Redstone Test Stand

Last updated

Redstone Test Stand
Alabama Historic Civil Engineering Landmark
Interim Test Stand.jpg
Redstone Test Stand at the MSFC in Huntsville, AL. Cold Calibration Unit (left) PGM-11 Redstone missile in static test stand (right)
Location Map USA Alabama Huntsville.png
Red pog.svg
USA Alabama location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Nearest city Huntsville, Alabama
Coordinates 34°37′58.7676″N86°39′58.1436″W / 34.632991000°N 86.666151000°W / 34.632991000; -86.666151000
Built1953
ArchitectU.S. Army
NRHP reference No. 76000341
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMay 13, 1976 [1]
Designated NHLOctober 3, 1985 [2]
Designated AHCEL1979

The Redstone Test Stand or Interim Test Stand was used to develop and test fire the Redstone missile, Jupiter-C sounding rocket, Juno I launch vehicle and Mercury-Redstone launch vehicle. It was declared an Alabama Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1979 [3] and a National Historic Landmark in 1985. [2] It is located at NASA's George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama on the Redstone Arsenal, designated Building 4665. The Redstone missile was the first missile to detonate a nuclear weapon. Jupiter-C launched to test components for the Jupiter missile. Juno I put the first American satellite Explorer 1 into orbit. Mercury Redstone carried the first American astronaut Alan Shepard into space. The Redstone earned the name "Old Reliable" because of this facility and the improvements it made possible. [4]

Contents

The Interim Test Stand was built in 1953 by Dr. Wernher von Braun's team for a mere US$25,000(equivalent to $284,701 in 2023) out of materials salvaged from the Redstone Arsenal. [5] In 1957 the permanent test facility called the Static Test Tower was finally finished, but the Army decided to continue operations at the Interim Test Stand rather than move. [6] From 1953 to 1961, 362 static rocket tests were conducted there, including 200 that led directly to improvements in the Redstone rocket for the Mercury crewed flight program. Adapted over the years, it never experienced the growth in size and cost that typified test stands in general, remaining a testament to the engineering ingenuity of the rocket pioneers. [5]

Background

Liquid-propellant rocket development has always proceeded in three steps:

  1. Engine testing
  2. Static rocket testing
  3. Test launches

First, prototype engines are tested in a Rocket engine test facility, where the most promising designs are refined during a period of extensive testing. After an engine has been proven, the complete rocket is assembled. In this second step, the rocket is anchored to a static test stand. With the rocket held down, engineers run the engine at full power and refine the system. The test launch is third, when the missile is fired into the sky. [7] Wernher von Braun and his team used this process to develop the V-2 or A4 missile in Germany during WWII.

Von Braun and members of his team decided to surrender to the United States military to ensure they were not captured by the advancing Soviets or shot by the Nazis to prevent their capture. They came to the United States via Operation Paperclip. [8] The Army first assigned the Germans to teach German missile technology, assist with the launching of captured V-2's, and continue rocket research as part of the Hermes project at Fort Bliss, Texas and White Sands Proving Grounds [9]

On April 15, 1950, the Army consolidated their far-flung guided missile and rocket research and development efforts into the Ordnance Guided Missile Center (OGMC) at Redstone Arsenal. The Army bought the former WWII munitions facility from the Army Chemical Corps. That summer and fall, members of the German rocket team moved from Fort Bliss to Huntsville. They conducted a preliminary study for proposed 500-mile (800 km) range missiles and began developing one, called Hermes C-1. The study envisioned warhead payloads of 1,500 and 3,000 pounds (680 and 1,360 kg), with the first test launch in 20 months. [10] Cold War tensions escalated by the Korean War drove the payload up to a 6,900-pound (3,100 kg) atomic bomb with a reduced range. [11] The system with its new specifications took the name Redstone, and had to be highly reliable, accurate, and quickly produced, priority 1A. The development program for the Redstone began in earnest on May 1, 1951. [12] Separate from the missile development program, another budget line item was to bear the cost of constructing facilities for research and development at Redstone Arsenal because those facilities could also be used for other projects. [13] However, the construction of facilities was not funded.

