120-619: Marshall Space Flight Center (officially the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center ; MSFC ), located in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama ( Huntsville postal address), is the U.S. government 's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. As the largest NASA center, MSFC's first mission was developing the Saturn launch vehicles for the Apollo program . Marshall has been
240-462: A radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG). Scientists from MSFC were among the co-investigators. The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), popularly known as the "Moon Buggy," was developed at MSFC to provide transportation for exploring a limited amount of the Moon's surface. Not intended in the original planning, by 1969 it became clear that an LRV would be needed to maximize the scientific returns. An LRV
360-655: A satellite into orbit using the Redstone with clusters of small solid-fuel rockets on top. The proposal, Project Orbiter , was rejected in 1955. In March 1952, the commanding officer at Redstone Arsenal officially established the Provisional Redstone Ordnance School. In December, the Ordnance Guided Missile School (OGMS) was established, taking over the provisional operation. The OGMS greatly expanded through
480-638: A 1,500-mile (2,400 km), single-stage missile that was started the previous year; intended for both the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy, this was designated the PGM-19 Jupiter . Guidance component testing for this Jupiter intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM) began in March 1956 on a modified Redstone missile dubbed Jupiter A while re-entry vehicle testing began in September 1956 on a Redstone with spin-stabilized upper stages. This ABMA developed Jupiter-C
600-528: A Jupiter C in a Juno I configuration (addition of a fourth stage) to successfully place Explorer 1 , the first US satellite, into orbit around the Earth. Effective at the end of March 1958, the U.S. Army Ordnance Missile Command (AOMC), encompassing the ABMA and its newly operational space programs. In August, AOMC and Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA, a Department of Defense organization) jointly initiated
720-719: A cause of and significant bargaining chip in the Cuban Missile Crisis . During his command, Medaris' operation also fielded the PGM-11 Redstone and MIM-23 Hawk missiles, accelerated the development of the Nike Zeus system, and began development of the MGM-31 Pershing missile system, which later played a role in ending the Cold War . As part of the 1957–58 International Geophysical Year , both
840-616: A cosmic ray researcher at the University of Tübingen under his faculty advisor, Hans Geiger , had worked with James Van Allen at White Sands Missile Range with V-2 rockets, was ready with his reply: "Yes, of course, I will talk to Dr. Van Allen". Stuhlinger followed this by a visit with Van Allen at his home in Princeton, New Jersey , where Van Allen was on sabbatical leave from University of Iowa to work on stellarator design. Van Allen later recounted, "Stuhlinger's 1954 message
960-582: A decline in population in 2024 estimates. As of the census of 2000, there were 2,353 people, 487 households, and 446 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 300.8 inhabitants per square mile (116.1/km ). There were 879 housing units at an average density of 111.8 per square mile (43.2/km ). The racial makeup of the CDP was 56.5% White , 31.7% Black or African American , 0.4% Native American , 2.0% Asian , 0.8% Pacific Islander , 3.3% from other races , and 4.8% from two or more races. 9.3% of
1080-865: A deployable attachment to the Apollo spacecraft. Called the Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM), the project was assigned to MSFC in 1966. As the Orbital Workshop matured into the Skylab, the ATM was added as an appendage, but the two activities were kept as independent development projects. Rein Ise was the ATM project manager at MSFC. The ATM included eight major instruments for observations of the Sun at wavelengths from extreme ultraviolet to infrared . The data
1200-569: A distance of 1,500 mi (2,400 km), successfully withstanding 38 times the normal pull of gravity. On October 21, 1959, President Eisenhower approved the transfer of all Army space-related activities to NASA. On July 1, 1960 the Marshall Space Flight Center, or the MSFC, was created out of the old Redstone Arsenal. The Center was then also placed under the jurisdiction of the recently created NASA, and Wernher von Braun
1320-455: A female householder with no husband present, and 12.2% were non-families. 11.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and none had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.27 and the average family size was 3.56. The population was spread out, with 24.8% under the age of 18, 36.1% from 18 to 24, 33.0% from 25 to 44, 5.8% from 45 to 64, and 0.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age
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#17327828916341440-640: A first attempt to launch a satellite-carrying Vanguard failed. Toftoy, Medaris, and von Braun immediately pleaded for the opportunity to show what the Army's "space team" could do. The go-ahead was given and on 31 January 1958, America's first satellite, Explorer I , was placed into orbit using a modified Jupiter launch vehicle (a four-stage system designated Juno I ). By 1958, 20,000 civilian, military, and contractor workers were employed within Redstone Arsenal. The Army Ordnance Missile Command (AOMC)
1560-420: A more powerful 230-thousand-pounds thrust. The J-2 was gimbaled and could also be restarted during flight. The vehicle was first flight-tested on February 26, 1966. Fourteen Saturn 1Bs (or partial vehicles) were built, with five used in uncrewed testing and five others used in crewed missions, the last on July 15, 1975. The Saturn V , an expendable human-rated heavy-lift vehicle, was the most vital element in
1680-650: A new organization at RSA, the United States Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM). Redstone Arsenal remains the center of testing, development, and doctrine for the Army's missile programs. Besides the U.S. Army Materiel Command and the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Life Cycle Management Command, Redstone houses the Tactical UAV Project Office, Redstone Test Center (RTC), the Missile Defense Agency ,
1800-540: A number of scientists and engineers who had been at the center of Nazi Germany's advanced military technologies. In August 1945, 127 missile specialists led by Wernher von Braun signed work contracts with the United States Army Ordnance Corps . Most of them had worked on the V-2 missile development under von Braun at Peenemünde . The missile specialists were sent to Fort Bliss, Texas , joining
