Completed in 1965 at a cost of $3.5 million, the facility was used by 24 astronauts, including Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, to practice solving piloting problems they would encounter in the last 150 feet (46 m) of descent to the surface of the Moon.

[4] The structure was used to facilitate "flying" a full-scale Lunar Excursion Module Simulator (LEMS).

It was re-opened in 2005 to conduct landing tests associated with the development of the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) Orion.

The facility was renamed the Landing and Impact Research Facility (LandIR) and minor modifications were made, including a new parallel winch system to support full-scale Orion testing and a new hydro-impact basin (splashdown pool) below the gantry.

After Constellation was cancelled, the LandIR continued performing impact testing since the CEV will be used to service the International Space Station.