Naval Center for Space Technology (NCST) spacecraft design development starts in this Branch with proposals to potential sponsors, continues with preliminary and detailed design, then into fabrication and testing, and concludes with spacecraft integration onto a launch vehicle. This Branch has start-to-finish responsibility for the mechanical aspect of NCST spacecraft. The Design, Test, and Processing Branch includes three sections:

Design Section (Code 8211):
Designs all spacecraft hardware, including mechanisms, built by the Spacecraft Engineering Department.

Test & Processing Section (Code 8212):
Fabricates, assembles, tests and integrates the designed hardware into launch vehicles for all Spacecraft Engineering Department spacecraft projects.

Spacecraft Development Section (Code 8213):
Performs systems engineering for NCST programs, aids in developing proposals for future work, and acts as program manager for ongoing Spacecraft Engineering Department programs.