Early development, 1952–1955

Drawings of buried railroad tanker vessels used as bunkers for instrumentation and control. Note periscopes in right tank Detail of Instrumentation and Control Tanks c 1959 HAER AL-129-A sheet 6 of 7.png
Drawings of buried railroad tanker vessels used as bunkers for instrumentation and control. Note periscopes in right tank

The first twelve missiles were built at Redstone Arsenal. [14] Assembly of the first Redstone began in the fall of 1952. Engineers needed a propulsion test stand to improve the missile, but they were not allowed to spend research and development funds on constructing facilities even for a cause vital to national security. Rather than wait for funding to go through the two-year Congressional appropriation process, then wait further for construction, Fritz A. Vandersee designed an interim test stand for $25,000, the maximum amount allowed. The large concrete foundation cost nearly all of the money. On this base, welders built a small stand with metal salvaged from around the arsenal. [15] Three railroad tank cars that had been used to transport chemicals at the arsenal during the war were cleaned, modified, and buried 300 feet (91 m) away to serve as control and observation bunkers. [16] To view the firings, the tanks also contain two periscopes believed to have been from two surplus Army tanks. [17]

Bunker entrance in 2017 Redstone Test Stand bunker.jpg
Bunker entrance in 2017

When workers assembled the first Redstone missile at Redstone Arsenal in spring of 1953, the Redstone Interim Test Stand stood ready. [15] A crane hoisted the missile (without the warhead) onto the stand and placed a frame atop the missile. Cables were attached to the frame to steady the missile. [18] After extensive tests, workers fueled the missile and fired the engine for tests lasting no more than 15 seconds. After several successful test runs, the missile went to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for the test flight. Launches provided valuable information on the guidance system, but most improvements on the propulsion system came from lessons learned at the Interim Test Stand, where engineers could evaluate the internal workings of the propulsion system while it was firmly anchored to the ground. [19] A total of fourteen tests were performed with the first four missiles. [18] [20]

Redstone Test Stand during gmissile test #02 Redstone Test Stand and Missile Test 02 047018pu.jpg
Redstone Test Stand during gmissile test #02

Before congressional appropriation and construction of permanent facilities was completed, the engineers used the information gained during static testing at the Interim Stand to steadily improve the Redstone system. [6] The next eight missiles stood for twenty-two tests. [18] [20] The tower to the left of the missile (shown above right) is the Cold Calibration Unit, built in 1954. It held only the Redstone's alcohol and liquid oxygen tanks, pumps, valves and flow meters in various configurations. The liquids flowed into another set of tanks and were used to test and calibrate the valves and flow meters to assure that accurate measurements were made during the static fire testing and to assure a proper alcohol to oxygen mixture ratio. Oxygen-rich propellant mixtures had caused most engine explosions in the early years of liquid rocket development. [21]

In the original version of the facility, flames were directed in a trench beneath the rocket in two opposite directions. In December 1955, workers installed a new more durable elbow-shaped flame deflector designed by Rocketdyne engineer Carl Kassner. [22] Water injected through small holes in the elbow quickly turned to steam, keeping the flame away from the metal elbow. [23]

Army Ballistic Missile Agency, 1956–1958

The Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) was established on February 1, 1956 to turn the experimental Redstone rocket into an operational weapon and to develop a new Jupiter Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM). [24] The Redstone missile development continued with routine missile qualification tests and several improvements were made to the Interim Test Stand. A load cell was added to directly measure the thrust of the missile. A cutoff system was added to detect rough combustion in the engine and automatically stop tests. This system prevented engine damage while engineers solved the problem. The first Redstone built by Chrysler was tested at the Interim Stand. Chrysler [25] built thirty-eight developmental Redstone missiles and all sixty-three tactical Redstones in Detroit. In addition, several of the Redstone missiles were modified to aid the Jupiter missile development program. These longer missiles were called Jupiter-C and test fired on the Interim Stand after it was enlarged and strengthened. A series of tests using propellants chilled to −25 °F (−32 °C) established that the Redstone could be deployed in the Arctic. [26]

