These calibration data will then be used to quantify future laser Raman measurements of chemical species concentration and temperature in this facility and other facilities that use Raman scattering.

Nguyen, Quang-Viet↗

NASA NTRS2004

Fuel Flexible Gas Turbine Combustor Flametube Facility Upgraded

In fiscal year 2003, test cell 23 of the Research Combustion Laboratory (RCL 23) at the NASA Glenn Research Center was upgraded with the addition of gaseous hydrogen as a working propellant and the addition of a 450-psig air-supply system. Test flexibility was further enhanced by upgrades to the facility control systems. RCL 23 can now test with gaseous hydrogen flow rates up to 0.05 lbm/sec and jet fuel flow rates up to 0.62 lbm/sec. Research airflow rates up to 3 lbm/sec are possible with the 450-psig supply system over a range of inlet temperatures. Nonvitiated, heated air is supplied from a shell and tube heat exchanger. The maximum nonvitiated facility air temperature is 1100 F at 1.5 lbm/sec. Research-section exhaust temperatures are limited to 3200 F because of material and cooling capacity limits. A variety of support systems are available depending on the research hardware configuration. Test section ignition can be provided via either a hydrogen air torch system or an electronic spark system. Emissions measurements are obtained with either pneumatically or electromechanically actuated gas sample probes, and the electromechanical system allows for radial measurements at a user-specified axial location for measurement of emissions profiles. Gas analysis data can be obtained for a variety of species, including carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxides (NO and NOx), oxygen (O2), unburnt hydrocarbons, and unburnt hydrogen. Facility control is accomplished with a programmable logic control system. Facility operations have been upgraded to a system based on graphical user interface control screens. A data system is available for real-time acquisition and monitoring of both measurements in engineering units and performance calculations. The upgrades have made RCL 23 a highly flexible facility for research into low emissions gas turbine combustor concepts, and the flame tube configuration inherently allows for a variety of fuel nozzle configurations to be tested in a cost-effective manner. RCL 23 is poised to be a leading facility for developing modern low-emission fuel nozzles for use with jet fuel and alternative fuels.

Little, James E.↗

NASA NTRS2005

A Facility for Testing High-Power Electric Propulsion Systems in Space: A Design Study

This paper will describe the results of the preliminary phase of a NASA design study for a facility to test high-power electric propulsion systems in space. The results of this design study are intended to provide a firm foundation for a subsequent detailed design and development activities leading to the deployment of a valuable space facility supporting the new vision of space exploration. The objectives for human and robotic exploration of space can be accomplished affordably, safely and effectively with high-power electric propulsion systems. But, as thruster power levels rise to the hundreds of kilowatts and up to megawatts, their testing will pose stringent and expensive demands on existing Earth-based vacuum facilities. These considerations and the access to near-Earth space provided by the International Space Station (ISS) have led to a renewed interest in space testing. The ISS could provide an excellent platform for a space-based test facility with the continuous vacuum conditions of the natural space environment and no chamber walls to modify the open boundary conditions of the propulsion system exhaust. The platform would be designed to accommodate the side-by-side testing of multiple types of electric thrusters currently under development and thus provide a strong basis for comparing their relative performance. The utility of testing on the station is further enhanced by the human presence, enabling close interaction with and modification of the test hardware in a true laboratory environment. These conditions facilitate rapid development and flight certification at potentially lower cost than with conventional Earth-bound facilities. As an added benefit, the propulsive effect of these tests could provide some drag compensation for the station, reducing the re-boost cost for the orbital facility. While it is expected that the ISS will not be capable of generating continuous levels of high power, the utilization of state-of-the-art energy storage media would be sufficient to achieve very high power levels over intervals short enough to be feasible and long enough to provide ample demonstration of steady-state operation. This paper will outline the results of the preliminary phase of the design study with emphasis on the requirements that will dictate the system design.

Petro, Andrew J.↗

NASA NTRS2004

A Summary of DOD-Sponsored Research Performed at NASA Langley's Impact Dynamics Research Facility

Jackson, Karen E.↗

NASA NTRS2008

Evolution and Reengineering of NASA's Flight Dynamics Facility (FDF)

