Historical Documents

Collection of links to PDFs of historical documents, reference material, and technical reports related to the Propulsion Systems Laboratory (PSL) No. 1 and 2.

Overview

A great deal of information has been collected regarding the Propulsion Systems Laboratory No. 1 and 2. This includes original documents, articles, reports, and speeches spanning from 1948 to 2007. Topics include general PSL information, construction, turbojets, ramjets, rockets, turbofan engines, support buildings, and the demolition. PDFs of some of these materials have been assembled here for research and reference. Also included are NACA and NASA technical reports regarding tests conducted in the PSL.

PSL History

• Pursuit of Power: NASA’s Propulsion Systems Laboratory No. 1 and 2 (NASA SP-2012-4548)
• PSL Historic American Engineering Report
• PSL No. 1 and 2 Original Website (PDF version)
• PSL Operations Summary (1953-57)

PSL Design and Construction

• Preliminary Proposal for PSL (1948)
• PSL Construction articles (1948-50)
• New Altitude Test Facilities Aid Improvements of Turbojets (1952)
• PSL Construction Progress Reports (1949)
• PSL Construction Progress Reports (1950) pt 1
• PSL Construction Progress Reports (1950) pt 2
• Wasielewski Retirement article (1956)
• PSL Test Chamber Specifications (1948)

Ramjet Engine Testing

• Free-jet Tests of 48-inch Diameter Ramjet with Annular Can-type Flameholder (1955)
• Investigation of Engine Dynamics and Controls for 48-inch Ramjet (1956)
• Pentaborane Fuel in a 48-inch Diameter Ramjet Engine (1957)
• Experimental Investigation of Dynamic Relations in a 48-inch Ram-Jet Engine (1957)
• Some Operating Experience During Operation of a Free-Jet Facility (1957)
• Free-Jet Investigation of Dynamics of a 28-inch Diameter Ramjet (1957)
• Investigation of Marquardt Shock-Positioning Control Unit (1957)
• Investigation of Marquardt Shock-Positioning Control Unit (1958)
• History of Ramjet Development at the Marquardt Company (2005)

Turbojet Engine Testing

• Full Scale Engine Research talk (1954)
• Jet Engines for War talk by Dryden (1951)
• Engine Research Division Reorganization (1951)

• Altitude Investigation of J73-GE-1A Engine Components (1954)
• Performance of YJ73-GE-3 Turbojet Engine in Altitude Test Chamber (1955)
• Altitude Performance Characteristics of the J73-GE-1A Turbojet Engine (1954)
• Preliminary Performance Data for Variable-Ejector Assembly on XJ79-GE-1 (1956)
• Altitude Performance of the Afterburner on the Iroquois Turbojet Engine (1958)

Rocket Engine Testing

• Design Report for RL-10-A-3-3 (1966)
• ASME Report on RL-10 (1970s)
• Characteristics of Centaur Gimbal System Under Thrust Load (1966)
• Effect of Several Injector Face Baffle Configurations on Screech (1966)
• Effect of Propellant Injection Velocity on Screech (1966)
• Experimental Rocket Performance of Apollo Storable Propellants (1966)

Turbofan Engine Testing

• F-100 Multivariable Control Synthesis Program (1983)
• Propulsion Controls, 1979

• Full Scale Engine Program article (1978)
• Researchers Complete Tests of Control System article (1979)
• PSL MVCS Testing Correspondence (1975)
• Status of NASA Full-Scale Engine Aeroelasticity Research (1980)
• Characteristics of Aeroelastic Instabilities in Turbomachinery (1979)
• Inlet Temperature Distortion on the Stall Limits of J85-GE-13 (1974)
• Afterburner Equipped Turbofan with and Without Inlet Flow Distortion (1970)
• Inducing Controlled Steady-state and Dynamic Inlet Pressure Disturbances (1970)
• Air Jets as a Steady-State Inlet Flow Distortion Device (1970)

Facility Descriptions

• PSL Floor Plans (1956)
• PSL Facility Description (1957)
• PSL Buildings Description (1975)

Support Buildings

• Equipment Building Floor Plans (1956-62)
• Central Air Systems Growth chart (c1980)
• Access Building Floor Plans (1956-67)
• PSL Buildings Description (1975)
• New Building to House Library (1949)

• Equipment Building Explosion article (1971)
• 1971 Building 64 Explosion briefing (2005)
• Recertification Program article (1987)

PSL No. 3 and 4

• PSL No. 3 and 4 website (2025)
• PSL No. 3-4 Construction articles (1967-70)
• Contract Let for PSL Expansion (1968)
• PSL No. 3-4 Operation article (1972)
• Propulsion Systems Lab No. 3-4 brochure (1991)
• Advances in PSL Test Capabilities (2006)
• Hypersonics Test in PSL (1998)

Shutdown and Demolition

• Mothballing of PSL 1-2 article (1979)
• Why Phase Out PSL article (1978)
• PSL Historical Mitigation Agreement (2007)
• History of PSL No. 1 and 2 slides (2006)
• Demolition Plan and Environmental slides (2006)
• Impact Historical Mitigation slides (2006)
• ACHP Section 106 Process Demo PSL 1 and 2

Additional Information on PSL No. 1 and 2

Image Gallery

View full-scale photographs related to the PSL No.1 and 2 facility featured on this website.

Return to Main Page

Return to the PSL No.1 and 2 main page to find additional information on the facility and its history.

Glenn History and Mitigation

Glenn Historic Facilities

This collection of webpages documents some of the historic facilities formerly located at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio.

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Glenn Historic Preservation

NASA Glenn has worked with the Ohio State Historic Preservation Office to mitigate the loss of some of its historic facilities.

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Glenn History Office

The NASA Glenn History Office documents the research, facilities, and people who have contributed to the center’s extensive history and manages the Glenn History Collection.

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