Advanced Technology Development Center

Laboratory Operator & POCs:
NASA – Steve Kyramarios
Mail Stop: KT-A1, KSC, FL 32899
Steve.N.Kyramarios@nasa.gov (321) 861-9172
Contractor – Mike Dunkel
Michael.B.Dunkel@nasa.gov (321) 759-5028
Location: Space Launch Complex (SLC 20), Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

Description
Kennedy Space Center has embarked upon the creation of a “Spaceport of the Future” test facility, the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC). ATDC will provide a national proving ground for the development, integration, demonstration, testing, and qualification of spaceport and range technologies. It can be thought of as a prototype spaceport where industry, Government, and academia can work together to improve the technology and safety of future space initiatives. ATDC hopes to provide a cost-effective, highly flexible, and capable testbed for a broad scope of activities ranging from development and testing of individual components to integration and testing of a wide variety of high-fidelity “iron birds” equipped with prototype systems that function as a complete flight system and can simulate various operational scenarios. ATDC will also concentrate on proving new processing technologies that will reduce the operations cost of launch processing activities.

ATDC will address the technology development arm of the up-front planning so it will improve the chances that a program will meet its goals within projected cost targets. The more we know about an advanced technology, the more we raise its individual technology readiness level and the more successfully we will apply that technology to a new project. That increased knowledge also promotes our ability to assess a technology’s integration readiness level, which indicates the relative maturity of a technology to the subsystem to which it applies and helps decrease the technology risk for the program.

Much of the previous planning for the next-generation launch technologies has focused on the development of individual technologies that enable or enhance the next-generation launch architecture. Although not forgotten, planning and budgeting for the development of integrated systems has been deficient. To ensure program risks are minimized, integrated systems relating directly to the next-generation launch architecture must be developed, tested, certified, and validated. Thus, the concept of an integrated systems test facility (ISTF), like ATDC, that can provide an operationally responsive and relevant environment for the spaceport of the future is born. An ISTF can demonstrate, within ever-increasing maturity of integrated subsystems and systems, all future technologies required to support the spaceport of the future while maintaining the ability to adapt quickly and efficiently to new technologies. Everyday goals of enhanced reliability, availability, supportability, adaptability, scalability, maintainability, and safety are to be improved and demonstrated in an ISTF. Operability, fast turnaround time, and low cost are the desired results for the next-generation launch architecture and will be the product of an ISTF like the ATDC.

Located at Space Launch Complex (SLC) 20 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Air Force Station, ATDC can
conduct safe, secure operations with gaseous nitrogen, liquid nitrogen, and liquid oxygen. Capabilities will be added later to support a full spectrum of “Spaceport of the Future” technologies and processes, including rapid-fill cryogenics, autocoupler technology, range resource development, and evolutionary launch vehicle processing.

Fee Schedule
Facility use is negotiated on a per-proposal basis.