Washington, D.C.
Satchell Engineering & Associates staff was contracted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the design and construction of a 6.2 million gallon pool for use as a laboratory for simulating zero-gravity training and test conditions. The laboratory tank was designed large enough to facilitate a number of space vehicle equipment configurations. As a result, the pool’s hydraulic design was of significant concern and study. The “zero-gravity” condition required a “zero-current” environment to exist and as a result, all distribution piping was limited to extremely low velocities to prevent unrealistic effects from impacting the simulation environment tank.
