The Lunar Landing Research Facility (LLRF) was an area at NASA's

Langley Research Center The Langley Research Center (LaRC or NASA Langley), located in Hampton, Virginia, near the Chesapeake Bay front of Langley Air Force Base, is the oldest of NASA's field centers. LaRC has focused primarily on aeronautical research but has also ...

Hampton, Virginia Hampton is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 137,148 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, seve ...

that was used to simulate Apollo Moon landings with a mock

Lunar Module The Apollo Lunar Module (LM ), originally designated the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), was the lunar lander spacecraft that was flown between lunar orbit and the Moon's surface during the United States' Apollo program. It was the first crewed s ...

powered by a small rocket motor suspended from a crane over a simulated lunar landscape. Completed in 1965 at a cost of $3.5 million, the facility was used by 24 astronauts, including

Neil Armstrong Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aerospace engineering, aeronautical engineer who, in 1969, became the Apollo 11#Lunar surface operations, first person to walk on the Moon. He was al ...

and

Buzz Aldrin Buzz Aldrin ( ; born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.; January 20, 1930) is an American former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot. He made three extravehicular activity, spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission, and was the Lunar Module Eag ...

, to practice solving piloting problems they would encounter in the last of descent to the surface of the Moon.NASA Impact Dynamics Research Facility
/ref> The structure was used to facilitate "flying" a full-scale Lunar Excursion Module Simulator (LEMS). The LEMS was suspended from a -tall, -long A-frame gantry by an overhead bridge crane. The LEMS is now on display at the Virginia Air and Space Center.

Post-Apollo uses

Re-designated the Impact Dynamics Research Facility (IDRF) in 1974, the site was used for research on aircraft crashes until 2003. With limited funding for maintenance, NASA then closed the facility and it was listed for demolition. In 2004, NASA determined that the IDRF could be adapted to support the

Constellation program The Constellation program (abbreviated CxP) was a crewed spaceflight program developed by NASA, the space agency of the United States, from 2005 to 2009. The major goals of the program were "completion of the International Space Station" and a " ...

. It was re-opened in 2005 to conduct landing tests associated with the development of the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) ''Orion''. The facility was renamed the Landing and Impact Research Facility (LandIR) and minor modifications were made, including a new parallel winch system to support full-scale ''Orion'' testing and a new hydro-impact basin (splashdown pool) below the gantry. Construction of the basin was completed in 2011. After Constellation was cancelled, the LandIR continued performing impact testing since the CEV will be used to service the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...

. The facility was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1985 for its role in the space program.

Gallery

File:Lunar_Landing_Vehicle_-_GPN-2000-001889.jpg, Vehicle for Lunar Landing Research Facility at Langley Research Center File:Astronaut_Roger_Chaffee_-_GPN-2000-001280.jpg, Astronaut Roger B. Chaffee (left) receives instruction from Maxwell W. Goode, a scientist at NASA's Langley Research Center File:Lunar_Lander_Multiple_Exposure_-_GPN-2000-001281.jpg, This multiple exposure shows a simulated Moon landing of the Lunar Lander trainer

References

External links

Aviation: From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel ItineraryNASA Impact Dynamics Research FacilityLLRF National Landmark document
{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Missions to the Moon Apollo program National Historic Landmarks in Virginia Buildings and structures in Hampton, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Hampton, Virginia

Post-Apollo uses

Gallery

See also

References

External links