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Impact Basin (Building 1192)

The headshot image of Julia L. Bradshaw

Julia L. Bradshaw

Jan 31, 2022
Article
1/4th Scale Model of Apollo - Impact Structures Facility Launched from an overhead pendulum device, this Apollo spacecraft was tested in the Impact Structures Facility to determine water-landing characteristics. -- Photograph published in Winds of Change, 75th Anniversary NASA publication (page 91), by James Schultz.
1/4th Scale Model of Apollo – Impact Structures Facility Launched from an overhead pendulum device, this Apollo spacecraft was tested in the Impact Structures Facility to determine water-landing characteristics. — Photograph published in Winds of Change, 75th Anniversary NASA publication (page 91), by James Schultz.

Quick Facts

Year Built: 1942 and 1970’s 

Historic Eligibility: National Register Eligible  

Important Tests: Scout Project, Apollo  

Year Demolished: 2013 and 2015 

Exterior of Building 1192 in 1972.
Exterior of Building 1192 in 1972.
Credit:NASA

History

Originally known as the Seaplane Impact Basin, construction of the new facility was approved in 1939 under the second Deficiency Appropriation Act and was completed in 1942. The concrete basin was 360-feet long, nearly 27-feet wide and was covered by corrugated asbestos, cement walls and roof. The attached, two-story shop and offices were constructed of brick. 

In 1965, the facility was still referred to as the Impact Basin. However, a voucher from September 1969 references the water supply to the Photo Lab. The basin may have been demolished around 1978 when the office facility became home to the Financial Management Office. 

To determine water-landing characteristics of the Apollo capsule, a ¼ scale model, seen here during testing in in the Impacts Facility in 1965, was dropped from an overhead pendulum device.
To determine water-landing characteristics of the Apollo capsule, a ¼ scale model, seen here during testing in in the Impacts Facility in 1965, was dropped from an overhead pendulum device.
Credit: NASA

The section of the complex known as 1192C, or the Aircraft Guide, Control and Vehicle Dynamics Facility, was constructed in 1967 with a second addition in 1973. In 1970, the building housed the Viking projects. Additions in 1970 and 1971 became 1192D, and sometime around 1978 the two wings became the Projects Directorate Building. By the mid-1980s, the Building 1192 complex became home for Computer Applications in Science and Engineering (ICASE), which focused on the areas of computational fluid dynamics, aeroacoustics, parallel processing and control theory.  

Building 1192E was constructed in 1972 as the Scout Project Office. The Scout Project was divided into two functional areas. The first included the manufacture, checkout, and launch of vehicles, together with the associated support services. The second area was comprised of the studies, modifications and improvements associated with Scout vehicles, ground support equipment and standard operating procedures.  

An aerial view, taken sometime between 1968 and 1978, of the Impact Basin, West Model Shop and 16-Foot Tunnel. The long, narrow building in the middle of the photograph is the Impact Basin.
An aerial view, taken sometime between 1968 and 1978, of the Impact Basin, West Model Shop and 16-Foot Tunnel. The long, narrow building in the middle of the photograph is the Impact Basin.
Credit: NASA

In March 1984, the Space Station Office was formed and assigned the responsibility for developing plans for a permanent Space Station organization at Langley. They were temporarily housed in buildings 1192C/D/E.  Building 1195E was vacated by the Scout Project Office in 1984 when they relocated to Building 641. The Space Station Office stayed until March 1986 when they were relocated to Building 1244 (the Hangar).  

Building 1192 was demolished in 2013, and the remainder of the complex was demolished in 2015 to make way for Building 2104, the new Material Resources Laboratory. 

Related Materials 

NACA Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory description of Impact Basin; date unknown.
NACA Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory description of Impact Basin; date unknown.
An aerial view of the Building 1192 complex, taken in 2010 prior to demolition. NASA photo.
An aerial view of the Building 1192 complex, taken in 2010 prior to demolition. NASA photo.