Draper Team Completes Critical Design Review Phase of Strategic Enhanced Ground Test Facility
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Draper announced today that it has completed the critical design review phase of its Strategic Enhanced Ground Test Facility (SEGTF) located in Titusville, Fla. The SEGTF is the future home to dynamic and environmental equipment for supporting development of U.S. strategic systems.
The review culminates a 12-month design phase and resulted in an approved detailed design of a test facility that meets the requirements for supporting the U. S. Navy’s strategic guidance programs and similar efforts at the Department of the Air Force and for various missile defense systems. Site work is expected to commence in July 2024 and be fully operational in 2028.
Draper’s Strategic Enhanced Ground Test Facility will house a world-class centrifuge and associated dynamic and environmental test capabilities needed to design and validate critical guidance, navigation and control technologies. As the U.S. 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.
“The SEGTF will provide critical infrastructure to our strategic systems, missile defense and space customers that would otherwise not exist and complements other modernization efforts on the Space Coast,” said Dr. Jerry M. Wohletz, president and CEO at Draper. “Successful completion of the CDR phase is testimony to our teams’ drive to deliver this essential capability on schedule and on budget for our customer.”
The Draper facility will provide core capabilities in simulation, hardware-in-the-loop and system test to enhance Draper’s existing ‘test-as-you-fly’ approach for exquisite guidance components that require high accuracy, reliability and survivability in the harshest of environments.
“The SEGTF team has worked extremely hard for the past year to present a complete design,” said Marjorie Quant, chief operating officer at Draper. “Draper is excited to make this state-of-the-art investment to enhance our ability to support critical national security technologies in a facility that’s like no other in the nation.”
Approximately 50 Draper employees will be initially located in the SEGTF. The long-term vision expands Draper’s footprint and includes future expansion to support over 150 employees.
The successful completion of the CDR phase represents a system of systems design of infrastructure and subsystems that together form an enduring strategic enhanced ground testing capability. The CDR is the culmination of a collaboration between Draper, North American Properties, Rush Construction, JRC Integrated Systems, Burns and McDonnell and Ideal Aerosmith across multiple disciplines and seven design reviews to produce the holistic SEGT CDR.
Released July 30, 2024