1920-618: A paper entitled "Extra-Terrestrial Relays — Can Rocket Stations Give Worldwide Radio Coverage?", published in Wireless World magazine. Clarke described the concept as useful for communications satellites . In 1954, Wernher von Braun proposed the idea of placing a satellite into orbit at a meeting of Spaceflight committee of the American Rocket Society . His plan was to use a Redstone rocket with clusters of small solid-fuel rockets on top. Also in 1954, in
2040-546: A private discussion about the Redstone project with Ernst Stuhlinger , von Braun expressed his belief that they should have a "real, honest-to-goodness scientist" involved in their little unofficial satellite project (Project Orbiter). "I'm sure you know a scientist somewhere who would fill the bill, possibly in the Nobel Prize class, willing to work with us and to put some instruments on our satellite". Stuhlinger, himself
2160-559: A program managed by ABMA to develop a large space booster of approximately 1.5-million-pounds thrust using a cluster of available rocket engines. In early 1959, this vehicle was designated Saturn . On April 2, President Dwight D. Eisenhower recommended to Congress that a civilian agency be established to direct nonmilitary space activities. On July 29, the President signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act , forming
2280-507: A series of ever larger designs. Many of their tests were carried out at White Sands Missile Range and flights between the two locations were common. In late 1956 the Army was relieved of most of its ballistic missiles in favor of similar weapons operated by the US Air Force . The German design team was spun off to become part of the newly founded National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) . The Cold War had moved to space, and
2400-548: A similar number of employees working in MSFC facilities. Several support contracting firms were also involved in the programs; the largest of these was Brown Engineering Company (BECO, later Teledyne Brown Engineering ), the first high-technology firm in Huntsville and by this time having some 3,500 employees. In the Saturn-Apollo activities, BECO/TBE provided about 20-million man-hours of support. Milton K. Cummings
2520-457: A total of 1.0-million-pounds thrust. The third stage (S-IVB) had a single gimballed J-2 engine with 200-thousand-pounds thrust. As previously noted, the J-2 engine could be restarted in flight. The basic configuration for this heavy-lift vehicle was selected in early 1963, and the name Saturn V was applied at that time (configurations that might have led to Saturn II, III, and IV were discarded). While
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#17327828916342640-559: A widely read article on this subject. In mid-1952, the Germans were hired as regular civil service employees, with most becoming U.S. citizens in 1954-55. Von Braun was appointed Chief of the Guided Missile Development Division. In September 1954, von Braun proposed using the Redstone as the main booster of a multi-stage rocket for launching artificial satellites. A year later, a study for Project Orbiter
2760-634: Is in the Madison County Schools school district. Project Orbiter Project Orbiter was a proposed United States spacecraft , an early competitor to Project Vanguard . It was jointly run by the United States Army and United States Navy . It was ultimately rejected by the Ad Hoc Committee on Special Capabilities, which selected Project Vanguard instead. Although the project was canceled on 3 August 1955,
2880-768: Is part of the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area . The Arsenal is a host to over 75 tenant agencies including the Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and NASA 's largest field center, the Marshall Space Flight Center . The Arsenal today contains a government and contractor workforce that averages 36,000 to 40,000 personnel daily. The base has benefited from decisions by
3000-457: Is the most powerful single-nozzle liquid-fueled rocket engine ever used in service; each produced 1.5-million-pounds thrust. Originally started by the U.S. Air Force, responsibility for the development was taken over by ABMA in 1959, and the first test firings at MSFC were in December 1963. The original vehicle, designated Saturn I , consisted of two propulsion stages and an instrument unit; it
3120-574: The Cummings Research Park . In May 1974, all ballistic missile defense efforts were consolidated under a single manager in the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization , which eventually evolved into today's U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command . On July 17, 1997, the former Army Missile Command combined with the aviation portion of the U.S. Army Aviation and Troop Command (ATCOM), creating
3240-744: The External Tank (ET) that carried liquid fuel for the OV's main engines. MSFC was responsible for the SRBs, the OV's three main engines, and the ET. MSFC was also responsible for the integration of Spacelab , a versatile laboratory developed by the European Space Agency and carried in the Shuttle's cargo bay on some flights. The first test firing of an OV main engine was in 1975. Two years later,
3360-592: The International Space Station Payload Operations Center . This facility supports ISS launch, payload, and experiment activities at the Kennedy Space Center . The HOSC also monitors rocket launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station when a Marshall Center payload is on board. MSFC has been NASA's lead center for the development of rocket propulsion systems and technologies. During the 1960s,
3480-526: The Missile and Space Intelligence Center , and other operations. After operating as a tenant on Redstone Arsenal for over half a century, the Ordnance Munitions and Maintenance School was moved to Fort Lee (now Fort Gregg-Adams ), Virginia . Redstone Arsenal continues to host the Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA's largest field center for propulsion analysis and development, which developed
3600-467: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on July 29, 1958. On October 21, 1959, he approved the transfer of all Army space-related activities to NASA. This was accomplished effective July 1, 1960, when 4,670 civilian employees, about $ 100 million worth of buildings and equipment, and 1,840 acres (7.4 km ) of land transferred from RSA/ABMA's Development Operations Division to NASA's George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). Von Braun