In 1957 the permanent Propulsion and Structural Test Facility was finally completed using the funds appropriated by Congress for the Redstone, but the ABMA decided to continue using the Interim Test Stand for the Redstone. After four years of development, the interim facilities had proven adequate for testing the Redstone and Jupiter-C, and the Army felt that a move to the new facilities would be disruptive to its busy schedule. [26]

Juno I awaiting launch with Explorer I Juno I awaiting launch with Explorer I.jpg
Juno I awaiting launch with Explorer I

Dr. von Braun had proposed to Project Orbiter using a Redstone as the main booster for launching artificial satellites on June 25, 1954. [27] The day Sputnik 1 launched, October 4, 1957, von Braun had been showing incoming Defense Secretary Neil McElroy around the Redstone Arsenal. They received the news about Sputnik as they relaxed that afternoon. Von Braun turned to McElroy. "We could have been in orbit a year ago," he said. "We knew they [the Soviets] were going to do it! Vanguard will never make it. We have the hardware on the shelf… We can put up a satellite in 60 days." McElroy was not confirmed until the next week and did not have the power to back their proposal. On November 8, McElroy directed the Army to modify two Jupiter-C missiles and to place a satellite in orbit by March 1958. [28] The first stage was soon test fired. [20] Eighty-four days later, on January 31, 1958, the ABMA launched the first US satellite, Explorer I, into orbit. Following this successful launch, five more of these modified Jupiter-C missiles (subsequently re-designated Juno I) were launched in attempts to place additional Explorer satellites in orbit. During this satellite program, the Department of the Army gathered a great deal of knowledge about space. Explorer I gathered and transmitted data on atmospheric densities and the earth's oblateness. It is primarily remembered, though, as the discoverer of the Van Allen cosmic radiation belt. [28]

Because of its proven reliability and accuracy, the Department of Defense decided to use the Redstone missile in tests to study the effects of nuclear detonations in the upper atmosphere, Operation Hardtack I. After being static-fired at the Interim Stand in January 1958, two missiles were shipped to the Pacific Test Range. In July and August, the missiles became the first missiles ever to detonate atomic warheads. [29]

In 1958, Redstone development ended and Chrysler began mass production for deployment. Only a few of these missiles were tested at the Interim Test Stand because the propulsion system had become so reliable. [18]

Mercury-Redstone, 1959–1960

Installation of a Mercury capsule on the Mercury-Redstone Test Booster (TB) for Full (110-116 sec) runs, May 1960 Mercury Capsule at Redstone Test Stand.jpg
Installation of a Mercury capsule on the Mercury-Redstone Test Booster (TB) for Full (110-116 sec) runs, May 1960

As the space race continued, the civilian space agency, NASA started on October 1, 1958 [30] but the Army kept von Braun and the ABMA for another year and a half. [31] NASA's Project Mercury chose the "Old Reliable" Redstone, with its unmatched launch record, as America's first crewed launch vehicle. Nevertheless, the Army had to make improvements for crewed missions. The crew at the Interim Test Stand ran over 200 static firings to improve the Redstone propulsion system. In addition, all eight Mercury-Redstone launch vehicles endured a full duration acceptance test at the interim stand. [32] On July 1, 1960, 4,670 people transferred from the ABMA to NASA forming the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC).

The first test flight, Mercury-Redstone 1, occurred on November 21, 1960. After rising a few inches off the launch pad, electrical cables disconnecting in the wrong order caused the engine to shut down. The launch vehicle sustained minor damage and was returned to MSFC. Static fire testing on the Redstone Test Stand in February 1961 verified that repairs were successful. The second test launch, Mercury-Redstone 1A, was successful on December 19, 1960. On January 31, 1961, a chimpanzee named Ham flew into space on Mercury-Redstone 2. Another test flight, Mercury-Redstone BD, added to evaluate changes, confirmed the system was ready. [33]

Alan B. Shepard, Jr. became the first American in space on May 5, 1961. Mercury-Redstone 3 was a suborbital flight to an altitude of 115 miles and a range of 302 miles. This flight demonstrated that man was capable of controlling a space vehicle during periods of weightlessness and high accelerations. The last Mercury-Redstone flight, Mercury-Redstone 4, also a crewed suborbital flight, carried Virgil I. Grissom to a peak altitude of 118 miles and safely landed him 303 miles downrange. [34] The Redstone Test Stand contributed to the success of the first two Americans to fly in space.

