Aerial View of Mississippi Test Facility

The General Electric Co., under a prime contract with NASA, operates and maintains the facility, providing site services, technical systems, and test support to NASA and to stage contractors and other tenants.

North American Aviation, Inc., through its Space Division, is the prime contractor to NASA for devel­opmental and acceptance testing of second stages. SD personnel conduct the tests within the second stage test complex.

The Boeing Company is the prime contractor to NASA for developmental and acceptance testing of first stages. Stages manufactured by Boeing will be tested by the company in the first stage test complex.

The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers is NASA’s agent for land acquisition, design engineering, and construction.

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Static Firing—The Marshall Space Flight Center captive fired all five F-l engines of the Saturn V S-IC-T for 16!4 seconds on May 6,1965. Later they were fired for 41 seconds.

MISSISSIPPI TEST FACILITY

NASA has developed the Mississippi Test Facility, a field organization of the Marshall Space Flight Center, as a testing site for the Saturn V launch vehicle’s two lower stages.

Acceptance testing of first and second stages will be conducted at the $300 million facility. In addi­tion, limited repair and modification of J-2 engines will be performed at MTF on behalf of all NASA operations in the Southeast.

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First Stage Test Stand at MTF

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SATURN V NEWS REFERENCE

Stage Hoisted—The all-systems test version of the second stage is lifted into its test stand at MTF.

Management, operational, and support personnel engaged at the Mississippi Test Facility after its current construction and development work is complete in 1967 will number approximately 3,000.

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Checkout—Engineers and technicians of North American are shown in the second stage Test Control Center at the Mississippi Test Facility during final preparation for static firing of all­systems test model of the stage.

The MTF site was selected from 34 areas considered mainly because of its accessibility to water routes and its nearness (45 miles by water) to the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The govern­ment-owned fee area comprises 13,424 acres and is surrounded by an acoustic buffer zone involving an additional 128,526 acres in Hancock and Pearl River counties and Saint Tammany Parish.

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Static Firing—A giant plume of vapor billows skyward during the first static firing test at MTF. The Saturn second stage, built for NASA by North American Aviation, Inc., burned for 15 seconds April 23, 1966.

MTF is composed of three principal complexes including approximately 60 buildings and structures. Among predominant features are the three huge test stands in the Saturn V complex. There are two separate stands for testing second stages. The first stage test stand is a dual-position structure which, with overhead crane, towers over 400 feet. The Laboratory and Engineering Complex houses engineering, administrative, and technical per­sonnel. The Industrial Complex has facilities for equipment and personnel necessary for site and test support maintenance.

The relatively small force of NASA personnel as­signed to MTF has overall management and super­visory responsibilities in overseeing the work of the contractors. NASA personnel are also respon­sible for final evaluation of static firings and is­suance of flightworthiness certificates to stage con­tractors.