3720-504: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NASA incorporated the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics , Ames Research Center , Langley Research Center , and Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory . Despite the existence of an official space agency, the Army continued with far-reaching space programs. In June 1959, a secret study on Project Horizon was completed by ABMA, detailing plans for using
Marshall Space Flight Center - Misplaced Pages Continue
3840-553: The Saturn rocket family in the 1960s and propulsion systems for the Space Shuttle in the 1970s and 1980s. Redstone Scientific Information Center (RSIC), a 450,000-volume library established by NASA and the Army in 1962, was shuttered on September 30, 2019. The cost-saving measure was announced by Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center (AvMC); selected documents from RSIC were acquired by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. Redstone Arsenal saw
3960-652: The Tennessee River and several local springs, much of which is maintained by the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge . The land occupied by the Redstone Arsenal was previously inhabited by Native Americans. A total of 651 prehistoric archaeological sites have been archived at Redstone Arsenal to date. At least 22 have components dating to the Paleo-Indian period (9200 to 8000 BC). The Paleo-Indian handhewn projectile point called
4080-754: The V-2 missile. Testing was done at the nearby White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico . On June 1, 1949, the Chief of Ordnance of the United States Army designated Redstone Arsenal as the Ordnance Rocket Center, its facility for ordnance rocket research and development. In April 1950, the Fort Bliss missile development operation, then with 130 German contract employees, 120 civil-service employees, and 500 military personnel,
4200-471: The V-2 rocket , before moving on to a series of ever larger designs. In 1956 the Army was relieved of most of its ballistic missiles in favor of similar weapons operated by the US Air Force . The German design team was spun off to become part of the newly founded NASA. The Cold War had moved to space, and the U.S. intended to compete with the Soviet Union there and across the globe. The Arsenal served as
4320-461: The intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) came into being, a much higher-performance system was needed for ICBM defense. The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) examined the requirements and recommending a system, designated Nike-X, incorporating phased-array radars, high-performance computers, and separate low-altitude ( Sprint ) and high-altitude ( Spartan ) high-velocity interceptor missiles. To manage this development, in 1963 MICOM created
4440-577: The Apollo Program. Designed under the direction of Arthur Rudolph , the Saturn V holds the record as the largest and most powerful launch vehicle ever brought to operational status from a combined height, weight, and payload standpoint. The Saturn V consisted of three propulsion stages and an instrument unit. The first stage (S-IC), had five F-1 engines, giving a combined total of 7.5-million-pounds thrust. The S-II second stage had five J-2 engines with
4560-502: The Army's newly formed Research and Development Division Sub-office (Rocket). For the next five years, von Braun and the German scientists and engineers were primarily engaged in adapting and improving the V-2 missile for U.S. applications. Testing was conducted at nearby White Sands Proving Grounds, New Mexico . von Braun was allowed to use a WAC Corporal rocket as a second stage for a V-2;
4680-462: The CDP. There were 379 housing units. The racial makeup of the CDP was 69.1% White , 20.8% Black or African American , 1.2% Native American , 1.7% Asian , 0.4% Pacific Islander , 2.9% from other races , and 4.0% from two or more races. 10.7% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 343 households, out of which 68.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.6% were married couples living together, 13.1% had
4800-631: The Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission and has a residential population of 837 as of 2020. Established during World War II as a chemical manufacturing facility, in the immediate post-war era the Arsenal was used for research and development by German rocket scientists who were brought to the United States as part of Operation Paperclip . The team first worked on ballistic missiles , starting with derivatives of
4920-564: The Earth on February 8, 1974. The Apollo–Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) was the last flight of a Saturn IB. On 15 July 1975, a three-person crew was launched on a six-day mission to dock with a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft. The primary purpose was to provide engineering experience for future joint space flights, but both spacecraft also had scientific experiments. This was the last crewed U.S. space mission until April 1981. The High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO) Program involved three missions of large spacecraft in low Earth orbit . Each spacecraft
Marshall Space Flight Center - Misplaced Pages Continue
5040-502: The Florida launch that might involve Shuttle propulsion. On April 12, 1981, Columbia made the first orbital test flight with a crew of two astronauts. This was designated STS-1 (Space Transportation System-1) and verified the combined performance of the entire system. STS-1 was followed by STS-2 on November 12, demonstrating safe re-launch of Columbia . During 1982, STS-3 and STS-4 were completed. STS-5 , launched November 11,
5160-526: The Jupiter-C capability was such that it could have placed the fourth stage in orbit, that mission had been assigned to the NRL. Later Jupiter-C flights would be used to launch satellites. The first Jupiter IRBM flight took place from Cape Canaveral in March 1957 with the first successful flight to full range on 31 May. Jupiter was eventually taken over by the U.S. Air Force. The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 ,
5280-427: The MSFC had been July 1, 1960, but its dedication ceremony took place two months later on September 8. At the dedication ceremony President Eisenhower gave a speech. The MSFC was named in honor of General George C. Marshall . The administrative activities in MSFC were led by persons with backgrounds in traditional U.S. Government functions, but all of the technical heads were individuals who had assisted von Braun in