Epilogue

Redstone Test Stand sign.jpg

The Redstone Test Stand phased out of use in October, 1961. [35] After becoming rundown and littered, the site was restored for the US Bicentennial. [36] A Redstone missile, which US Army Missile Command (MICOM) loaned to NASA, was installed on February 27, 1976. [37] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as being nationally significant on May 13, 1976. [1] Alabama Section, American Society of Civil Engineers declared it an Alabama Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1979. [3] It was declared a National Historic Landmark on October 3, 1985. [2] The Interim Test Stand is in good condition. [2]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Redstone Test Stand". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on January 11, 2008. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
  3. 1 2 Butowsky, Harry A. (May 15, 1984). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Redstone Test Stand / Interim Test Stand". National Park Service. Retrieved June 30, 2011. and "Accompanying 7 photos, from 1960, 1961, 1984 and undated".
  4. ↑ Bonenberger (1996), "MSFC, Redstone Rocket (Missile) Test Stand", Written Historical & Descriptive Data (TIFF), p. 7, retrieved July 1, 2011
  5. 1 2 Bonenberger (1996), "MSFC, Redstone Rocket (Missile) Test Stand", Written Historical & Descriptive Data (TIFF), p. 1, retrieved July 1, 2011
  6. 1 2 Bonenberger (1996), "MSFC, Redstone Rocket (Missile) Test Stand", Written Historical & Descriptive Data (TIFF), p. 8, retrieved July 1, 2011
  7. ↑ Bonenberger (1996), "MSFC, Redstone Rocket (Missile) Test Stand", Written Historical & Descriptive Data (TIFF), p. 6, retrieved July 1, 2011
  8. ↑ "Werner von Braun". May 2, 2001. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
  9. ↑ Bullard (1965). "History of the Redstone Missile System". p. 14. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012.
  10. ↑ Bullard (1965). "History of the Redstone Missile System". pp. 23–32. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012.
  11. ↑ Bullard (1965). "History of the Redstone Missile System". p. 35. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012.
  12. ↑ Bullard (1965). "History of the Redstone Missile System". p. 53. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012.
  13. ↑ Bullard (1965). "History of the Redstone Missile System". p. 41. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012.
  14. ↑ Bullard (1965). "History of the Redstone Missile System". p. 162. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012.
  15. 1 2 Bonenberger (1996), "MSFC, Redstone Rocket (Missile) Test Stand", Written Historical & Descriptive Data (TIFF), pp. 35–36, retrieved July 1, 2011
  16. ↑ Pugh, Michael E. (1995), "Instrumentation and Control Tanks c. 1959", MSFC, Redstone Rocket (Missile) Test Stand (TIFF), 6 of 7 sheets, hdl:loc.pnp/hhh.al1184, HAER AL-129-A, retrieved July 1, 2011
  17. ↑ Shannon, Ernie J., ed. (May 13, 1992), "Redstone Test Stand Was Beginning for Many Marshall Employees", Marshall Star, vol. 31, no. 34, Marshall Space Flight Center, p. 4
