The Rocket Laboratory at the NASA Glenn Research Center was critical to the development of high-energy liquid propellants such as liquid hydrogen in the 1940s and 1950s. The facility’s once-rudimentary equipment was subsequently replaced with advanced technologies. The versatile suite of test cells has since tested an array of thrusters, combustors and alternative fuels. The facility was demolished in 2021.
History
Launching Rocket Research
The Rocket Laboratory was quickly built at what is today the Glenn Research Center in the summer of 1945 to augment the laboratory’s existing aircraft propulsion test capabilities.
Laying the Hydrogen Foundation
In the early 1950s, the Rocket Lab increasingly focused on hydrogen with either oxygen or fluorine as the oxidizer, while continuing ignition and altitude performance studies with hydrocarbon fuels.
Space Propulsion
In the 1960s, researchers continued to use the Rocket Lab to investigate combustion instability, laminar flow, ablative cooling, and small thrusters.
New Fields of Research
By the mid-1960s, the center began shifting its resources from space propulsion to new aeronautical issues, such as noise and emissions.
Return to Rockets
In the mid-1980s and 1990s the Rocket Laboratory was upgraded to support technologies for the nation’s next space missions.
Final Years
During its final years, researchers used the Rocket Lab to study “green” propellants and low-cost injectors. The complex was demolished in 2021
Facility
Primary Test Cells
The Rocket Laboratory complex included ten test cells that were constructed in the 1940s and 1950s but were improved and modified over the years.
Additional Test Cells
The Rocket Laboratory’s capabilities evolved over the years to support new research requirements. This evolution included the addition of several auxiliary test cells.
Support Structures
The Rocket Laboratory’s test cells were supported by auxiliary structures including the Service Building and the Central Instrument and Shop buildings.
Safety Measures
The Rocket Lab utilized a combination of physical protections, safety reviews, and coordination were employed to mitigate potential hazards.
Research
Timelines
This page contains timelines of events related to the Rocket Laboratory’s history and a timeline of key tests at the facility.
Historic Documents
A collection of digitized historical documents, narrative histories, reference material, and technical reports related to the history of the Rocket Lab facility.
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.
