Historical Documents
A collection of links to PDFs of historical documents, monthly status reports, reference material, and technical reports related to the Rocket Systems Area and Plum Brook Station.
NASA Glenn Research Center
Historic Facilities
Rocket Systems Area
Plum Brook Station
NOTE: Plum Brook Station was renamed the Neil Armstrong Test Facility in 2021.
Historic Documentation
- NASA’s Hydrogen Outpost: Rocket Systems Area at Plum Brook Station (NASA SP-2016-628)
- B-1 and B-3 Historic Engineering Report (2010)
- NASA-Ohio Preservation Office Agreement(2012)
- RSA Original Website (PDF version)
- B-1 and B-3 Original Website (PDF version)
- Rocket Systems Area Exhibit Display
- B-1 and B-3 Exhibit Display
- Science in Flux: NASA’s Nuclear Program at Plum Brook (NASA SP-2006-4317)
Land Acquisition and Construction
- Saga of the PBOW article (1945)
- NACA Construction House Bill (1957)
- Evaluation of the PBOW (1958)
- Acquisition of Additional Plum Brook Property (1958)
- Rocket Systems Area Construction Articles (1959-65)
- Plum Brook Tour Brochure (c1969)
Shutdown
- Plum Brook Closure Press Release (1973)
- Termination of Plum Brook Activities (1973)
- Bruce Lundin Talk to Plum Brook Staff (1974)
- Plum Brook Phased Down article (1974)
- Dugan Helps Plum Brook article (1973)
- Capabilities and Facilities of Plum Brook (c1970)
- Potential Use of Plum Brook Facilities (1973)
- Potential Programs for Plum Brook (1973)
Standby
- Plum Brook Station Review (1976)
- Wind Turbine Tenth Anniversary (1985)
- NASA Large Wind Turbine Program (1982)
- Plum Brook Chronology (1940-85)
- Plum Brook Facilities Status (1985)
- PBS is Lewis Best Secret article (1991)
Reference
Liquid Hydrogen Development
- Liquid Hydrogen as Jet Fuel for High-Altitude Aircraft (1955)
- Liquid Hydrogen as a Propulsion Fuel, 1945–1959
Nuclear Propulsion
- NERVA Nuclear Rocket Program (1965)
- A Historical Perspective on the NERVA Program (1991)
- Overview of Four Rover Engine Tests (1991)
Centaur Program
- Taming Liquid Hydrogen: The Centaur Upper-Stage Rocket
- Centaur Launches (1962-2012)
- Centaur Program Overview (1963)
- History of Centaur Press Release (1984)
- Ground Hold Study of Hydrogen Tank Insulation (1965)
- Titan/Centaur Viking B Flight Report (1976)
- Titan/Centaur Voyager Flight Data Report (1977)
- History of Centaur Press Release (1984)
- Titan-Centaur—NASA’s Newest Launch Vehicle (1973)
- Centaur Launched a Generation of Interplanetary Missions (2013)
Turbopumps and Propellant Tanks
- NASA Axial-Flow Turbopumps (NASA SP, 1978)
- NASA Centrifugal Turbopump (NASA SP, 1973)
- Liquid Rocket Turbopump Inducers (NASA SP, 1971)
- Liquid Rocket Metal Tanks and Components (NASA SP, 1974)
Facilities
Miscellaneous Site Information
- Capabilities and Facilities of Plum Brook (c1970)
- Plum Brook Tour Brochure (c1969)
- Plum Brook Current Facilities
- Lewis Facilities to Study Cavitation in Pumps (1964)
- K Site Cryogenic Fluid Systems Testing (1994)
- B Complex layout
- B Complex Property Details (2009)
- B-1 Facility Resume (1960s)
- B-1 and B-3 Historic Engineering Report (2010)
- B-1 and B-2 Support Systems Description
- Nuclear Rocket Evaluation at B-1 Memo (1962)
- B-1 Facility Resume (1960s)
- B-1 Historic Engineering Report Description
- B-1 NERVA Apparatus Description (1964)
- B-1 End Condition Statement (1973)
- B-3 Historic Engineering Report Description
- B-3 Facility Resume (1960s)
- B-3 Nuclear Rocket Flow Facility (1969)
- B-3 Stand Description (1974)
- B-3 Stand Readied for NERVA (1967)
- B-1 and B-3 Work Schedules (1962)
- B-3 Full-Scale Unfueled Nuclear Rocket (1966)
- B-3 Nuclear Rocket Test Facility (1969)
- E Stand Construction articles (1959-60)
Floor Plans
- B-1 Floor Plans and Description
- B-3 Floor Plans and Description
- C Site Description and Floor Plans
- D Site Description and Floor Plans
- E Stand Status Reports (1963-68)
- F Site Description and Floor Plans
- I Site Description and Floor Plans
- J Site Description and Floor Plans
- K Site Description and Floor Plans
Operations Reports
Plum Brook facilities managers were required to contribute updates to station management on the activities at each facility during a given month. Management compiled this information into a Test Operations Report or Status Reports for the entire station. These volumes have been divided by particular facility for this website.
