Twenty-Five-Foot Space Simulator
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Twenty-Five-Foot Space Simulator
| nrhp_type = nhl
| image = Mariner 10 in JPLs 25-foot space simulator.gif
| caption = Mariner 10 in the Twenty-Five-Foot Space Simulator
| location = Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
| coordinates = {{coord|34|12|9.8|N|118|10|22.4|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = USA Los Angeles Metropolitan Area#California#USA
| area = less than one acre
| built = {{start date|1961}}
| architect = NASA
| designated_nrhp_type = October 3, 1985{{Cite web | title = Twenty-Five-Foot Space Simulator | work = National Historic Landmarks Quioklinks | publisher = National Park Service | url = http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=2073&ResourceType=Structure | access-date = 18 March 2012 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101213025605/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=2073&ResourceType=Structure | archive-date = 13 December 2010 }}
| added = October 3, 1985{{NRISref|2007a}}
| refnum = 85002812
}}
The Twenty-Five-Foot Space Simulator is a chamber for testing spacecraft in space-like conditions, including extreme cold, high radiation, and near-vacuum pressure. Built in 1961, it is located at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. It has been used to prepare many American space probes for their launches, including the Ranger, Surveyor, Mariner, and Voyager spacecraft.
The first facility of its type, the chamber served as an example for other countries seeking to establish space programs.{{Cite web|author=Harry A. Butowsky|date=May 15, 1984|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Twenty-Five Foot Space Simulator|url={{NHLS url|id=85002812}}|format=pdf|publisher=National Park Service}} and {{NHLS url|id=85002812|title=Accompanying 2 photos, exterior and interior, from 1983|photos=y}} {{small|(32 KB)}} It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1985 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Description
The Twenty-Five-Foot Space Simulator is a stainless-steel cylinder {{convert|85|ft|m}} in height and {{convert|27|ft|m}} in diameter. A doorway {{convert|15|ft|m}} wide and {{convert|25|ft|m}} high provides access for bringing test objects and equipment into the chamber; a personnel access door is built into the larger doorway. Its walls and floor are lined with cooling shrouds that help provide a controllable temperature range from {{convert|-320|F|C}} to {{convert|200|F|C}}. A series of lamps, lenses, and mirrors can irradiate the chamber with a directed beam of simulated solar energy in a variety of patterns and strengths. The chamber can be depressurized to 5×10−7 torr. Test objects can be mounted with a number of attachment points and methods. The chamber is mounted on a seismically isolated foundation. The chamber requires about 75 minutes to achieve a space-like environment, and about 2{{frac|1|2}} hours to return to a normal environment.
Next to the chamber is a clean room in which equipment can be prepared for testing.
See also
- List of National Historic Landmarks in California
- Space Environment Simulation Laboratory, built in 1965 at the Johnson Space Center in Texas
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Commons category|JPL Space Simulator}}
{{National Register of Historic Places}}
{{Spaceflight landmarks}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Category:National Historic Landmarks in California
Category:Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in California
Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1961