Saturn V dynamic test stand facts for kids
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Saturn V dynamic test stand
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SA-500D is erected inside the dynamic test stand for configuration I testing, December, 1966.
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 Location in Alabama
Location in the United States
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| Location | Huntsville, Alabama |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1964 |
| Architect | Heinz Hilten of NASA |
| NRHP reference No. | 85002806 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | October 3, 1985 |
| Designated NHL | October 3, 1985 |
Saturn V dynamic test stand, also known as dynamic structural test facility, at the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama is the test stand used for testing of the Saturn V rocket and the Space Shuttle prior to the vehicles' first flights. Designated building 4550, it stands 363 feet (111 m) tall and is 98 feet (30 m) square. Its central bay has maximum dimensions of 74 by 74 feet (23 m × 23 m), and it is topped by a derrick capable of moving 200-ton objects in a 70-foot (21 m) radius. An elevator provides access to 15 levels in the structure, and a cable tunnel connects the building to control facilities in the space center's East Test Area.
NASA built the test stand in 1964 to conduct mechanical and vibrational tests on the fully assembled Saturn V rocket. Major problems capable of causing failure of the vehicle were discovered and corrected here. The new building was so tall that in 1966 when the Saturn V first stage was entering, an observer noted, "Fog and clouds hovered around the top of the 360 foot (110 m) tall test stand most of the day while the 300,000 pounds (140,000 kg) stage was being lifted from its transporter into place inside the stand, said to be the tallest building in Alabama." The stand was used to test how spacecraft behaved when put under vibrating and bending stresses, and to test the connections between major stages of the craft.
It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1985 for its role in the Saturn V program.
In addition to the Saturn V dynamic test vehicle, designated SA-500D, two Space Shuttle test vehicles, Pathfinder and Enterprise, were also tested in this facility.
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The Space Shuttle Orbiter simulator is hoisted into the Saturn V dynamic test stand in 1977
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The Shuttle Enterprise is loaded into the Saturn V dynamic test stand for a shake test, c. 1978
