There's only one place to find them in all the Department of Defense, and that's at the Air Force Research Laboratory.
Three of the lab's Research Altitude Chambers, better known as the RACs, are now certified for manned research up to 50,000 feet. No other chambers in the DoD have the same man-rating certification. It's a feat not easily found elsewhere as well, according to Maj. Sarah Kercher, 711th Human Performance Wing aerospace physiologist.
"The RACs have one-of-a-kind capability for the DoD, housed right here at Wright-Patterson (Air Force Base)," Kercher said. "As for the civilian enterprise, multiple altitude chambers exist, at NASA, universities, and contractor facilities, but when it comes to conducting human research, the numbers dwindle, and even more so when you look at the capabilities that each research chamber can provide."
The certification comes at a time when it has never been needed more. Air Force technology is rapidly pushing the limits of altitude capabilities for manned flight, and the sky obviously has no limits for AFRL's other main client, the Space Force.
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