Summary of a 1982/1983 Liquid Rocket Propulsion Test Facility Assessment

In August of 1982, an internal NASA team was chartered by the Associate Administrators for the Office of Space Flight (OSF) and the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology (OAST) to assess the status of the nation’s liquid chemical space propulsion test facilities and their adequacy to support current, near-term, and long-range national program requirements. This paper describes the results of that assessment, including the government and industry test capabilities in existence at that time, facility deficiencies that existed relative to what was needed to meet perceived future test requirements, an integrated facility implementation plan recommended by the team, and the state of the liquid rocket propulsion industry at the time the assessment was made.