'World-class centrifuge': Draper building unique missile-testing facility in Titusville

Rick Neale, Florida Today
·3 min read
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How can scientists in a laboratory setting simulate the immense gravitational forces of a submarine-launched ballistic missile in flight?

Try mounting a payload at the end of a centrifuge arm more than 50 feet long — then spinning it around so fast inside a circle-shaped building that it generates more than 25 times the force of Earth's gravity, described Stephen Rusinko, Draper director of operations and production.

Draper, which designs guidance systems for U.S. Navy missiles, is building one of the world's largest centrifuge facilities in Titusville.

Tuesday morning, roughly 90 people gathered for a groundbreaking ceremony for the roughly $50 million future Strategic Enhanced Ground Test Facility. Draper CEO Jerry Wohletz said the centrifuge campus will employ 150 highly skilled workers.

This artist's rendering depicts Draper's future facility in Titusville. The rounded portion of the building will contain the centrifuge.
This artist's rendering depicts Draper's future facility in Titusville. The rounded portion of the building will contain the centrifuge.

The 36,000-square-foot facility should open in 2026, Rusinko said.

As the Navy’s strategic guidance prime contractor, Draper has designed and supported the guidance system for every fleet ballistic missile deployed since the program began in 1955, a company press release said.

Scientific research conducted in Titusville should save the nation hundreds of millions of dollars in flight-testing costs, said Robert Bacon, Draper vice president of Navy strategic systems.

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In late June, the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory of Cambridge, Massachusetts, bought 5.3 acres of land for the future facility for $2.2 million. Located near the American Police Hall of Fame and Museum, this site near the intersection of U.S. 1 and State Road 405 lies just shy of the NASA Causeway, which leads toward the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

A site plan displayed during Tuesday's event depicted an elevated platform with a loading monorail that leads to the centrifuge, which will be flanked by a pair of control rooms.

Draper will build its facility near the southeastern intersection of U.S. 1 and State Road 405 in Titusville.
Draper will build its facility near the southeastern intersection of U.S. 1 and State Road 405 in Titusville.

"We have this exquisite instrumentation that needs to be able to operate under high Gs and maintain its precision. So as our missiles and rockets launch, they go under extreme G-forces," Wohletz said, minutes before walking outside to pose for photos holding a gold-painted shovel.

Wohletz said the Titusville centrifuge will replace Draper's aging unit in Bedford, Massachusetts. Once built, he said it will join Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico as America's premier national-defense centrifuges.

Draper operates Florida campuses in Cape Canaveral and St. Petersburg, and the Titusville location will be the company's 10th nationwide. The company also is a partner in Blue Origin's $3.4 billion NASA contract to develop a lunar lander system to carry Artemis astronauts to the moon's surface.

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Christyl Johnson, NASA Goddard deputy director for technology and research investment, said her agency will partner with Draper.

"Goddard Space Flight Center has a centrifuge — but that centrifuge is being sunsetted. And so, we are beyond excited to have this facility come up and come on board," Johnson told the audience.

A Trident II D-5 ballistic missile launches from the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS West Virginia in the Atlantic Ocean during a missile test.
A Trident II D-5 ballistic missile launches from the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS West Virginia in the Atlantic Ocean during a missile test.

North American Properties, which plans to develop surrounding acreage near NASA Causeway, sold the parcel to Draper. Now, NAP will serve as the project developer by designing and building the facility, said Shawn McIntyre, managing partner.

NAP built the six-story, 245-unit Luna apartment complex next to The Avenue Viera, which opened to tenants in March. Next, McIntyre said he hopes to break ground in the third quarter of 2024 on a large-scale apartment complex in downtown Melbourne at the site of the former Orange Court Apartments.

Afterward, McIntyre said his company will pursue construction of Nova, a seven-story 226-unit apartment complex near Luna in Viera.

Rick Neale is the South Brevard Watchdog Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1

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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: 'World-class centrifuge': Draper building Navy missile test facility