Editing Marshall Space Flight Center (section)

====Early scientific and engineering research====
From the start, MSFC has had strong research projects in science and engineering. Two of the early activities, Highwater and Pegasus, were performed on a non-interference basis while testing the Saturn I vehicle.{{citation_needed|date=July 2019}}

In [[Project Highwater]], a dummy Saturn I second stage was filled with {{convert|23,000|USgal|m3}} of water as ballast. After burnout of the first stage, explosive charges released the water into the upper atmosphere. The project answered questions about the diffusion of liquid propellants in the event that a rocket was destroyed at high altitude. Highwater experiments were carried out in April and November 1962.{{citation_needed|date=July 2019}}

Under the [[Pegasus satellite program|Pegasus Satellite Program]], the Saturn I second stage was instrumented to study the frequency and penetration depth of [[micrometeoroid]]s. Two large panels were folded into the empty stage and unfolded in orbit, presenting 2,300&nbsp;ft<sup>2</sup> (210-m<sup>2</sup>) of instrumented surface. Three Pegasus satellites were launched during 1965, with each one staying in orbit from 3 to 13 years.{{citation_needed|date=July 2019}}

=====Lunar exploration=====
[[File:Lunar Roving Vehicle Mobility Test Article Dress Test.jpg|thumb|[[Lunar Roving Vehicle]] test article on test track]]
There were six Apollo missions that landed on the Moon: [[Apollo 11]], [[Apollo 12|12]], [[Apollo 14|14]], [[Apollo 15|15]], [[Apollo 16|16]], and [[Apollo 17|17]]. [[Apollo 13]] had been intended as a landing, but only circled the Moon and returned to Earth after an oxygen tank ruptured and crippled power in the CSM. Except for Apollo 11, all of the missions carried an [[Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package]] (ALSEP), composed of equipment for seven scientific experiments plus a central remote control station with a [[radioisotope thermoelectric generator]] (RTG). Scientists from MSFC were among the co-investigators.{{citation_needed|date=July 2019}}

The [[Lunar Roving Vehicle]] (LRV), popularly known as the "Moon Buggy," was developed at MSFC to provide transportation for exploring a limited amount of the Moon's surface. Not intended in the original planning, by 1969 it became clear that an LRV would be needed to maximize the scientific returns. An LRV was carried on the last three missions, allowing an area similar in size to Manhattan Island to be explored. Outbound they carried an ALSEP to be set up; on the return trip, they carried more than 200 pounds of lunar rock and soil samples. [[Saverio "Sonny" Morea]] was the LRV project manager at MSFC.<ref>Morea, Saverio F; [http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/lunar/LRV_Historical_Perspective.pdf "The Lunar Roving Vehicle – Historical Perspective"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320195005/http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/lunar/LRV_Historical_Perspective.pdf |date=2012-03-20 }}</ref>

=====Skylab and ATM=====
[[File:Serpentuator.jpg|thumb|MSFC engineers tested this articulated arm developed, but not used, for Skylab at a MSFC flat floor facility.]]
[[File:Neutral Buoyancy Space Simulator.jpg|thumb|MSFC used the Neutral Buoyancy Facility to test Skylab procedures. Here, engineers are testing procedures for repairing Skylab.]]

The [[Apollo Applications Program]] (AAP) involved science-based crewed space missions using surplus Apollo equipment. The lack of interest by Congress resulted in most of the proposed activities being abandoned, but an orbital workshop remained of interest.{{citation_needed|date=July 2019}} In December 1965, MSFC was authorized to begin the Orbital Workshop as a formal project. At a meeting at MSFC on August 19, 1966, [[George Mueller (NASA)|George E. Mueller]], NASA Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight, pinned down the final concept for the major elements. MSFC was assigned responsibility for the development of the orbiting space station hardware as well as overall systems engineering and integration.{{citation_needed|date=July 2019}}

For testing and mission simulation, a {{convert|75|ft|m|adj=on}}-diameter water-filled tank, the [[Neutral Buoyancy Simulator|Neutral Buoyancy Facility]], was opened at MSFC in March 1968. Engineers and astronauts used this underwater facility to simulate the [[weightlessness]] (or zero-g) environment of space. This was particularly used in training astronauts in activities in zero-g work, especially [[Extra-vehicular activity|spacewalks]].{{citation_needed|date=July 2019}}

The Orbital Workshop was built into the propellant tanks of a Saturn V third stage, being fully refitted on the ground. It was renamed [[Skylab]] in February 1970. Two were built – one for flight and the other for testing and mission simulation in the Neutral Buoyancy Facility. Leland F Belew served for eight years as the overall Skylab program director.{{citation_needed|date=July 2019}}

Another AAP project that survived was a solar observatory, originally intended to be a deployable attachment to the Apollo spacecraft. Called the [[Apollo Telescope Mount]] (ATM), the project was assigned to MSFC in 1966. As the Orbital Workshop matured into the Skylab, the ATM was added as an appendage, but the two activities were kept as independent development projects. [[Rein Ise]] was the ATM project manager at MSFC. The ATM included eight major instruments for observations of the Sun at wavelengths from extreme [[ultraviolet]] to [[infrared]]. The data was mainly collected on special photographic film; during the Skylab missions, the film had to be changed out by astronauts in [[spacewalk]]s.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Ise|first1= Rein|first2= Eugene H.|last2= Cagle|title =The Apollo Telescope Mount on Skylab|journal =Acta Astronautica| volume= 1|number= 11–12 |date =November–December 1974|pages = 1315–1329|doi= 10.1016/0094-5765(74)90078-2|bibcode= 1974AcAau...1.1315I}}</ref>

On May 14, 1973, the 77-ton (70,000-kg) Skylab was launched into a 235-nautical-mile (435-km) orbit by the last flown Saturn V. Saturn IB vehicles with their CSMs were used to launch three-person crews to dock with Skylab. Severe damage was sustained during Skylab launch and deployment, resulting in the loss of the station's micrometeoroid shield/sun shade and one of its main solar panels. This loss was partially corrected by the first crew, launched May 25; they stayed in orbit with Skylab for 28 days. Two additional missions followed with the launch dates of July 28 and November 16, with mission durations of 59 and 84 days, respectively. Skylab, including the ATM, logged about 2,000 hours on some 300 scientific and medical experiments. The last Skylab crew returned to the Earth on February 8, 1974.<ref>Belew, Leland. F. (editor); [https://history.nasa.gov/SP-400/contents.htm "Skylab, Our First Space Station"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111222039/https://history.nasa.gov/SP-400/contents.htm |date=2020-11-11 }} NASA publication SP-400, 1977</ref>

=====Apollo–Soyuz Test Program=====
The [[Apollo–Soyuz Test Project]] (ASTP) was the last flight of a Saturn IB. On 15 July 1975, a three-person crew was launched on a six-day mission to dock with a Soviet [[Soyuz (spacecraft)|Soyuz]] spacecraft. The primary purpose was to provide engineering experience for future joint space flights, but both spacecraft also had scientific experiments. This was the last crewed U.S. space mission until April 1981.