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Spacecraft Magnetic Test Facility

Field	Value
name	Spacecraft Magnetic Test Facility
nrhp_type	nhl
image	Spacecraft Magnetic Test Facility.jpg
location	Good Luck Road, Greenbelt, Maryland
coordinates
locmapin	Maryland#USA
built	1966
architect	NASA
designated_nrhp_type	October 3, 1985{{cite web	url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1928&ResourceType=Structure
archive-url	https://web.archive.org/web/20121010133939/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1928&ResourceType=Structure
url-status	dead
archive-date	October 10, 2012
title	Spacecraft Magnetic Test Facility	accessdate=2008-06-17	work=National Historic Landmark summary listing	publisher=National Park Service}}
added	October 3, 1985
refnum	85002811

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010133939/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1928&ResourceType=Structure |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 10, 2012

The Spacecraft Magnetic Test Facility, also known historically as the Attitude Control Test Facility, is an experimental spacecraft test facility at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. It was built in 1966 to allow the evaluation of magnetic movement in crewed and uncrewed spacecraft, and for the precision calibration of magnetometers used in space flight. The building is constructed of non-magnetic materials and contains a magnetic coil system that allows the cancellation of the Earth's magnetic field. This unique building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1985.

The facility is currently managed by the Goddard Mechanical Systems Division.

Description and history

The Spacecraft Magnetic Test Facility is located about 2 mi east of the main campus of the Goddard Space Flight Center, in Building 310-20 on the north side of Good Luck Road. The building is a single-story structure, 60 ft square, and is built entirely out of nonmagnetic materials. The building contains a 42 ft diameter 3-axis Braunbek coil with four loops on each axis. The coil cancels the Earth's magnetic field within a central 6 ft spherical volume. Fluctuations in the ambient field are removed by a servo control, producing stability to half a nanotesla. An artificial magnetic vector can be produced and rotated at a variable rate. 9.42 ft Helmholtz coils are used for perm/deperm operations. A 6000 lb monorail hoist is provided to move equipment in and out of the test area. HEPA filtration and air conditioning are provided. A turntable 8 ft in diameter within the chamber is used for precision placement of the test object.

The facility was built in 1966, and has been used to determine and minimize the magnetic movement of uncrewed spacecraft and to calibrate flight magnetometers since the early years of the United States space program. It is able to (within certain limits) emulate the magnetic conditions found in orbital and interstellar space. It saw significant use until the 1990s. Its instruments are also capable of profiling the magnetic characteristics of the test objects. The facility's main difficulties have been with deteriorating current amplifiers, with replacements made in the 1970s and 1980s altering its performance characteristics.

References

{{NRISref. 2008a
(2008-06-12). ["Maryland Historical Trust"]({{MHT url). Maryland Historical Trust.
Butowsky, Harry A.. (May 15, 1984). ["National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Attitude Control Test Facility"]({{NHLS url). National Park Service.
(January 2004). "Goddard Space Flight Center Spacecraft Magnetic Test Facility Restoration Project". NASA Goddard.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

national-historic-landmarks-in-maryland government-buildings-on-the-national-register-of-historic-places-in-maryland goddard-space-flight-center greenbelt,-maryland buildings-and-structures-in-prince-george's-county,-maryland national-register-of-historic-places-in-prince-george's-county,-maryland

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