Services Provided 

Human-rated space environmental testing

Materials outgassing evaluations

Accelerated electrical and electronic component burn-ins and 

life-cycle testing

Environmental cycling (thermal and humidity) for materials survivability

Materials and hardware testing in extreme 

environments (manned and unmanned)

Determination of design factors

− Operating temperatures

− Combined thermal and pressure-load distortions 

of dimensionally critical structural elements

− Fluid and gas leak rates

− Changes in absorptive or emissive properties 

of thermal coating

− Evolution of harmful or undesirable 

off-gassing products

− Presence of conditions 

conducive to electrical-arc 

or corona discharge

Thermal-Vacuum Testing

Johnson Space Center (JSC) Thermal-Vacuum Test Facilities provide thermal-vacuum chamber test 

operations for both manned and unmanned test environments. The facilities offer a wide range of 

performance capability, which can be matched to the individual test requirements of smaller test 

articles or large test article components and subsystems. Typical uses of these chambers have 

included development, engineering evaluation, and qualification testing of spacecraft components, 

subassemblies, and experiments; preflight thermal-vacuum conditioning of flight hardware; 

development and calibration of instruments for use in the large chambers or in-flight; spacecraft 

seal studies; photographic film emulsion studies; and optical surface contamination studies.

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

www.nasa.gov
Thermal-Vacuum Test Facilities

Chamber A

Chamber A is the largest of the thermal-vacuum test facilities at JSC. 

The chamber’s usable test volume and high-fidelity space simulation 

capabilities are adaptable for thermal-vacuum testing of a wide variety 

of test articles, including entire space vehicles. Additional test support 

equipment includes mass spectrometers, infrared cameras, and 

television cameras. The numerous flanges at all levels provide ample 

pass-throughs for electrical, instrumentation, and gasses to support 

large systems.

Chamber B

Chamber B is used for human testing in a vacuum environment and 

for crewed space operations testing. Chamber B is a human-rated 

chamber equipped with a traversing monorail that provides weight 

relief to one suited crewmember at a time. The chamber also has 

dual crew-locks to provide easy access to the test articles as well 

as a means of transporting test crewmembers to the test environment 

and back during tests.

Chamber E

Chamber E is a thermal vacuum chamber designed for relatively large gas loads at high vacuum. It is 

equipped with cold walls, an on-axis filtered xenon solar simulator, and pumping systems suitable for tracecontaminant sensitive tests.

15-Foot Chamber

The 15-Foot Chamber is a spherical chamber designed to test advanced concepts for battery power systems, 

space vehicle actuators, and auxiliary power units. 

Thermal Vacuum Facility Capabilities

Facility Internal Volume Temperature Range Pressure Range

Chamber A 55′ Dia x 90′ H -300 °F – * 1 x 10-6– 760 torr

Chamber B 25′ Dia x 26′ H -300 °F – * 1 x 10-6– 760 torr

Dual Glove Box 4.5′ W x 3.5′ H x 1.3′ D -300 – 300 °F 1 x 10-5– 760 torr

Chamber E 4.6′ Dia x 9.5′ L -280 °F – * 1 x 10-6– 760 torr

Chamber N 3′ Dia x 3′ L -280 °F – * 1 x 10-6– 760 torr

Chamber P 5′ Dia x 4′ L Ambient – 400 °F 1 x 10-6– 760 torr

Chamber G 1.4′ Dia x 2′ L -280 °F – * 1 x 10-6– 760 torr

15-Foot Chamber 12.5′ diameter -300 – 300 °F 1 x 10-6– 760 torr

Tenny Chamber 43′′ W x 60′′ H x 26′′ D -300 – 350 °F 5 x 10-5– 760 torr

We have developed customer-friendly agreements to streamline business relationships and are eager to share 

our unique facilities and expertise with new customers. We invite your inquiries regarding application or 

adaptation of our capabilities to satisfy your special requirements. Briefings on general or specific subjects of 

mutual interest can be arranged at JSC or at your business site. 

Facility Testing Information

http://jsceng.nasa.gov

Point of Contact

Associate Director ● JSC Engineering Directorate ● (281) 483-8991 ● jsc-ea-partnerships@mail.nasa.gov

Chamber A

* Maximum temperature is dependent on characteristics of the test article and associated test buildup

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