Before The Fuge in Warminster became known for hosting events, beer festivals, and a craft brewery, the space was previously used to help train astronauts for missions, writes Dino Ciliberti for Patch.
Formerly known as the Johnsville Centrifuge, the facility was used by NASA to train three of the most famous astronauts in history: Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins.
The Apollo 11 crew, who were the first to land on the moon, trained at the former Naval Air Development Center.
For fifty years, the center served as the Research and Development Center of Excellence for different military branches, including the Navy.
The Johnsville Centrifuge was key in helping prepare astronauts for the “Space Race,” becoming one of NASA’s premier training facilities.
NASA used the space for acceleration, or G-force, training from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s for X-15 pilots, along with Project Mercury, Project Gemini (New Nine), and 14 Project Apollo astronauts.
Astronauts involved in Project Mercury, the first U.S. manned spaceflight program, trained at the Centrifuge in August 1959.
Those involved in the program included Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Alan Shepard, Wally Schirra, and Deke Slayton.
Read more about The Fuge in Warminster and its history serving as one of NASA’s premier training spots in Patch.
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