  18. 1 2 3 4 Vona, Amy E. (1995), "Test Stand and Rocket Evolution", MSFC, Redstone Rocket (Missile) Test Stand (TIFF), 7 of 7 sheets, hdl:loc.pnp/hhh.al1184, HAER AL-129-A, retrieved July 1, 2011
  19. ↑ Bonenberger (1996), "MSFC, Redstone Rocket (Missile) Test Stand", Written Historical & Descriptive Data (TIFF), p. 38, retrieved July 1, 2011
  20. 1 2 3 Bonenberger (1996), "MSFC, Redstone Rocket (Missile) Test Stand", Written Historical & Descriptive Data (TIFF), pp. 53–62, retrieved July 1, 2011
  21. ↑ Walsh, Erin L. (1995), "Redstone Rocket Test Stand 1995, East Elevation", MSFC, Redstone Rocket (Missile) Test Stand (TIFF), 3 of 7 sheets, hdl:loc.pnp/hhh.al1184, HAER AL-129-A, retrieved July 1, 2011
  22. ↑ Bonenberger (1996), "MSFC, Redstone Rocket (Missile) Test Stand", Written Historical & Descriptive Data (TIFF), p. 44, retrieved July 1, 2011
  23. ↑ Pugh, Michael E. (1995), "Redstone Rocket Test Stand 1995, East Elevation", MSFC, Redstone Rocket (Missile) Test Stand (TIFF), 3 of 7 sheets, hdl:loc.pnp/hhh.al1184, HAER AL-129-A, retrieved July 1, 2011
  24. ↑ McCleskey, Carey M.; Christensen, David L. "Dr. Kurt H. Debus: Launching a Vision" (PDF). p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 17, 2008. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
  25. ↑ Detroit, 1959/03/19 (1959). Universal Newsreel. 1959. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  26. 1 2 Bonenberger (1996), "MSFC, Redstone Rocket (Missile) Test Stand", Written Historical & Descriptive Data (TIFF), pp. 43–47, retrieved July 1, 2011
  27. ↑ Bullard (1965). "History of the Redstone Missile System". p. 140. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012.
  28. 1 2 Bullard (1965). "History of the Redstone Missile System". p. 145. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012.
  29. ↑ Bullard (1965). "History of the Redstone Missile System". pp. 149–150. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012.
  30. ↑ Bilstein, Roger E. (1996). "FROM NACA TO NASA". Stages to Saturn. NASA. p. 33. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
  31. ↑ Bilstein, Roger E. (1996). "THE ABMA TRANSFER". Stages to Saturn. NASA. p. 42. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
  32. ↑ Bonenberger (1996), "MSFC, Redstone Rocket (Missile) Test Stand", Written Historical & Descriptive Data (TIFF), pp. 47–48, retrieved July 1, 2011
  33. ↑ Miller, F. E.; Cassidy, J. L.; Leveye, J. C.; Johnson, R. I. (December 1964), The Mercury-Redstone Project (PDF), NASA, retrieved July 25, 2011
  34. ↑ Bullard (1965). "History of the Redstone Missile System". p. 157. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012.
  35. ↑ Duncan, Christine, ed. (September 29, 1976), "MSFC Redstone Test Stand Is Officially Historic Site", Marshall Star, vol. 17, no. 4, Marshall Space Flight Center, pp. 1, 4
  36. ↑ Baker, Phil (February 5, 1976), "Redstone Test Stand To Become Bicentennial Display", NASA News, Marshall Space Flight Center, Release No. 76-32
  37. ↑ Duncan, Christine, ed. (March 17, 1976), "Marshall Men Raise First And Last Redstone Rocklet", Marshall Star, vol. 16, no. 27, Marshall Space Flight Center, pp. 1–2