5400-522: The Moon: Apollo 11 , 12 , 14 , 15 , 16 , and 17 . Apollo 13 had been intended as a landing, but only circled the Moon and returned to Earth after an oxygen tank ruptured and crippled power in the CSM. Except for Apollo 11, all of the missions carried an Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP), composed of equipment for seven scientific experiments plus a central remote control station with
5520-802: The Nike-X Project Office headed by Colonel (later Brigadier General) Ivy O. Drewry. The People's Republic of China exploded its first thermonuclear bomb in June 1967. Hence, ABM system requirements were revised and the Sentinel System was born, replacing Nike-X. In 1968, the Army Ballistic Missile Defense Agency (ABMDA) was formed, taking over Sentinel and other ballistic missile defense projects previously under MICOM. Commanded by B. G. Drewry, ABMDA established operations adjacent to Redstone Arsenal in
5640-617: The Redstone Ordnance Plant, operated by the United States Army Ordnance Department . The name Redstone drew on the region's red rocks and soil . In the immediate post-war era the Arsenal was used for research and development by German weapons rocket scientists who had been brought to the U.S. as part of Operation Paperclip . The team first worked on ballistic missiles , starting with V-2 rocket derivatives, before moving on to
5760-611: The Redstone Point was named after the Arsenal where it was first identified. Euro-Americans settlers began to establish homesteads on the land that is now Redstone Arsenal by the first decade of the 19th century. Prior to the Civil War , the landscape was dominated by several large plantations, the remains of which survive as archaeological sites. The land played a peripheral role during the Civil War with activity limited to
5880-424: The S1C Static Test Stand was for live firing of the five F-1 engines of the first stage. Delivering a total of 7.5-million-pounds thrust, the tests produced earthquake-like rumbles throughout the Huntsville area and could be heard as far as 100 mi (160 km) away. As the Saturn activities progressed, external facilities and factories were needed. In 1961, The Michoud Rocket Factory near New Orleans, Louisiana,
6000-462: The Saturn booster in establishing a crewed Army outpost on the Moon. Project Horizon was rejected, and the Saturn program was transferred to NASA. Project Mercury was officially named on 26 November 1958. With a future goal of crewed flight, monkeys Able and Miss Baker were the first living creatures recovered from outer space on May 28, 1959. They had been carried in the nose cone on a Jupiter missile to an altitude of 300 mi (480 km) and
6120-406: The Surface-to-Air Projects under Maj. Rudy Axelson, the Surface-to-Surface Division under Maj. Dan Breedon, and Special Projects under Lt. Colonel John O'Conner. Projects in Surface-to-Air included the Nike B (later called the Nike Hercules ), Hawk and others. Surface-to-Surface projects were the Honest John , Little John , Lacrosse , and Corporal Type III ; the liquid-fueled Corporal Type III
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#17327828916346240-409: The Symposium on "The Scientific Uses of Earth Satellites" at the University of Michigan , sponsored by the Upper Atmosphere Research Panel , James Van Allen proposed the use of U.S. satellites for cosmic-ray investigations. Ernst Stuhlinger , from von Braun's team noted this presentation and stayed in contact with Van Allen's Iowa Group. Through "preparedness and good fortune", van Allen later wrote,
6360-403: The U.S. and the Soviet Union proposed to launch a scientific satellite. Although von Braun had proposed in 1954 that the OML could place a satellite in Earth orbit, the Naval Research Laboratory , using its Vanguard rocket , was given this assignment. On October 4, 1957, the USSR orbited Sputnik I , the first Earth satellite. A second Sputnik was launched a month later. On December 6, 1957,
6480-403: The US intended to compete with the Soviet Union there as well as across the globe. The Arsenal served as the primary site for space launch vehicle design into the 1960s. In its early years, the arsenal produced and stockpiled chemical weapons such as phosgene , Lewisite , and mustard gas . The use of toxic gases in warfare was banned under the Geneva Protocol of 1925, but the U.S. signed with
6600-432: The US to a lunar landing by the end of the decade. The primary mission of MSFC under the Apollo program was developing the heavy-lift Saturn family rockets. This required the development and qualification of three new liquid-fueled rocket engines, the J-2 , F-1 , and H-1 . Additionally, the existing RL10 was improved for use on the Saturn S-IV stage. Leland F. Belew managed the Engine Development Office. The F-1 engine
6720-407: The United States under Operation Paperclip after working together at Peenemünde . Von Braun knew well the capabilities of these individuals and had great confidence in them. In the following decade of developing hardware and technical operations that established new levels of complexity, there was never a single failure of their booster designs during crewed flight. The initial main project at MSFC
6840-426: The War Department. A land-use agreement was arranged with the Tennessee Valley Authority for the Army to use about 1,250 acres (5.1 km ) of land along the Tennessee River. The military installation was originally composed of three separate entities: the Huntsville Arsenal and the Huntsville Depot (later the Gulf Chemical Warfare Depot), which were operated under the auspices of the Chemical Warfare Service ; and
6960-425: The activities were largely devoted to the Apollo Program , with the Saturn family of launch vehicles designed and tested at MSFC. MSFC also had a major role in post-Apollo activities, including Skylab , the Space Shuttle , and Spacelab and other experimental activities which made use of the Shuttle's cargo bay. After the May 1945 end of World War II in Germany, the US initiated Operation Paperclip to collect
7080-417: The announcement of the Japanese surrender, production facilities at the installation were put on standby. After the war, Huntsville Arsenal was briefly used as the primary storage facility for the Chemical Warfare Service, and for manufacture of gas masks and dismantling of surplus incendiary bombs. Most of the wartime civilian workforce was furloughed, dropping to 600 from a wartime high of around 4,400. Much of
7200-428: The arsenal land was leased for agriculture, and many of the buildings were leased for local industry. By 1947, the installation was declared to be excess, the first step toward demilitarization. Major political and commercial efforts were made in searching for government or business tenants for the space. In early 1948, several buildings of Huntsville Arsenal were leased by the newly formed Keller Motors Corporation with
