NASA Drains 66-Million-Gallon Reservoir to Upgrade Critical Water System
NASA's Stennis Space Center has completed an upgrade of its High Pressure Industrial Water Facility by draining a 66-million-gallon reservoir. The reservoir was lowered to its lowest level since the 1960s to facilitate the replacement of a critical pump. This water system plays a vital role in cooling rocket engine exhaust during tests for NASA's Artemis missions.
- ▪Crews pumped out about 40 million gallons of water over three days to lower the reservoir.
- ▪The reservoir measures 800 feet in diameter and about 25 feet deep.
- ▪The water from the reservoir is essential for cooling engine exhaust that can reach up to 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
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2 min readNASA Drains 66-Million-Gallon Reservoir to Upgrade Critical Water SystemNASA Stennis CommunicationsJun 03, 2026 Article A powerful but mostly unseen water system at work during rocket engine tests at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, underwent an upgrade in May. Crews brought the High Pressure Industrial Water Facility’s 66-million-gallon reservoir to its lowest level since construction in the 1960s by pumping out about 40 million gallons of water over three days. This brought the reservoir, measuring 800 feet in diameter and about 25 feet deep, down to the level needed to replace a 3,000 gallon per minute pump that supplies water for fire suppression to the test complexes.
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