Remote Hypervelocity Test Laboratory

Added to our site in 1993, the Remote Hypervelocity Test Laboratory was designed to safely handle and test hazardous test articles, making it unique within NASA. This facility is capable of simulating micrometeoroid and orbital debris impacts on spacecraft materials and components.  Test articles can be pressurized, electrically energized, and thermally conditioned. A site‐wide hazardous fluid handling and disposal network also allows toxic and explosive targets such as batteries, aerospace fluids, and pressurized containers to be safely evaluated in a controlled laboratory environment. 
Our test team has consistently performed over 600 shots per year with four two‐stage light gas gun and perform the necessary gun performance analysis and pretest validation shots to ensure that the projectile velocities are within ±0.20 km/s.  All testing is performed within the NASA Calibration and Quality Assurance programs to provide top quality data to our customers. The Measurement Standards and Calibration Laboratory ensures that measurement devices used on our test systems are accurate by calibrating to standards traceable to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The lab is certified to meet the ISO 9001 Standard and is compliant with AS 9100.