Visit To NASA's Plum Brook Station

If you remember we we at the arrival of the Artemis/Orion Rocket, when it arrived for testing at Plum Brook Station. Testing is done and was successful. Here is a look around Plum Brook as they prepare to send it back. All photos are the property of the Lakewood Observer, Inc. @2020

(click photo to enlarge)

  • Just outside of Sandusky lies NASA Plum Brook Station. A very inmportant part of NASA's success over the decades.

  • Check in station.

  • What is not allowed.

  • More of what is not allowed.

  • The hard hats lined up including Nicole Smith's pink hard hat. Nicole is the Artemis/Orion Project Manager here.

  • As I walked in, the artemis/Orion capsule sits upright. Last time I saw it, it was on it's side. Standing up it is even more impressive.

  • It arrived in September. After moving and mifting over 2,500 wires crossing the back roads between Mansfield Airport and Plumb Brook.

  • While here it went through a series of test including cold, heat, vibration and RF interference.

  • All in the same room, and the same place. That's right this room does it all.

  • First the has to stand it up.

  • Then they secured it to the base and floor.

  • The capsule and other features were connected to over 2,000 inturments to measure all aspect of the test.

  • Then, the room is locked down and bathed in liquid Nitrogen, which enters as a gas and cools the room to -300. Then that is cycled out and the room is heated to +300 degrees.

  • While that was happening the room was also blasted with vibrations from speakers equal to over 100,000 concert speakers. It has been said that when the room is in full “concert” mode, you can feel it in your feet up to a mile away.

  • If that was not enough, the room is also flooded with Radio interference to make sure the electronics were.

  • Plum Brook was started as a nuclear  power station in the 50s, and was reconfigured to NASA’s test site in 1963.

  • The latches on the big door are about 3' tall each.

  • The

  • The clean room, well actually the whole place is one big clean room noormally.

  • Those cool clean room clogs.

  • This was the truss that set the whole spacecraft upright.

  • No idea what these were, but they were cool.

  • Scaffolding to get up on rocket.

  • The room is massive, photos do not give it credit.

  • Panorama of half the building.

  • Panorama of the other half the building.

  • People start to come in.

  • Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur arrives with some elbow bumps from astronaut Doug Wheelock..

  • the elbow bump.

  • From left to right, NASA Glenn Research Center Director Dr. Marla Perez Davis, Ohio Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, NASA Orion Program Manager Mark Kirasich, and Orion Test Project Manager, Nicole Smith.

  • NASA Glenn Research Center Director Dr. Marla Perez Davis

  • NASA Orion Program Manager Mark Kirasich

  • Orion Test Project Manager, Nicole Smith tells how well the tests went.

  • Ohio Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur speaks with NASA Glenn Research Center Director Dr. Marla Perez Davis

  • Ohio House member Adam Holmes, speaks with Marcy Kaptur. Both are huge supporters of NASA.

  • Marcy gets ready to tal with the media.

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