Space Power Facility for testing large space optical systems

The Space Power Facility is located at NASA's Glenn Research Center Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio. It is the world's largest space simulation test facility with a test chamber that is 30.5m (100ft) in diameter by 37.2m (122ft) high. It has been used to test a variety of large space flight hardware and space systems for NASA, other government agencies, and the private sector over the last 20 years. Most of the design features of the facility provide unique characteristics that are ideally suited to meet the requirements of large space optical system thermal/vacuum testing. This paper(1.2) describes the Space Power Facility's unique characteristics and systems and how they meet these requirements. Future large space optical systems will require a facility that can handle large, delicate hardware in a clean environment. Large high bay clean rooms will be needed for pre-test build-up and checkout activities. A large test chamber with easy access will be needed near the build-up area to minimize the risk of transporting the hardware into the chamber for thermal/vacuum testing. The Space Power Facility's unique architecture with large high bays on each side of the test chamber is ideal for handling and processing large hardware and systems. Large space optical system testing will also require a test environment that is as quiet as possible from a vibration standpoint. By nature of the construction of the Space Power Facility, the vibration environment has been found to be extremely stable. Additionally, large space optical system testing must be performed at high-vacuum (< 1x10-5 Torr) conditions and many future systems require testing at cryogenic temperatures. The facility's high-vacuum system for pumping the test chamber has recently been upgraded with cryopumps and high-vacuum isolation valves to provide a contaminant-free, clean testing environment. To ensure that the facility upgrades will meet the demands of future test programs, an integrated systems test was performed to assess the operation and performance of the chamber and the new vacuum pumping system.