Image credit: NASA/David C. Bowman
In this photo, workers begin dismantling the Hypersonic CF4 Tunnel at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The wind tunnel, built in 1960, was used for research on spacecraft re-entry materials, including the investigation that followed the loss of space shuttle Columbia in 2003. In recent years, it was known as the 20-Inch Mach 6 CF4 Tunnel.
The tunnel used tetrafluoromethane gas, or CF4, heated to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit (538 Celsius) to simulate the extreme heating conditions that occur when spacecraft re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. This view is from the inside of one of two vacuum spheres that collected the CF4 gas after a tunnel run.
For more information about this tunnel, go to https://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/Hypersonic_CF4_Tunnel.
The tunnel’s removal is part of Langley’s revitalization plan in which buildings that don’t support future missions are demolished to allow for new, more efficient facilities designed to meet current and future requirements. Demolitions are an important part of NASA’s response to the Reduce the Footprint plan required by federal executive order.
Michael Finneran
NASA Langley Research Center