Lunar Landing Research Facility | |
 The site as the Impact Dynamics Research Facility (1974) | |
   | |
| Location | Hampton, Virginia |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37°6′8″N 76°23′23″W / 37.10222°N 76.38972°W |
| Built | 1965 |
| Architect | NASA |
| NRHP reference No. | 85002808 |
| VLR No. | 114-0140 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 3, 1985[2] |
| Designated NHL | October 3, 1985[3] |
| Designated VLR | February 18, 1986[1] |
The Lunar Landing Research Facility (LLRF) was an area at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia that was used to simulate Apollo Moon landings with a mock Lunar Module powered by a small rocket motor suspended from a crane over a simulated lunar landscape.
Completed in 1965 at a cost of $3.5 million, the facility was used by 24 astronauts, including Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, to practice solving piloting problems they would encounter in the last 150 feet (46 m) of descent to the surface of the Moon.[4]
The structure was used to facilitate "flying" a full-scale Lunar Excursion Module Simulator (LEMS). The LEMS was suspended from a 200-foot (61 m)-tall, 400-foot (120 m)-long A-frame gantry by an overhead bridge crane. The LEMS is now on display at the Virginia Air and Space Center.
- ^ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ "Lunar Landing Research Facility". National Historic Landmarks listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on December 29, 2007. Retrieved June 26, 2008.
- ^ NASA Impact Dynamics Research Facility