F-1 Engine Test Stand

The F-1 Engine Test Stand (Building 4696) was used at Marshall to static-fire single F-1 engines.

The test stand proper was 214 feet tall (with its cranes extending approximately an additional 50 feet) and consisted of a steel superstructure mounted on four concrete pillars. These pillars were 18 by 16 feet, and extended 40 feet underground to bedrock. Three of the pillars were 105 feet tall, stopping at the stand's main level while the fourth extended to the test stand's full height, serving as a mount for the crane. Although the F-1 engine produced only 1.5 million pounds of thrust, the stand was built to accommodate engines with as much as 3.4 million pounds of thrust.

The stand was equipped a 65 foot tall flame deflector. The flame deflector was of a double-walled construction, each wall being formed of one inch thick steel plating. During operation, 136,000 gallons of water (from a pump house shared with the S-IC test stand) flowed through the flame deflector and out some 20,000 holes in the deflector walls.

Construction on the test stand began in 1962 and was completed by 1965. The first F-1 engine test, lasting only 14 seconds, was performed on July 8, 1965 (single F-1 engine tests at Marshall had previously been conducted in the west position of the Static Test Tower). A total of 107 tests were performed in the F-1 Engine Test Stand, the last one taking place on February 13, 1969.

For information on how an F-1 rocket engine was loaded in the test stand in preparation for conducting an engine test, see my F-1 Test Stand Load and Test page.

Marshall took plenty of photos while the F-1 test stand was under construction:

There's also a photo of the completed test stand and two of an F-1 engine test taking place in the stand: MSFC-6866986 (note the runoff pond), MSFC-6778720.

I've visited the West Test Area three times. My first visit was a bus tour in 2008 which included a drive-by of the F-1 Engine Test Stand. During my second visit in July 2012, I found that the stand had been undergoing demolition since 2011; I later received photos, taken in March 2009, documenting the test stand prior to the start of demolition. The stand's propellant tanks were removed in August 2012 The final demolition took place on November 30, 2012, and I visited its ruins in September 2013 and also photographed the propellant tanks.

The F-1 Engine Test Stand is on the Historic American Buildings Survey. The survey includes a number of engineering-type drawings of the test stand, as well as an extensive essay on the history of the stand, the F-1 engine, and their place in the Space Race. The location of the stand is indicated on my MSFC overview. Finally, here's a Google Maps link to its former location (as I write this page, Google's 45° view still shows the test stand prior to demolition; switch to the overhead view to see the remains of the test stand).