NEXT GENERATION ROCKET TEST FACILITY REFURBISHED, READY.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE - On the same day the president announced plans for America to return to the moon, the Air Force celebrated the refurbishment of a rocket-engine test stand used in the Apollo program.

Test stand 2-A, used in the 1960s to test F-1 engines for the Apollo Saturn V rocket and in the 1970s for the space shuttle's main engines, underwent an $18.5 million, 18-month refurbishment.

``We now have the world's most modern rocket test facility and we are ready to do something great for the nation,'' said Col. Joe Boyle, site commander at the Air Force Research Laboratory's Propulsion Directorate at Edwards.

Mounted on rocky Leuhman Ridge across Rogers Dry Lake from Edwards' main installation, the concrete and steel test stand is the Defense Department's largest for testing liquid-fuel rocket engines. The test stand is capable of testing rockets producing 750,000 pounds of thrust.

There are no confirmed plans for using the test stand, but there are a number of companies looking at the its capabilities. Among those are Aerojet, a rocket engine company based in Sacramento.

Aerojet is looking at the possibility of using the stand for testing a thrust chamber nozzle for an upper stage of a space booster and also for re-certifying existing engines and engine components, said Lee Meyer, a vice president with the firm.

Maj. Gen. Paul Nielsen, commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory, of which Edwards' rocket laboratory is part, said the test stand will aid America as it develops a new generation of space launchers.

``We've got a lot of launch vehicles that have served us well, but they are rooted in 1960s and 1970s technology,'' Nielsen said. ``This facility will work hard on building on the rocket engines that will power us in this century.''

The funding for the refurbishment of the test stand stems from a strategic plan examining California's space assets that was conducted in the late 1990s by the California Space Authority, the nonprofit organization that serves as the state's spaceport authority.

``Through that planning process we were able to identify the test stand was needing work to be brought up to speed for safety and environmental regulations,'' said Janic Dunn, CSA's director of federal government relations.

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) The Edwards Air Force Base Blue Eagles color guard march during dedication of Test Stand 2-A on Wednesday. The stand, used in the 1960s to test Apollo Saturn V engines and in the 1970s for the space shuttle's engines, underwent an 18-month refurbishment.

(2 -- color) Guests and dignitaries attend Wednesday's dedication of Test Stand 2-A at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Edwards Air Force Base, marking the end of 18 months of refurbishment.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer