Our Pick
Posted on @rawstates
Spacecraft Magnetic Test Facility, where Goddard switches off the Earth's magnetic field
1966
Greenbelt, Maryland
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NASA built this building at Goddard Space Flight Center in 1966 out of non-magnetic materials, then put a set of giant coils inside it that cancel out the planet's own magnetic field. Spacecraft, crewed and uncrewed, were brought here to see how their own magnetism would push them around in orbit, and magnetometers bound for space were calibrated in the same null. It was named a National Historic Landmark in 1985 and is still run by Goddard's Mechanical Systems Division.
That was 1 of the hidden places.
Location: historic site
This place has its own thread on r/rawstates
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