The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Flight Dynamics Facility (FDF) is a multimission support facility that performs ground navigation and spacecraft trajectory design services for a wide range of scientific satellites. The FDF also supports the NASA Space Network by providing orbit determination and tracking data evaluation services for the Tracking Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). The FDF traces its history to early NASA missions in the 1960's, including navigation support to the Apollo lunar missions. Over its 40 year history, the FDF has undergone many changes in its architecture, services offered, missions supported, management approach, and business operation. As a fully reimbursable facility (users now pay 100% of all costs for FDF operations and sustaining engineering activities), the FDF has faced significant challenges in recent years in providing mission critical products and services at minimal cost while defining and implementing upgrades necessary to meet future mission demands. This paper traces the history of the FDF and discusses significant events in the past that impacted the FDF infrastructure and/or business model, and the events today that are shaping the plans for the FDF in the next decade. Today's drivers for change include new mission requirements, the availability of new technology for spacecraft navigation, and continued pressures for cost reduction from FDF users. Recently, the FDF completed an architecture study based on these drivers that defines significant changes planned for the facility. This paper discusses the results of this study and a proposed implementation plan. As a case study in how flight dynamics operations have evolved and will continue to evolve, this paper focuses on two periods of time (1992 and the present) in order to contrast the dramatic changes that have taken place in the FDF. This paper offers observations and plans for the evolution of the FDF over the next ten years. Finally, this paper defines the mission model of the future for the FDF based on NASA's current mission list and planning for the Constellation Program. As part of this discussion the following are addressed: the relevance and benefits of a multi-mission facility for NASA's navigation operations in the future; anticipated technologies affecting ground orbit determination; continued incorporation of Commercial Off-the-shelf (COTS) software into the FDF; challenges of a business model that relies entirely on user fees to fund facility upgrades; anticipated changes in flight dynamics services required; and considerations for defining architecture upgrades given a set of cost drivers.

Stengle, Thomas↗

NASA NTRS2009

Controlling Infrastructure Costs: Right-Sizing the Mission Control Facility

Johnson Space Center's Mission Control Center is a space vehicle, space program agnostic facility. The current operational design is essentially identical to the original facility architecture that was developed and deployed in the mid-90's. In an effort to streamline the support costs of the mission critical facility, the Mission Operations Division (MOD) of Johnson Space Center (JSC) has sponsored an exploratory project to evaluate and inject current state-of-the-practice Information Technology (IT) tools, processes and technology into legacy operations. The general push in the IT industry has been trending towards a data-centric computer infrastructure for the past several years. Organizations facing challenges with facility operations costs are turning to creative solutions combining hardware consolidation, virtualization and remote access to meet and exceed performance, security, and availability requirements. The Operations Technology Facility (OTF) organization at the Johnson Space Center has been chartered to build and evaluate a parallel Mission Control infrastructure, replacing the existing, thick-client distributed computing model and network architecture with a data center model utilizing virtualization to provide the MCC Infrastructure as a Service. The OTF will design a replacement architecture for the Mission Control Facility, leveraging hardware consolidation through the use of blade servers, increasing utilization rates for compute platforms through virtualization while expanding connectivity options through the deployment of secure remote access. The architecture demonstrates the maturity of the technologies generally available in industry today and the ability to successfully abstract the tightly coupled relationship between thick-client software and legacy hardware into a hardware agnostic "Infrastructure as a Service" capability that can scale to meet future requirements of new space programs and spacecraft. This paper discusses the benefits and difficulties that a migration to cloud-based computing philosophies has uncovered when compared to the legacy Mission Control Center architecture. The team consists of system and software engineers with extensive experience with the MCC infrastructure and software currently used to support the International Space Station (ISS) and Space Shuttle program (SSP).

Martin, Keith↗

NASA NTRS2010

Web-Based Requesting and Scheduling Use of Facilities

Automated User's Training Operations Facility Utilization Request (AutoFUR) is prototype software that administers a Web-based system for requesting and allocating facilities and equipment for astronaut-training classes in conjunction with scheduling the classes. AutoFUR also has potential for similar use in such applications as scheduling flight-simulation equipment and instructors in commercial airplane-pilot training, managing preventive- maintenance facilities, and scheduling operating rooms, doctors, nurses, and medical equipment for surgery. Whereas requesting and allocation of facilities was previously a manual process that entailed examination of documents (including paper drawings) from different sources, AutoFUR partly automates the process and makes all of the relevant information available via the requester s computer. By use of AutoFUR, an instructor can fill out a facility-utilization request (FUR) form on line, consult the applicable flight manifest(s) to determine what equipment is needed and where it should be placed in the training facility, reserve the corresponding hardware listed in a training-hardware inventory database, search for alternative hardware if necessary, submit the FUR for processing, and cause paper forms to be printed. Auto-FUR also maintains a searchable archive of prior FURs.

Yeager, Carolyn M.↗

NASA NTRS2011

Comparative Measurements of Earth and Martian Entry Environments in the NASA Langley HYMETS Facility

Arc-jet facilities play a major role in the development of heat shield materials for entry vehicles because they are capable of producing representative high-enthalpy flow environments. Arc-jet test data is used to certify material performance for a particular mission and to validate or calibrate models of material response during atmospheric entry. Materials used on missions entering Earth s atmosphere are certified in an arc-jet using a simulated air entry environment. Materials used on missions entering the Martian atmosphere should be certified in an arc-jet using a simulated Martian atmosphere entry environment, which requires the use of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide has not been used as a test gas in a United States arc-jet facility since the early 1970 s during the certification of materials for the Viking Missions. Materials certified for the Viking missions have been used on every entry mission to Mars since that time. The use of carbon dioxide as a test gas in an arc-jet is again of interest to the thermal protection system community for certification of new heat shield materials that can increase the landed mass capability for Mars bound missions beyond that of Viking and Pathfinder. This paper describes the modification, operation, and performance of the Hypersonic Materials Environmental Test System (HYMETS) arc-jet facility with carbon dioxide as a test gas. A basic comparison of heat fluxes, various bulk properties, and performance characteristics for various Earth and Martian entry environments in HYMETS is provided. The Earth and Martian entry environments consist of a standard Earth atmosphere, an oxygen-rich Earth atmosphere, and a simulated Martian atmosphere. Finally, a preliminary comparison of the HYMETS arc-jet facility to several European plasma facilities is made to place the HYMETS facility in a more global context of arc-jet testing capability.

