'Mighty Eagle' Testing Continues at Marshall

The "Mighty Eagle" robotic prototype lander is now being tested near Marshall's historic Saturn-IC Static and F-1 test stands. The lander is fueled by 90 percent pure hydrogen peroxide and receives its commands from an onboard computer that activates its onboard thrusters to carry it to a controlled landing using a pre-programmed flight profile. The S-IC static test stand was originally designed to develop and test the Saturn V S-IC first stage, or booster stage, and was also used for space shuttle external tank testing. The venerable F-1 engine test stand was used to test turbopumps for Saturn first stage engines.

Image Credit: NASA/MSFC/Fred Deaton