By Ann Roosevelt
The Army has a new Electromagnetic Vulnerability Assessment Facility (EMVAF) and NASA is building new launch facilities, expanding the capabilities of White Sands Missile Range, N.M.
NASA held ground breaking ceremonies Nov. 14 for the Orion Abort Flight Test Launch Complex. The Army in late October held a ribbon cutting for the EMVAF hosted by Maj. Gen. Fred Robinson, commander, U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, and Army Research Laboratory (ARL) Director John Miller.
White Sands Missile Range, N.M., comprises almost 3,200 square miles and is the largest military installation in the country, routinely used by all the services and other government agencies.
The new EMVAF facility will address the complete electromagnetic threat being encountered in theater and anticipated for the future force.
The EMVAF is a secure electromagnetic spectrum research facility with two double-shielded anechoic chambers, control rooms, a lab, and various other spaces. It is to become the service’s premiere facility for performing controlled measurements for radio frequency (RF) and microwave survivability/lethality/vulnerability of electronic systems.
EMVAF will be operated by the Survivability and Lethality Analysis Directorate.
The NASA pad will host a series of launch abort system tests to help ensure astronaut safety aboard the space agency’s future crew exploration vehicle Orion. The first of a planned five unmanned abort tests at the new pad is slated for lift off Sept. 23, 2008. The tests will use a stage of a retired Peacekeeper ICBM to loft the Orion elements for testing. New Mexico-based Denco Inc., will build the pads. Lockheed Martin [LMT] is the prime contractor for Orion and the launch abort system.
EMVAF is a multi-use facility, able to conduct such activities as low- and high-power directed energy experiments, measuring RF emissions and susceptibilities of electronic systems, and addressing issues related to interoperability, interference, and non-typical antennas.
The new test complex will be able to validate electronic warfare jamming pods, measure counter-IED systems, and continue the development of ARL’s capabilities in assessment of wireless systems. Its satellite links and ability to patch in to other facilities at White Sands will support distributed testing and the future force experimentation planned at WSMR and nearby Fort Bliss, Texas.
The facility includes a number of safety and maintenance enhancements that the previous EMVAF, destroyed by a fire in 2001, lacked.
It is constructed of fire retardant materials, and is equipped with a sprinkler system that can be activated without harming anyone in the building.
The Georgia-based Howland Company designed the EMVAF shielded anechoic chambers and control rooms as well as the 100-ton capacity turntable. The company also developed the procurement specifications for the shielding and anechoic construction. The main EMVAF shielded anechoic chamber is nearly 100 feet long, the second is about 20 feet long.