- A Site Status Reports (1963-68)
- B1 Stand Status Reports (1963-71)
- B3 Stand Status Reports (1965-74)
- C Site Status Reports (1963-68)
- D Site Status Reports (1963-65)
- E Stand Description and Floor Plans
- F Site Status Reports (1963-74)
- G Site Status Reports (1963-64)
- I Site Status Reports (1963-67)
- J1 Status Reports (1961-68)
- J2 Status Reports (1961-66)
- J3 Status Reports (1961-68)
- J4 Status Reports (1961-64)
- J5 Status Reports (1961-66)
- K Site Status Reports (1964-74)
Technical Reports
Turbopumps
- Flow Range and Stability of Inducer-Impeller Combinations (1969)
- Performance of Line-Mounted 84° Inducer in Hydrogen (1967)
- Change in Pressure Requirement in Low Temp Hydrogen (1968)
- Performance of 78° Helical Inducer in Hydrogen (1970)
- Effect of Leading Edge Thickness on Inducer Performance (1970)
- Operation of Liquid Fluorine Pump in Cavitating Flow (1968)
- Heat Transfer of Water-to-Hydrogen Heat Exchanger (1969)
- Two-Phase Choked Flow of Oxygen and Nitrogen (1976)
Heat Transfer in Nuclear Systems
- Investigation of Hot-Gas Side Heat Transfer (1965)
- Hot-Gas-Side Heat Transfer in Hydrogen-Oxygen Rocket (1971)
- Hot-Gas-Side Heat Transfer with/without Film Cooling (1972)
- Coolant-Side Heat Transfer Rates for Rocket (1973)
- Heat Transfer of Water-to-Hydrogen Heat Exchanger (1969)
Fluorine Compatibility
- Handling of Fluorine Mixtures in Rockets (1967)
- Compatibility of Materials with Fluorine Mixtures (1966)
- Reaction of Spills of Fluorine upon Various Materials (1966)
Centaur Structural Dynamics
- Atlas-Centaur-Surveyor Longitudinal Dynamics Tests
- Experimental Lateral Bending of Atlas-Centaur-Surveyor
- Bending Strength of Atlas Booster Beyond Skin Wrinkling
- Centaur Standard Shroud B-3 Setup
- CSS Cryogenic Unlatch Tests (1973)
- Centaur Standard Shroud articles (1972)
- CSS Static Ultimate Load Structural Tests (1975)
- Full Jettison Test Dynamics Analysis (1974)
Nuclear Propellant Flow Systems
- Flow System Startup of a Full-scale Nuclear Rocket (1965)
- Nuclear Rocket Simulator, Flow Initiation with No Turbine Gas (1964)
- Nuclear Rocket Simulator Tests, Flow Initiation (1964)
- B1 NERVA Start Up Dynamics and Control (1966)
- Cooldown of Regenerative Nozzle in Nuclear Rocket Facility (1967)
- B-3 Full-Scale Unfueled Nuclear Rocket (1966)
- Low-Speed Operation of Hydrogen Centrifugal Turbopump (1969)
- Performance of Line-Mounted 80° Inducer in Hydrogen (1967)
- Performance of Helical Inducer Operated in Hydrogen (1967)
- Change in Pressure Requirement in Low Temperature Hydrogen(1968)
- Effect of Leading Edge Thickness on Inducer Performance (1970)
Tank Insulation
- External Insulation System for Hydrogen Tanks(1965)
- Ground Hold Study of Hydrogen Tank Insulation (1965)
- Compressed Multilayer Insulation System for Rocket (1963)
- SEMI Prefabricated Panels for Cryogenic Tanks(1968)
- Lightweight, Self-Evacuated Insulation Panels (1970)
- Multilayer Insulation Containing 20 to 160 Layers (1974)
- Performance of Replaceable Multilayer Insulation (1977)
- Integrated Thermal Protection for Long-Term Storage (1977)
Tank Pressurization
- Performance of 78° Helical Inducer in Hydrogen(1976)
- Pressurant for Discharge of Methane From Tank (1974)
- Hydrogen Discharge of Hydrogen From 5-foot Tank (1969)
- Helium Discharge of Hydrogen From 5-foot Tank (1970)
- Hydrogen Discharge of Hydrogen From 13-foot Tank (1969)
- Helium Discharge of Hydrogen From 13-foot Tank (1970)
- Helium Requirements for Pressurization of Centaur Hydrogen Tank (1969)
- Helium Requirements for Pressurization of Centaur Oxygen Tank (1970)
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.
Glenn Historic Preservation
NASA Glenn has worked with the Ohio State Historic Preservation Office to mitigate the loss of some of its historic facilities.
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.