7320-419: The basic design was used for the Juno I rocket which launched Explorer 1 , the first satellite launched by the United States. In the 1920s and 1930s, the German Society for Space Travel ( Verein für Raumschiffahrt, referred to as VfR by its founders) began to gain in popularity, with membership growing from outside of Germany as well as within. The primary cause for the VfR's gaining worldwide appeal
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#17327828916347440-399: The checkout procedures. Static test stands had been constructed at ABMA for the Redstone and Jupiter rockets. In 1961, the Jupiter stand was modified to test Saturn 1 and 1B stages. A number of other test stands followed, the largest being the Saturn V Dynamic Test Stand completed in 1964. At 475 ft (145 m) in height, the entire Saturn V could be accommodated. Also completed in 1964,
7560-453: The combination, called Bumper, reached a record-breaking 250 mi (400 km) altitude. During World War II, the production and storage of ordnance shells was conducted by three arsenals nearby to Huntsville, Alabama . After the war, these were closed, and the three areas were combined to form Redstone Arsenal . In 1949, the Secretary of the Army approved the transfer of the rocket research and development activities from Fort Bliss to
7680-474: The design went through a series of improvements and ultimately became the PGM-11 with the popular name Redstone rocket . To expedite development, an existing engine was used, greatly reducing the operational range to between 58 and 200 miles. During the Korean War, ammunition production was resumed at Redstone Arsenal. From July 1951 through July 1955, around 38,700,000 rounds of chemical artillery munitions were produced. The Ordnance Missile Laboratories (OML)
7800-420: The early activities, Highwater and Pegasus, were performed on a non-interference basis while testing the Saturn I vehicle. In Project Highwater , a dummy Saturn I second stage was filled with 23,000 US gallons (87 m) of water as ballast. After burnout of the first stage, explosive charges released the water into the upper atmosphere. The project answered questions about the diffusion of liquid propellants in
7920-555: The event that a rocket was destroyed at high altitude. Highwater experiments were carried out in April and November 1962. Under the Pegasus Satellite Program , the Saturn I second stage was instrumented to study the frequency and penetration depth of micrometeoroids . Two large panels were folded into the empty stage and unfolded in orbit, presenting 2,300 ft (210-m) of instrumented surface. Three Pegasus satellites were launched during 1965, with each one staying in orbit from 3 to 13 years. There were six Apollo missions that landed on
8040-422: The first artificial Earth orbiting satellite, on October 4, 1957. This was followed on November 3 with the second satellite, Sputnik 2 . The United States attempted a satellite launch on December 6 using the NRL's Vanguard rocket, but it barely struggled off the ground, then fell back and exploded. On January 31, 1958, after finally receiving permission to proceed, von Braun and the ABMA space development team used
8160-409: The first firing of a SRB took place and tests on the ET began at MSFC. The first Enterprise OV flight, attached to a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), was in February 1977; this was followed by free landings in August and October. In March 1978, the Enterprise OV was flown atop a SCA to MSFC. Mated to an ET, the partial Space Shuttle was hoisted onto the modified Saturn V Dynamic Test Stand where it
8280-401: The first on October 31, 1942. The ordnance plant was renamed Redstone Arsenal in 1943. Through the war years, more than 27,000,000 items of chemical munitions were produced and 45,200,000 ammunition shells were loaded. Redstone Army Airfield was established in 1943 for the 6th Army Air Force to test incendiary devices in preparation for the firebombing of Japanese cities . Three days after
8400-407: The intention of establishing a major automobile manufacturing complex. Only 18 Keller prototype vehicles were built before the firm's president and primary organizer, George Keller, suddenly died and the operation folded. The Army Air Forces was searching for a site to establish a major air development center and considered Huntsville Arsenal. In 1949, a competing site near Tullahoma, Tennessee
8520-428: The landscape around the installation. At the beginning of the 20th century, the approximately 57-square-mile (150 km ) area of rolling terrain, which contained some of the richest agricultural land in Madison County, included such small farming communities as Spring Hill, Pond Beat, Mullins Flat, and Union Hill. Although there was no electricity, indoor plumbing, or telephones, few roads, and fewer cars or tractors,
8640-854: The late 1960s, but funding did not become available for some time. Using Atlas-Centaur launch vehicles, three highly successful missions were flown: HEAO 1 in August 1977, HEAO 2 (also called the Einstein Observatory) in November 1978, and HEAO 3 in September 1979. Fred A. Speer was the HEAO project manager for MSFC. Other MSFC-managed space science projects in the 1970s included the Laser Geodynamics Satellite (LAGEOS) and Gravity Probe A . In LAGEOS, laser beams from 35 ground stations are reflected by 422 prismatic mirrors on
8760-681: The lead center for the Space Shuttle main propulsion and external tank ; payloads and related crew training; International Space Station (ISS) design and assembly; computers, networks, and information management; and the Space Launch System . Located on the Redstone Arsenal near Huntsville, MSFC is named in honor of General of the Army George C. Marshall . The center contains the Huntsville Operations Support Center ( HOSC ), also known as
8880-479: The loss of the station's micrometeoroid shield/sun shade and one of its main solar panels. This loss was partially corrected by the first crew, launched May 25; they stayed in orbit with Skylab for 28 days. Two additional missions followed with the launch dates of July 28 and November 16, with mission durations of 59 and 84 days, respectively. Skylab, including the ATM, logged about 2,000 hours on some 300 scientific and medical experiments. The last Skylab crew returned to
9000-583: The many successes at the MSFC'S predecessor, the ABMA , where von Braun had been the Technical Director. The initial technical leaders of the new MSFC had all been former colleagues of von Braun starting back in Germany before World War II. These technical department and/ or division heads were as follows: With the exception of Koelle, all of the technical department and/ or division heads had come to
