NASA Johnson Space Center Sonny Carter Training Facility – Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory

WHR designed and installed The Sonny Carter Training Facility and Neutral Buoyancy Lab (NBL) to act as a weightless simulation training ground for astronauts in conjunction with Space Station Alpha.

The NBL was created within a building originally designed by WHR Architects for McDonnell Douglas. The original building was completed in two phases: 1) engineering and design of various space station components including a high bay area for the construction of full size mock-ups, and 2) large high bay area for final test and assembly of flight ready components. After the construction of this facility, McDonnell Douglas modified the building to accommodate the Sonny Carter Training Facility/Neutral Buoyancy Lab (NBL) and conveyed the building to NASA.

Services provided to NASA included design and installation of a 40’ deep, 102’ wide and 202’ long water tank which holds 6.2 million gallons of water, and related buildings for breathing gas supply and water treatment facilities. Astronaut and diver equipment support areas were added, as were technicians’, mock-up assembly and receiving areas. Test conductors and directors were located in a freestanding office overlooking the tank to provide unobstructed observation. Other areas included electronic labs and a clean room (Class 10,000) capable of accommodating a space system transport vehicle.