National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

NASA’S JOHN H. GLENN RESEARCH CENTER NEIL ARMSTRONG TEST FACILITY

NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility is a remote test facility 

for NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Located 

on 6,400 acres in Sandusky, Ohio, it is home to some of 

the world’s largest and most capable space simulation test 

facilities, where ground tests are conducted for the U.S. 

and international space and aeronautics communities.

FACILITIES AND PROJECTS

The Space Environments Complex houses three of the world’s 

largest and most powerful space environment simulation facilities, 

including a thermal vacuum chamber measuring 100 feet in diameter 

by 122 feet high, or roughly the size of the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. 

The Reverberant Acoustic Test Facility is the world’s most powerful 

spacecraft acoustic test chamber, and it can simulate the noise of a 

spacecraft launch up to 163 decibels, or as loud as the thrust of 20 

jet engines. The Mechanical Vibration Facility is the world’s highest 

capacity and most powerful spacecraft shaker system, subjecting 

test articles to the rigorous conditions of launch. NASA is using the 

Space Environments Complex to test the Orion spacecraft, which 

will carry astronauts to the Moon and other destinations.

The In-Space Propulsion Facility is the world’s only facility 

capable of testing full-scale, upper-stage launch vehicles and rocket 

engines under simulated space conditions. The engine or vehicle 

can be exposed for indefinite periods to low ambient pressures, low 

background temperatures, and dynamic solar heating to simulate 

the environment of orbital or interplanetary travel. SpaceX’s Crew 

Dragon underwent tests in this facility. 

The Combined Effects Chamber is designed to allow safe largescale liquid hydrogen (LH2) experiments and can simulate conditions 

found on the surface of the Moon and Mars.

The Hypersonic Test Facility was originally designed to test nuclear 

thermal rocket nozzles. The facility was later converted to a highvelocity wind tunnel that can test engines and other aircraft systems 

at up to seven times the speed of sound. NASA is currently using it 

for the NASA Electric Aircraft Testbed (NEAT) to develop hybridelectric propulsion for future commercial aircraft.
www.nasa.gov PS–03357–0623

HISTORY

NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility, previously known as Plum 

Brook Station, was founded in 1941 when the War Department 

acquired roughly 9,000 acres of land to construct a munitions plant. 

The plant, then called the Plum Brook Ordnance Works, produced 

explosives, such as TNT, until the end of World War II. NASA acquired 

the land in 1963.

From 1963 to 1973, the facility was used to study the effects of 

radiation on materials used in spaceflight. It was shut down in 1973 

and all the nuclear fuel was shipped offsite to a U.S. Department 

of Energy facility in Idaho for disposal or reuse. NASA completed 

decommissioning and demolition of the Plum Brook Reactor Facility 

in 2013, leaving the land where it was located safe for reuse. 

Plum Brook Station reopened in 1987 and has since made significant 

contributions to the development of NASA and commercial space 

systems. In December 2020, the facility was officially named in 

honor of Neil Armstrong, native Ohioan and the first person to walk 

on the Moon. 

ENVIRONMENT

The Armstrong Test Facility is home to many animals, including 

deer, coyotes, gray foxes, squirrels, woodchucks, raccoons, owls, 

red-tailed hawks, snakes, and amphibians. It is a stopping point 

for dozens of migratory bird species, some of which are quite 

rare. In fact, a nesting pair of bald eagles usually has a brood 

of two chicks each year, and it is quite common to see 

large vultures and wild turkeys. Because large exclusion 

zones prevent much of the land from being developed, 

many areas feel more like a nature preserve than a 

space center. Environmental scientists actively work to 

restore, preserve, and protect the wide range of natural 

environments, from oak savannahs to open prairies.

STAFF

A highly skilled workforce of more than 100 engineers, technicians, 

and administrative and support personnel comprise the team at 

NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility.

David L. Stringer is director of the test facility. A retired U.S. Air 

Force Brigadier General, Stringer joined NASA in 2007 after 32 

years of active service.