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jupiter-C</span> Part of the Redstone rocket family

The Jupiter-C was an American research and development vehicle developed from the Jupiter-A. Jupiter-C was used for three uncrewed sub-orbital spaceflights in 1956 and 1957 to test re-entry nosecones that were later to be deployed on the more advanced PGM-19 Jupiter mobile missile. The recovered nosecone was displayed in the Oval Office as part of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's televised speech on November 7, 1957.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redstone Arsenal</span> United States Army post

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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marshall Space Flight Center</span> Rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center

The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), located in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, 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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Army Ballistic Missile Agency</span> United States Army agency (1956–61)

The Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) was formed to develop the U.S. Army's first large ballistic missile. The agency was established at Redstone Arsenal on 1 February 1956, and commanded by Major General John B. Medaris with Wernher von Braun as technical director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PGM-11 Redstone</span> American short-range ballistic missile

The PGM-11 Redstone was the first large American ballistic missile. A short-range ballistic missile (SRBM), it was in active service with the United States Army in West Germany from June 1958 to June 1964 as part of NATO's Cold War defense of Western Europe. It was the first US missile to carry a live nuclear warhead, in the 1958 Pacific Ocean weapons test, Hardtack Teak.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saturn (rocket family)</span> Family of American heavy-lift rocket launch vehicles

The Saturn family of American rockets was developed by a team of former German rocket engineers and scientists led by Wernher von Braun to launch heavy payloads to Earth orbit and beyond. The Saturn family used liquid hydrogen as fuel in the upper stages. Originally proposed as a military satellite launcher, they were adopted as the launch vehicles for the Apollo Moon program. Three versions were built and flown: the medium-lift Saturn I, the heavy-lift Saturn IB, and the super heavy-lift Saturn V.

The Saturn I was a rocket designed as the United States' first medium lift launch vehicle for up to 20,000-pound (9,100 kg) low Earth orbit payloads. The rocket's first stage was built as a cluster of propellant tanks engineered from older rocket tank designs, leading critics to jokingly refer to it as "Cluster's Last Stand". Its development was taken over from the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) in 1958 by the newly formed civilian NASA. Its design proved sound and flexible. It was successful in initiating the development of liquid hydrogen-fueled rocket propulsion, launching the Pegasus satellites, and flight verification of the Apollo command and service module launch phase aerodynamics. Ten Saturn I rockets were flown before it was replaced by the heavy lift derivative Saturn IB, which used a larger, higher total impulse second stage and an improved guidance and control system. It also led the way to development of the super-heavy lift Saturn V which carried the first men to landings on the Moon in the Apollo program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PGM-19 Jupiter</span> Medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM)

The PGM-19 Jupiter was the first nuclear armed, medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) of the United States Air Force (USAF). It was a liquid-propellant rocket using RP-1 fuel and LOX oxidizer, with a single Rocketdyne LR79-NA rocket engine producing 667 kilonewtons (150,000 lbf) of thrust. It was armed with the 1.44 megatons of TNT (6.0 PJ) W49 nuclear warhead. The prime contractor was the Chrysler Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocketdyne H-1</span> American kerolox rocket engine

The Rocketdyne H-1 was a 205,000 lbf (910 kN) thrust liquid-propellant rocket engine burning LOX and RP-1. The H-1 was developed for use in the S-I and S-IB first stages of the Saturn I and Saturn IB rockets, respectively, where it was used in clusters of eight engines. After the Apollo program, surplus H-1 engines were rebranded and reworked as the Rocketdyne RS-27 engine with first usage on the Delta 2000 series in 1974. RS-27 engines continued to be used up until 1992 when the first version of the Delta II, Delta 6000, was retired. The RS-27A variant, boasting slightly upgraded performance, was also used on the later Delta II and Delta III rockets, with the former flying until 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Space & Rocket Center</span> Science museum in Huntsville, Alabama

The U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama is a museum operated by the government of Alabama, showcasing rockets, achievements, and artifacts of the U.S. space program. Sometimes billed as "Earth's largest space museum", astronaut Owen Garriott described the place as, "a great way to learn about space in a town that has embraced the space program from the very beginning."