9120-567: The new center at Redstone Arsenal. Beginning in April 1950, about 1,000 persons were involved in the transfer, including von Braun's group. At this time, R&D responsibility for guided missiles was added, and studies began on a medium-range guided missile that eventually became the PGM-11 Redstone . Over the next decade, missile development at Redstone Arsenal greatly expanded. However, von Braun kept space firmly in his mind, and published
9240-574: The orbiting space station hardware as well as overall systems engineering and integration. For testing and mission simulation, a 75-foot (23 m)-diameter water-filled tank, the Neutral Buoyancy Facility , was opened at MSFC in March 1968. Engineers and astronauts used this underwater facility to simulate the weightlessness (or zero-g) environment of space. This was particularly used in training astronauts in activities in zero-g work, especially spacewalks . The Orbital Workshop
9360-495: The people who lived in the area prospered enough to support their own stores, mills, shops, gins, churches, and schools. A total of 46 historic cemeteries including slave cemeteries, plantation family cemeteries, and late 19th to early 20th century community cemeteries are maintained on the installation as Redstone Arsenal cemeteries . As part of the mobilization leading to U.S. involvement in World War II, Huntsville Arsenal
9480-428: The population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 487 households, out of which 79.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 79.7% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 8.4% were non-families. 7.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and none had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size
9600-497: The posting of pickets along the Tennessee River bank. Following the war, many of the large plantations were increasingly divided into smaller parcels owned by small farmers, who included former slaves and their descendants. By the start of the 20th century, many of the farms were owned by absentee owners, with the land being worked by tenants and sharecroppers. The remains of hundreds of tenant and sharecropper houses still dot
9720-465: The primary site for space launch vehicle design and testing into the 1960s. Redstone Arsenal is located at 34°41′03″N 86°39′15″W / 34.684166°N 86.654031°W / 34.684166; -86.654031 . According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the Redstone CDP has a total area of 7.8 square miles (20.1 km ), all land, including extensive wetland areas associated with
9840-401: The proposed activities being abandoned, but an orbital workshop remained of interest. In December 1965, MSFC was authorized to begin the Orbital Workshop as a formal project. At a meeting at MSFC on August 19, 1966, George E. Mueller , NASA Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight, pinned down the final concept for the major elements. MSFC was assigned responsibility for the development of
9960-473: The reservation that it be allowed to use chemical weapons against aggressors who used them. The facility also produced carbonyl iron powder (for radio and radar tuning), tear gas, and smoke and incendiary devices. The arsenal also produced small pyrotechnic devices including small solid-fuel rockets during the war. In recognition of its production record, the arsenal received the Army-Navy "E" Award four times,
10080-533: The same IU configuration was used on the Saturn I and IB. With IBM as the prime contractor, the IU was the only full Saturn component manufactured in Huntsville. The first Saturn V test flight was made on November 9, 1967. On July 16, 1969, as its crowning achievement in the Apollo space program, a Saturn V vehicle lifted the Apollo 11 spacecraft and three astronauts on their journey to the Moon. Other Apollo launches continued through December 6, 1972. The last Saturn V flight
10200-610: The satellite to track movements in the Earth's crust. The measurement accuracy is a few centimeters and it tracks the movement of tectonic plates with comparable accuracy. Conceived and built at MSFC, the LAGEOS was launched by a Delta rocket in May 1976. Gravity Probe A, also called the Redshift Experiment, used an extremely precise hydrogen maser clock to confirm part of Einstein's general theory of relativity . The probe
10320-657: The spring of 1953, followed by the first launch at Cape Canaveral on August 20, 1953. In addition to the Redstone rocket development, the OML had many other research and development programs. Under Toftoy, the organization included the R&;D Division under Col. Miles Birkett Chatfield, the Field Service Division under Maj. Ben Keyserling, and the Industrial Division. In the R&D Division there were
10440-492: The test flights also carried important auxiliary scientific experiments. The Saturn IB (alternatively known as the Uprated Saturn I) also had two propulsion stages and an instrument unit. The first stage (S-IB) also had eight H-1 engines with four gimballed, but the stage had eight fixed fins of equal size fitted to the sides to provide aerodynamic stability. The second stage (S-IVB) had a single J-2 engine that gave
10560-539: The three propulsion stages were the "muscle" of the Saturn V, the Instrument Unit (IU) was the "brains." The IU was on a 260-inch (6.6-m) diameter, 36-inch (91-cm) high, ring that was held between the third propulsion stage and the LM. It contained the basic guidance system components – a stable platform, accelerometers, a digital computer, and control electronics – as well as radar, telemetry, and other units. Basically
10680-590: The years, occupying a large land area with many buildings and providing a wide variety of missile and munitions courses for thousands of students from the U.S. as well as many foreign countries. The name was later changed to the Missile and Munitions Center & School in 1966 and then to the Ordnance Missile and Munitions Center and School in the mid-1980s. In 1994, the School Brigade disbanded and
10800-412: Was $ 35,435, and the median income for a family was $ 40,208. Men had a median income of $ 29,053 versus $ 24,063 for females. The per capita income was $ 14,860. About 9.0% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.7% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over. As of the census of 2010, there were 1,946 people, 343 households, and 301 families residing in
