Space Legacy

1940s

From Cotton To Rockets

Redstone is part of a larger space legacy that exists across Alabama and dates back more than 100 years when the Wright Brothers opened the nation’s first flight school in Montgomery. That site became Maxwell Air Force Base, which includes Air University, the Air Force’s center for professional military education. Additional investments in K-12, post-secondary, and higher education, combined with Congressional support and the synergy within the aerospace and aviation ecosystems, has made the Redstone region and Alabama what they are today… and what they will be for the future of space.

1950s

Space Is In Our Place

Dr. Wernher von Braun and his rocket team arrived in 1950, and the arsenal became the center of Army missilery and rocketry. Redstone’s scientists, engineers, and technicians developed numerous weapon systems such as the REDSTONE, PERSHING, and NIKE HERCULES. The von Braun team contributed greatly to the Army’s launching of the first U.S. satellite, EXPLORER I, in January 1958.

Work began on the Saturn rockets at Redstone in the late 1950s under the authority of the Advanced Research Projects Agency (the predecessor to DARPA), along with the F1 engine.

This and other achievements by the Army helped lay the foundation for U.S. space exploration. NASA is created in 1958.

1960s

Race To The Moon Begins

4,670 Army employees, 1,900 acres of land and numerous facilities supporting Army space and rocket programs were transferred to NASA and the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) was established.

The Army continued development of ground and air defense missile systems with a focus on the Cold-War and maintaining a technological edge over Soviet systems.

The first US astronaut, Alan Shepard, is launched into space on a Mercury Redstone vehicle in 1961, shortly after the Soviets launch Yuri Gagarin into space.

MSFC developed and tested the Saturn V rocket that carried our three astronauts to the moon in 1969, followed by another 15 astronauts over the next two years.

1970s

Continued Support Through The Cold War

Redstone Arsenal continued through the Cold War to develop advanced weapon systems and train service members on the maintenance and repair. A few of these systems included the PERSHING-II, CHAPERRAL, Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), PATRIOT, and AVENGER.

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.

MSFC continued to focus on propulsion systems, space station operations, space science and numerous other programs. These included the Skylab space station, the Space Shuttle, and Spacelab 1.

1980s

New Era Of Growth

The Army at Redstone began building in great quantities many of the weapons that it had developed in the 1960s and 1970s. One of the best examples would be the PERSHING II, which was a major factor in influencing the Soviet Union to sign the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 1987, eliminating an entire class of nuclear missiles.

In 1988, a Congressionally mandated BRAC realigned the Test, Measurement and Diagnostics Equipment (TMDE) Center to Redstone and sparked a new era of growth.

1990s

The Shuttle Program

The Space Shuttle program and the International Space Station, both with significant ties to MSFC, dominated NASA in the 1990s. The Hubble Space Telescope, developed at MSFC, was also launched.

BRAC 1991 brought materiel and logistics readiness activities, and BRAC 1995 realigned multiple Army aviation activities and merged them with Redstone Arsenal’s missile related centers.

In 1997 the former Army Missile Command (MICOM) combined with the aviation portion of the U.S. Army Aviation and Troop Command (ATCOM), creating a totally new organization, the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM). Redstone Arsenal now managed two key components of the Army – missile firepower and aviation platforms.

2000s

Our Fight Against Terror

Redstone played a key role in the War on Terrorism throughout the 2000s through its HELLFIRE and PAC-3 programs.

BRAC 2005 brought the Army Materiel Command 4-star HQ, Space and Missile Defense Command’s 3-star HQ, the majority of DoD’s Missile Defense Agency, and U.S. Army Security Assistance Command’s 2-star HQ from Northern Virginia to Redstone. The Aviation Technical Test Center moved and merged with the Redstone Technical Test Center creating Redstone Test Center, and the 2nd Recruiting Brigade and 2nd Medical Recruiting Battalion were moved to Redstone.

Other significant growth occurred at Redstone, including the Army’s Contracting Command and Expeditionary Contracting Command and the Department of Justice’s explosives research and analytical centers for the FBI and ATF.

2010s

Continuing Our Legacy

The Army completed the execution of the 2005 BRAC consolidations, bringing a total of 14 General Officers to Redstone and over $1 billion in construction of new facilities.

The FBI initiated a strategic realignment that will result in major personnel moves from the DC area to a campus on Redstone that will eventually house 5,000+ employees.

NASA’s Space Launch System that will return us to the moon and take us to Mars is managed at MSFC.

2020s

The Future of Space

On November 19, Redstone was named one of six finalists for the headquarters of US Space Command, which will bring operational focus to deterring threats and shaping the security environment in space. Redstone is a top choice for mission-related capability, infrastructure capacity, community support, and costs to DOD.