National Space Day

Today we celebrate National Space Day and reflect on our community’s key part in building the future of space.

1950s

Dr. Wernher Von Braun and his rocket team arrived in 1950, and the arsenal became the center of Army missilery and Rocketry. NASA is created in 1958.

1960s

1961, President Kennedy sets the goal of being the first to land on the moon. The Saturn V Rocket program begins.

1970s

Redstone Aresenal continued through the Cold War to develop advanced weapon systems. In May 1974, all Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, which eventually evolved into today’s U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command.

1980s

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 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.

2000s + Beyond

Huntsville continues to play a key part in the future of space as NASA’s Space Launch System will return to the moon and then Mars as we get further into mankind’s exploration of space.

Sources:
https://www.rocketcenter.com/overview
http://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/s-137
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Space_Flight_Center
http://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1882