Facilities

• KSC Beachside Corrosion Laboratory
• Beachside Atmospheric Test Facility
• Atmospheric Test Facility
• Flowing Seawater Test Facility
• On-Site Electrochemistry Laboratory and Monitoring Station
• Coatings Application Laboratory
• Accelerated Corrosion Testing

Beachside Atmospheric Test Facility

The KSC Beachside Atmospheric Test Facility was established in the 1960s and has provided over 40 years of historical information on the long-term performance of many materials in use at Kennedy Space Center and other locations around the world. This site is located 100 feet from the Atlantic Ocean and is approximately 1 mile south of the Space Shuttle launch sites.

Capabilities

The beachside test facility includes an atmospheric exposure site, flowing seawater immersion tanks, cathodic protection compatibility tank, weather station, and on-site electrochemistry laboratory, monitoring station, and sample preparation and processing area. The beach front site is also equipped with four cameras. The focus and position of the cameras can be controlled over the web by employees and customers. The beach front laboratory is used to conduct real-time corrosion experiments. It provides remote monitoring of surrounding weather conditions including wind speed and direction, and rainfall. The flowing seawater immersion facility allows immersion testing of materials and devices under controlled conditions.

	Atmospheric Exposure Site
	Flowing Seawater Exposure Site
	On-Site Electrochemistry Laboratory and Monitoring Station

Accomplishments

Thousands of coated test panels, stress corrosion cracking specimens, non-metallic materials, and commercially produced components have been evaluated in the high salt, high humidity, and high UV Florida seacoast atmospheric environment. Based upon the results of tests, numerous publications have been made available to the public.

The location of the KSC
Beachside Atmospheric
Exposure Test Site.

The KSC Corrosion Laboratory has become a recognized source of corrosion expertise. Past customers have included other NASA centers, the U. S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines; Lockheed; EG&G; McDonnell-Douglas; Johnson Controls; Raytheon; Rockwell; USBI; Thiokol; Boeing; SGS (Space Gateway Support); USA and other private companies. The test site is available for cooperative research projects. For information on how to initiate work at the Beach Corrosion Test Site, contact corrosion@ksc.nasa.gov.