10920-518: Was 21.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 203.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 249.6 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $ 53,142, and the median income for a family was $ 48,750. Men had a median income of $ 31,018 versus $ 25,500 for females. The per capita income was $ 24,739. About 0% of families and 0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over. The CDP, which includes on-base housing,
11040-405: Was 3.48 and the average family size was 3.67. The population was spread out, with 32.9% under the age of 18, 19.2% from 18 to 24, 43.2% from 25 to 44, 4.6% from 45 to 64, and 0.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females, there were 150.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 170.1 males. The median income for a household in the CDP
11160-509: Was MSFC's first director. The U.S. Army Missile Command (MICOM) was activated on August 1, 1962 at Redstone Arsenal, absorbing all of the personnel, facilities, and projects remaining in the prior AOMC. On March 12, 1964, the Francis J. McMorrow Missile Laboratories were dedicated in memory of MICOM's first commander, who died while in command. Dating from the start of AMC, Project Nike involving anti-aircraft missiles had been conducted. As
11280-499: Was a major activity at MSFC. Alex A. McCool, Jr. was the first manager of MSFC's Space Shuttle Projects Office. Throughout 1980, engineers at MSFC participated in tests related to plans to launch the first Space Shuttle. During these early tests and prior to each later Shuttle launch, personnel in the Huntsville Operations Support Center monitored consoles to evaluate and help solve any problems at
11400-507: Was about 18 ft (5.5 m) in length, massed between 6,000 and 7,000 lb (2,700 and 3,200 kg), and carried some 3,000 lb (1,400 kg) of experiments for X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy and cosmic-ray investigations. The project provided insights into celestial objects by studying their high-energy radiation from space. Scientists from across the US served as principal investigators . The HEAO spacecraft concept originated in
11520-482: Was appointed as the Center's first NASA Director. Eberhart Rees, who was a former associate of von Braun from Germany, was also appointed as von Braun's Deputy for Research and Development. At the time of the creation of the MSFC, 4,670 civilian employees, about $ 100 million worth of buildings and equipment, and 1,840 acres (7.4 km) of land were transferred from AOMC/ABMA to the new MSFC. The official opening date of
11640-555: Was built into the propellant tanks of a Saturn V third stage, being fully refitted on the ground. It was renamed Skylab in February 1970. Two were built – one for flight and the other for testing and mission simulation in the Neutral Buoyancy Facility. Leland F Belew served for eight years as the overall Skylab program director. Another AAP project that survived was a solar observatory, originally intended to be
11760-521: Was carried on the last three missions, allowing an area similar in size to Manhattan Island to be explored. Outbound they carried an ALSEP to be set up; on the return trip, they carried more than 200 pounds of lunar rock and soil samples. Saverio "Sonny" Morea was the LRV project manager at MSFC. The Apollo Applications Program (AAP) involved science-based crewed space missions using surplus Apollo equipment. The lack of interest by Congress resulted in most of
11880-618: Was completed, detailing plans and schedules for a series of scientific satellites. However, the Army's official role in the U.S. space satellite program was delayed after higher authorities elected to use the Vanguard rocket then being developed by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). In February 1956, the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) was established. One of the primary programs was
12000-433: Was composed of a Redstone rocket first stage and two upper stages for RV tests or three upper stages for Explorer satellite launches. ABMA had originally planned the 20 September 1956 flight as a satellite launch but, by direct intervention of Eisenhower, was limited to the use of 2 upper stages for an RV test flight traveling 3,350 mi (5,390 km) downrange and attaining an altitude of 682 mi (1,098 km). While
12120-538: Was deactivated and consolidated with the other two entities to become Redstone Arsenal. Command responsibilities were assumed by Redstone. At the close of World War II, a number of key German scientists and engineers were brought to the United States under Operation Paperclip . Colonel Holger Toftoy arranged for 127 individuals, including Wernher von Braun , to receive contracts for work on Army missiles. In late 1945, they began arriving at Fort Bliss, Texas , where, using components brought from Germany, started upgrading
12240-406: Was due to the writings of mathematician Hermann Oberth who detailed, in a 1923 publication entitled The Rocket into Interplanetary Space , the mechanics of placing a satellite into Earth orbit . Herman Potočnik was the first to publish the concept of placing a geosynchronous satellite in geostationary orbit , in 1928. Arthur C. Clarke popularized this concept even further in 1945, in
12360-532: Was established in 1941 to create an inland chemical weapons plant in addition to one in Edgewood, Maryland . It was announced by the War Department on July 3, 1941. Over 550 families were displaced when the Army acquired the land, including over 300 tenants and sharecroppers. Most of the landowners were allowed to salvage their assets and rebuild elsewhere. The remaining buildings were almost all razed by
12480-414: Was first tested in flight on October 27, 1961. The first stage (S-I) had a cluster of eight H-1 engines, giving approximately 1.5-million-pounds thrust total. The four outboard engines were gimbaled to allow vehicle steering. The second stage (SIV) had six gimbaled LR10A-3 engines, producing a combined 90-thousand-pounds thrust. Ten Saturn Is were used in flight-testing of Apollo boilerplate units. Five of
12600-539: Was formed in 1952 to coordinate research and development within the OGMC. Holger Toftoy, who had originally recruited von Braun and his team of missile specialists, was assigned to Huntsville and promoted to Brigadier General as director of the OML. Test operations were under Kurt Debus , who set up the Interim Test Stand and the launch facility at Cape Canaveral, Florida . Redstone static fire testing began in
12720-575: Was formed in March 1958. Headquartered at Redstone Arsenal and commanded by Maj. Gen. Medaris, AOMC had several subordinate elements, including ABMA, White Sands Missile Range, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at California Institute of Technology. Another local activity, the Army Rocket and Guided Missile Agency (ARGMA), was formed and added to AOMC in June. Six months after Explorer I , President Dwight Eisenhower created