Splinter, Scott C.↗

NASA NTRS2014

Investigation of the Effects of Facility Background Pressure on the Performance and Voltage-Current Characteristics of the High Voltage Hall Accelerator

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate In-Space Propulsion Technology office is sponsoring NASA Glenn Research Center to develop a 4 kW-class Hall thruster propulsion system for implementation in NASA science missions. A study was conducted to assess the impact of varying the facility background pressure on the High Voltage Hall Accelerator (HiVHAc) thruster performance and voltage-current characteristics. This present study evaluated the HiVHAc thruster performance in the lowest attainable background pressure condition at NASA GRC Vacuum Facility 5 to best simulate space-like conditions. Additional tests were performed at selected thruster operating conditions to investigate and elucidate the underlying physics that change during thruster operation at elevated facility background pressure. Tests were performed at background pressure conditions that are three and ten times higher than the lowest realized background pressure. Results indicated that the thruster discharge specific impulse and efficiency increased with elevated facility background pressure. The voltage-current profiles indicated a narrower stable operating region with increased background pressure. Experimental observations of the thruster operation indicated that increasing the facility background pressure shifted the ionization and acceleration zones upstream towards the thruster's anode. Future tests of the HiVHAc thruster are planned at background pressure conditions that are expected to be two to three times lower than what was achieved during this test campaign. These tests will not only assess the impact of reduced facility background pressure on thruster performance, voltage-current characteristics, and plume properties; but will also attempt to quantify the magnitude of the ionization and acceleration zones upstream shifting as a function of increased background pressure.

Electric Propulsion↗

NASA NTRS2014

Investigation of the Effects of Facility Background Pressure on the Performance and Voltage-Current Characteristics of the High Voltage Hall Accelerator

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate In-Space Propulsion Technology office is sponsoring NASA Glenn Research Center to develop a 4 kW-class Hall thruster propulsion system for implementation in NASA science missions. A study was conducted to assess the impact of varying the facility background pressure on the High Voltage Hall Accelerator (HiVHAc) thruster performance and voltage-current characteristics. This present study evaluated the HiVHAc thruster performance in the lowest attainable background pressure condition at NASA GRC Vacuum Facility 5 to best simulate space-like conditions. Additional tests were performed at selected thruster operating conditions to investigate and elucidate the underlying physics that change during thruster operation at elevated facility background pressure. Tests were performed at background pressure conditions that are three and ten times higher than the lowest realized background pressure. Results indicated that the thruster discharge specific impulse and efficiency increased with elevated facility background pressure. The voltage-current profiles indicated a narrower stable operating region with increased background pressure. Experimental observations of the thruster operation indicated that increasing the facility background pressure shifted the ionization and acceleration zones upstream towards the thrusters anode. Future tests of the HiVHAc thruster are planned at background pressure conditions that are expected to be two to three times lower than what was achieved during this test campaign. These tests will not only assess the impact of reduced facility background pressure on thruster performance, voltage-current characteristics, and plume properties; but will also attempt to quantify the magnitude of the ionization.

Pressure Effects↗

NASA NTRS2015

Modular Extended-Stay HyperGravity Facility Design Concept: An Artificial-Gravity Space-Settlement Ground Analogue

This document defines the design concept for a ground-based, extended-stay hypergravity facility as a precursor for space-based artificial-gravity facilities that extend the permanent presence of both human and non-human life beyond Earth in artificial-gravity settlements. Since the Earth's current human population is stressing the environment and the resources off-Earth are relatively unlimited, by as soon as 2040 more than one thousand people could be living in Earthorbiting artificial-gravity habitats. Eventually, the majority of humanity may live in artificialgravity habitats throughout this solar system as well as others, but little is known about the longterm (multi-generational) effects of artificial-gravity habitats on people, animals, and plants. In order to extend life permanently beyond Earth, it would be useful to create an orbiting space facility that generates 1g as well as other gravity levels to rigorously address the numerous challenges of such an endeavor. Before doing so, developing a ground-based artificial-gravity facility is a reasonable next step. Just as the International Space Station is a microgravity research facility, at a small fraction of the cost and risk a ground-based artificial-gravity facility can begin to address a wide-variety of the artificial-gravity life-science questions and engineering challenges requiring long-term research to enable people, animals, and plants to live off-Earth indefinitely.

Gravity↗