User:Theresa knott/test

Malta Test Station, located in Malta, New York, is a former US Army fuel and explosives testing facility. It was built in 1945 and used to test rocket engines, new fuels and explosives. It has also been used for and atomic energy research. Malta test station has been used by various government agencies including the US Department of Defense, National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA), the US Department of Energy, and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), it was operated by General Electric until 1984 when the Wright-Malta Corporation too over occupation and continued to test fuels and explosives for the US military and the US Department of Energy until 2005. The site and surrounding area has since been transformed into the Luther Forest Technology Campus, home to a new chip fabrication plant owned by GlobalFoundries. It is currently being monitored by the US Environmental Protection agency to ensure that it is safe from possible chemical contamination

History
The Malta Test Station was established in 1945 on 165.36 acre of land leased from Thomas F. Luther by the US Department of the Army and was permanently purchased on March 3, 1955. The United States government also acquired a perpetual easement over a circular area containing 1800 acres surrounding the site. General Electric (GE) operated the site as contractor from 1945 to 1964, and the site was also leased to NASA and for research and development (R&D) projects conducted for the US Department of Energy. The Malta Test Station was the site of the first large test stand for static rocket test fires (vertical and horizontal), it was based on those seen in Germany in 1945 by GE engineers. The Malta site served as the model for latter test poop sites at Rocketdyne, Aerojet, Huntsville, Alabama, and Edwards Airforce Base. The first major test of a full engine at the site occurred in 1948-49, with the highest thrust achieved was in the 1950s at 150,000 lbF. As part of the Hermes project the site was often referred to as The Little Peenemünde of the US.

In 1964, the site and easement were acquired by the New York State Atomic and Space Development Authority (ASDA) (the predecessor of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)) with GE continuing as an operating contractor. ASDA added an adjacent 280 acre and renamed the site the Saratoga Research and Development Center (SRDC). Federal contractors continued to use the site under ASDA for space and weapons research. NYSERDA was created as ASDA's successor in 1975 and changed the mission of the SRDC towards that of energy R&D. NYSERDA determined in 1982 that it did not have the ability to market and transform the site in accordance with that energy R&D mission and should dispose of the site. In 1984 NYSERDA sold approximately 81 acre including most of the original buildings, test areas, rocket gantries, and other facilities to the Wright-Malta Corporation (a spin-off of GE), which was one of the federal contractors on site since the 1970s. NYSERDA sold an additional 84 acre to Wright-Malta, this gave Wright-Malta the full 165 acre of the original Malta Test Station and NYSERDA the 280 acre purchased later. In conjunction with the Saratoga Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) and the University at Albany, SUNY, NYSERDA transformed its remaining land into a technology park for corporations focusing on clean energy, energy efficient, and environmental technologies. Wright-Malta sold the site to the Luther Forest Technology Campus Economic Development Corporation (LFTCEDC), a spin-off of the Saratoga Economic Development Corporation (SEDC), in 2004 to be the first piece assembled for the Luther Forest Technology Campus. Wright-Malta leased the property back, but then terminated the lease in 2005.

In July 1987 the site was listed on the Superfund National Priorities List. GE signed a consent decree with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1998 and treats the ground water. After Wright-Malta sold the land to the LTCEDC the LTCEDC sued Wright-Malta over contamination that the company had left behind. '''Copying copyrighted work here on a temporary bases. Will delete soon'''

Theresa Knott &#124; Sort that Knee! 19:52, 28 October 2010 (UTC)

Site location and structures
The Malta Test Station was a 165.36 acre site in Malta surrounded by a wooded buffer zone that extended into neighboring Stillwater. The original square site has 33 buildings, numerous rocket test stands, concrete quench pits, leach fields/septic tanks, dry wells, storage areas, disposal areas, and a small artificial pond–Muggett's Pond. A fence surrounds the majority of the site. The former General Electric (GE)/Exxon Nuclear building is the only building on the extra 280 acre area that was purchased by NYSERDA.