NTS’s Multi-Million-Dollar Investment Bolsters Testing Capabilities at World-Class Lab in “Rocket City”

By AIT News Desk On Oct 30, 2020

The Center of Excellence for Space, Nuclear, Aviation, and Defense Testing Transforms into the Ultimate One-Stop Test Shop in Huntsville, Alabama

NTS, the leader in testing, inspection, and certification solutions in North America, is pleased to announce that its laboratory in Huntsville, AL has expanded its testing capabilities with a multi-million-dollar investment. The NTS lab secured its indirect lightning strike test capability, upgraded its MIL-STD 167 vibration simulator, introduced the Highly Accelerated Life Test (HALT) thermal and vibration screening system, expanded its high-flow steam production to 2.2 million pounds per hour for nuclear valve and commercial test application, and will be adding new dual vibration shakers. This massive investment is critical for helping customers in the new Race-to-Space as it provides a complete One-Stop Shop for space testing in the heart of Rocket City.

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“This significant investment demonstrates our continued commitment to our customers to ensure the best test experience possible.” – Robert Bridges, General Manager at NTS Huntsville

As the Race-to-Space accelerates, the demand for complex system testing is increasing. As a result, the NTS Huntsville lab has strengthened its one-stop shop offering for Space, Defense, Nuclear, and Aviation customers who have challenging projects and compressed timelines. The expanded offering includes the following:

Lightning Generation: A newly added Indirect Effects lightning testing capability includes multiple-burst, multiple-stroke, and pin injections up to level 3 of RTCA/DO-160 including MIL-STD-461G CS117.

MIL-STD-167 Vibration Simulator: This new system provides low frequency vibration at extreme low and high displacements on large items with specimen weights up to 60,000 pounds in accordance with MIL-STD-167. Additionally, three-phase AC power up to 4,160 volts can be provided while the unit is in full operation under test. This robust solution even includes use of an outside fuel source and steam flow as needed.

HALT Screening System: This service accelerates the overall life of a unit by introducing rapid thermal cycles, increasing vibration inputs, and combining thermal conditions with vibration. A fully self-contained system provides extreme steady-state thermal conditions with the capability to ramp between thermal extremes greater than 30°C and provide random vibration at stepped levels. Each of these variables can be applied to the test article individually or combined.

High-Flow Steam Production: Expanded capabilities allow engineers to produce steam at any rate up to 2.2 million pounds per hour. The highly customizable system can be adjusted to various moisture saturation states and the flow volume can accommodate test items that range from a 1.0-inch valve to a 16.0-inch valve. Exact piping arrangement can be duplicated in test set-up to best simulate in-service conditions spanning commercial settings to nuclear settings for safety relief valve certifications.

Dual Shakers: The addition of a dual shaker system will allow NTS to offer enhanced vibration and shock tests offerings to include up to 3.0-inch displacement, 70-inches per second of velocity, and greater than 60,000 force pounds on large items. The dual shaker system allows customers to obtain needed vibration or shock spectrums testing on both an electrodynamic exciter and on an electrohydraulic exciter to be conducted on one system.

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NTS has qualified components for nearly every space launch platform including the Space Shuttle, Atlas, Delta IV, and Space Launch System (SLS). This rich history highlights the undisputed industry leadership of NTS in performing robust, complex testing on very large assemblies utilizing high output test systems. As a winner of the 2019 NASA Space Award—and with a multi-decade history in extreme environmental and dynamics testing—NTS is the world’s most trusted test lab for space testing.

The NTS Huntsville Lab in Rocket City is a massive 238,196 square foot test facility with advanced dynamics, environmental, mechanical, hydraulic, nuclear, and EMI/EMC testing capabilities to meet the most extreme testing challenges for military, aviation, and space projects and programs. “This significant investment demonstrates our continued commitment to our customers to ensure the best test experience possible,” said Robert Bridges, General Manager at NTS Huntsville, AL.