[Silence]
[Rocket engines]
Narrator: The Santa Susana Field Laboratory's contributions
to America's victory in the space race and the making
of our nation's spaceflight program cannot be overstated.
Astronaut Charles Duke: And the old flag. Come on out here and give me a salute.
Narrator: The lab was established in the Simi Hills
of Southern California in 1947 after America's victory
in World War II.
Major ports and industrial assets in the Los Angeles area
proved to be instrumental in winning the war.
A key component of that effort was
the region's extensive aviation manufacturing capability.
This capability birthed a vast aerospace sector
and led to the subsequent development and testing
of rocket engines in the post-war era.
The dedicated and skilled workforce that helped
win the war, turned their efforts toward putting America squarely
in the center of the space race.
The industrial partners involved in rocket research
were looking for a convenient site
to test rocket engines and components.
The location of the Santa Susanna field laboratory,
known by early employees as "The Hill",
proved to be an ideal spot.
The geology of the site favored its use
for a test stand construction.
The rocky terrain provided natural containment
and a buffer zone for the blast and sound as well as drainage
pathways.
These advantages saved crucial time and money
during the Cold War and later, The Space Race.
Working in concert with the US Army's Redstone Arsenal
in Huntsville, Alabama, under the direction
of one of the leading figures in the development of rocket
technology, Dr. Wernher von Braun,
the Santa Susanna Field Laboratory
proved a vital test facility.
As part of that visionary postwar effort,
the lab tested rocket engines for the Army, Air Force,
and later, by 1960, NASA propulsion systems.
The test stands at Santa Susana were
some of the first of their type in North America.
After the opening of Rocketdyne's Canoga Park
production facility in 1955, these conveniently located
stands could test everything from individual components
to entire engines.
Eventually, NASA would host four test areas
in what came to be called NASA Area 2 at the Santa Susanna
Field Laboratory --
Alfa, Bravo, Coca, and Delta.
The Alfa site was originally built along its access road
to serve Atlas and Thor engine tests.
The testing included mounting and instrumenting the engines,
providing propellant, running the engines,
and analyzing test data.
Over the hill from Alfa was the Bravo test area.
Bravo was designed in a more compact fashion
with an above ground block house and a common spillway.
In addition to a terminal house, there
were electrical control stations, pretest buildings,
and fuel system infrastructure.
The testing of the thrust chambers for the Saturn V's
first stage engines was the first order of business here.
This critical element of the most powerful rocket
engine ever built helped power us to the moon.
Subsequently, Bravo was modified to test the RS-27 engine
for the Atlas and Delta programs.
The RS-27's predecessor the H-1 powered
the first stage of the Saturn I of the Apollo program.
Bravo test stand 1-D with used for acceptance testing
of vernier engines for the Delta and Atlas launch vehicles.
These engines require a wide range of thrust
at different altitudes and velocities.
Located south of Bravo, Coca was originally
constructed during the mid 1950s and featured static test stands
that initially supported the Atlas and Navajo programs.
In the early 1960s, the Coca test area
underwent a major reconstruction,
and the test stands were expanded.
These reconstructed Coca test stands
were used in the development of the Saturn's second stage J-2
engine which supported the Apollo program.
After this important work for the Apollo mission
to reach the moon, Coca was repurposed
to test components for the highly successful Space Shuttle
Main Engine, or SSME.
These SSME engines are the most powerful and complex
reusable rocket engines ever built,
developing over 400,000 pounds of thrust at takeoff.
The more secluded Delta site was constructed
for the Air Force's Thor and, later, Lance engine tests.
Static firing of the linear Aerospike engine for the Delta
II A and Bs was ongoing.
As the 1960s ended, Santa Susana was at a crossroads
as testing at the site wound down.
In various degrees, the Alpha, Bravo, and Coca
test stands remained active into the 1990s with engine tests
at Alpha, turbo pump testing at Bravo,
and SSME testing reinvigorating Coca.
By 1988, Shuttle engine testing was wrapping up at Coca.
Alpha 1 was deactivated in 2000, and the last engine test
occurred at Alpha 3 in 2006.
The Santa Susana field lab was entering a new phase.
After nearly 70 years of being on the critical path
of the nation's space effort, NASA mission
was evolving and so were the types of launch systems.
Activities at Santa Susana shifted
to the remediation and restoration of the site
to a more natural state.
It is a place of sublime beauty that deserves
to be shared with the nation.
As part of that effort, NASA continues
to preserve and restore that enduring beauty through remediation
and restoration of the property while preserving
the historical, environmental, and cultural importance
of the site.
Today Santa Susana remains a vital wildlife corridor
in Southern California.
NASA has made historic preservation of Santa Susana's
rich past a top priority.
Certain buildings and structures that
have significant historical importance
may be preserved while others will be removed in an effort
to restore the site to its natural splendor.
What will not change and will never be forgotten
is that in some form or fashion, the Santa Susana Field
Laboratory has had a hand in every major rocket serving
America's space exploration endeavors.
Santa Susana's contribution reaches from the earliest
reference well into the future.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
https://ssfl.msfc.nasa.gov