The Saturn Vehicle Evaluation Committee, better known as the Silverstein Committee, was a US government commission assembled in 1959 to recommend specific directions that NASA could take with the Saturn rocket program. The committee was chaired by Abe Silverstein, a long-time NASA engineer, with the express intent of selecting upper stages for the Saturn after a disagreement broke out between the Air Force and Army over its development. During the meetings the Committee members outlined a number of different potential designs, including the low-risk solution von Braun was developing with existing ICBM airframes, as well as versions using entirely new upper stages developed to take full advantage of the booster stage. The advantages of using new uppers were so great that the committee won over an initially skeptical von Braun, and the future of the Saturn program changed forever.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Army Aviation and Missile Command</span> U.S. Armys provider of aviation and missile lifecycle management

The United States Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) develops, acquires, fields and sustains aviation, missile and unmanned aerial vehicles. AMCOM is primarily responsible for lifecycle management of army missile, helicopter, unmanned ground vehicle and unmanned aerial vehicle weapon system. The central part of AMCOM's mission involves ensuring readiness through acquisition and sustainment support for aviation systems, missile systems, and test, measurement, and diagnostic equipment (TMDE) throughout their life cycle. The command is headquartered at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, has a 2019 "budget of more $3.7 billion, and a global workforce of more than 15,000 military and civilian employees".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernst Stuhlinger</span> German-American scientist

Ernst Stuhlinger was a German-American atomic, electrical, and rocket scientist. After being brought to the United States as part of Operation Paperclip, he developed guidance systems with Wernher von Braun's team for the US Army, and later was a scientist with NASA. He was also instrumental in the development of the ion engine for long-endurance space flight, and a wide variety of scientific experiments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Konrad Dannenberg</span> German-American rocket pioneer (1912–2009)

Konrad Dannenberg was a German-American rocket pioneer and member of the German rocket team brought to the United States after World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saturn V dynamic test vehicle</span> Moon rocket test article in Huntsville, Alabama

The Saturn V dynamic test vehicle, designated SA-500D, is a prototype Saturn V rocket used by NASA to test the performance of the rocket when vibrated to simulate the shaking which subsequent rockets would experience during launch. It was the first full-scale Saturn V completed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). Though SA-500D never flew, it was instrumental in the development of the Saturn V rocket which propelled the first men to the Moon as part of the Apollo program. Built under the direction of Dr. Wernher von Braun, it served as the test vehicle for all of the Saturn support facilities at MSFC.

The Redstone family of rockets consisted of a number of American ballistic missiles, sounding rockets and expendable launch vehicles operational during the 1950s and 1960s. The first member of the Redstone family was the PGM-11 Redstone missile, from which all subsequent variations of the Redstone were derived. The Juno 1 version of the Redstone launched Explorer 1, the first U.S. orbital satellite in 1958 and the Mercury-Redstone variation carried the first two U.S. astronauts into space in 1961. The rocket was named for the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama where it was developed.

The Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle, designed for NASA's Project Mercury, was the first American crewed space booster. It was used for six sub-orbital Mercury flights from 1960–1961; culminating with the launch of the first, and 11 weeks later, the second American in space. The four subsequent Mercury human spaceflights used the more powerful Atlas booster to enter low Earth orbit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heinz-Hermann Koelle</span> German aeronautical engineer (1925–2011)

Heinz-Hermann Koelle was a German aeronautical engineer who made the preliminary designs on the rocket that would emerge as the Saturn I. Closely associated with Wernher von Braun's team at the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA), he was a member of the launch crew on Explorer 1 and later directed the Marshall Space Flight Center's involvement in Project Apollo. In 1965, he accepted the Chair of Space Technology at Technische Universität Berlin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hans Fichtner</span> Rocket scientist

Hans Joachim Oskar Fichtner was a rocket scientist who worked on V-2 rockets for Wernher von Braun at Peenemünde from 1939 to 1945. He was among the scientists to surrender and travel to the United States to provide rocketry expertise via Operation Paperclip which took them first to Fort Bliss, Texas (1945–1949). He continued his work with the team when they moved to Redstone Arsenal, and he joined Marshall Space Flight Center to work for NASA.

Milton Kyser Cummings had a noteworthy career in two highly diverse fields: cotton broker and space-defense industry executive. Sometimes called the "Number One Citizen of Huntsville" and a "Symbol of the New South," he was recognized as a humanitarian, leader in opportunities for minorities and the handicapped, and advisor to government officials and congressmen. The Cummings Research Park, the second largest park of this type in America, was named to honor him.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.