12840-467: Was launched in June 1976, by a Scout rocket, and remained in space for near two hours, as intended. On January 5, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon announced plans to develop the Space Shuttle , a reusable Space Transportation System (STS) for routine access to space. The Shuttle was composed of the Orbiter Vehicle (OV) containing the crew and payload, two Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs), and
12960-443: Was mainly collected on special photographic film; during the Skylab missions, the film had to be changed out by astronauts in spacewalks . On May 14, 1973, the 77-ton (70,000-kg) Skylab was launched into a 235-nautical-mile (435-km) orbit by the last flown Saturn V. Saturn IB vehicles with their CSMs were used to launch three-person crews to dock with Skylab. Severe damage was sustained during Skylab launch and deployment, resulting in
13080-527: Was on May 14, 1973, in the Skylab Program (described later). A total of 15 Saturn Vs were built; 13 functioned flawlessly, and the other two remain unused. Wernher von Braun believed that the personnel designing the space vehicles should have direct, hands-on participation in the building and testing of the hardware. For this, MSFC had facilities where prototypes of every type of Saturn vehicle were fabricated. Large, special-purpose computers were used in
13200-482: Was replaced by the reformed 59th Ordnance Brigade , which had previously disbanded in Europe in 1992. The school was then renamed the Ordnance Munitions and Electronic Maintenance School in 2002 and moved to Fort Lee in 2011. The Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA), commanded by Maj. Gen. John Medaris , was formed on 1 February 1956, taking over from Redstone Arsenal the facilities and personnel of OGMC. Von Braun
13320-613: Was selected as the Saturn V rocket manufacturing site. A 13,500 acres (55 km) isolated area in Hancock County, Mississippi was selected to conduct Saturn tests. Known as the Mississippi Test Facility (later renamed the John C. Stennis Space Center ), this was primarily to test the vehicles built at the rocket factory . From the start, MSFC has had strong research projects in science and engineering. Two of
13440-589: Was selected. The Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army then directed that Huntsville Arsenal be advertised for sale by 1 July 1949. The proposed sale never happened, because the Army found it needed the land for the new mission of developing and testing rocket systems. Thiokol Corporation moved operations to Redstone Arsenal from Maryland in the summer of 1949 to research and develop rocket propellants, while Rohm and Haas began work on rockets and jet propulsion. On June 30, 1949, Huntsville Arsenal
13560-399: Was simple and eloquent. By virtue of ballistic missile developments at Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA), it was realistic to expect that within a year or two a small scientific satellite could be propelled into a durable orbit around the Earth.[ sic ] ... I expressed a keen interest in performing a worldwide survey of the cosmic-ray intensity above the atmosphere". On 26 January 1956 at
13680-701: Was soon canceled and the solid Thiokol fueled Sergeant project started. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) at the California Institute of Technology was an Army research operation at that time, as NASA did not exist at the time. It was JPL that designed the Corporal system and later was the R&D designer of the Sergeant. At a 1954 meeting of the Spaceflight Committee of the American Rocket Society , von Braun proposed placing
13800-549: Was subjected to a full range of vibrations comparable to those in a launch. The first spaceworthy Space Shuttle, Columbia , was completed and placed at the KSC for checking and launch preparation. On April 12, 1981, the Columbia made the first orbital test flight. The Space Shuttle was the most complex spacecraft ever built. From the start of the Shuttle program in 1972, the management and development of Space Shuttle propulsion
13920-465: Was the BECO president, Joseph C. Moquin the executive vice president, William A. Girdini led the engineering design and test work, and Raymond C. Watson, Jr., directed the research and advanced systems activities. Cummings Research Park , the second largest park of this type in the US, was named for Cummings in 1973. On May 25, 1961, just 20 days after Shepard's flight, President John F. Kennedy committed
14040-644: Was the Director of ABMA's Development Operations Division. Redstone Arsenal then became an Army post, supporting the ABMA and, in the future, other agencies. Medaris also commanded RSA, and BG Toftoy was deputy. The ABMA's primary mission was developing and fielding the Army's first intermediate-range ballistic missile, the Jupiter . By August 1958, the system was delivered to the Air Force for early deployment overseas. Jupiter deployment to Turkey later proved to be
14160-645: Was the final preparation of a Redstone rocket for Project Mercury to lift a space capsule carrying the first American into space. Originally scheduled to take place in October 1960, this was postponed several time and on May 5, 1961, astronaut Alan Shepard made America's first sub-orbital spaceflight . By 1965, MSFC had about 7,500 government employees. In addition, most of the prime contractors for launch vehicles and related major items (including North American Aviation , Chrysler , Boeing , Douglas Aircraft , Rocketdyne , and IBM ) collectively had approximately
14280-523: Was the first operational mission; carrying four astronauts, two commercial satellite were deployed. In all three of these flights, on-board experiments were carried and conducted on pallets in the Shuttle's cargo bay. Redstone Arsenal, Alabama Redstone Arsenal is a United States Army base adjacent to Huntsville, Alabama in the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge . A census-designated place in Madison County, Alabama , United States, it
14400-645: Was transferred to Redstone Arsenal. This became the Ordnance Guided Missile Center (OGMC), with Major James Hamill as acting commander and von Braun as technical director. An initial project was the Major tactical missile. Upon the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, OGMC was given the mission of developing a surface-to-surface ballistic missile with an objective range of 500 miles (800 km). Starting with an upgraded Major missile,
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