Editing Redstone Arsenal (section)

==History==
===Pre-1941===
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 A total of 651 prehistoric archaeological sites have been archived at Redstone Arsenal to date.<ref>Data on File at the Redstone Arsenal Environmental Management Division</ref>{{as of?|date=November 2024}}{{better source needed|date=March 2024}} At least 22 have components dating to the [[Paleo-Indians|Paleo-Indian period]] (9200 to 8000 BC). The Paleo-Indian handhewn projectile point called the Redstone Point was named after the Arsenal where it was first identified.<ref>[http://www.garrison.redstone.army.mil/sites/directorates/dpw/emd/cnr/CulturalRes/content/ARCHAEOLOGICAL%20PROGRAM.pdf RSA Archeological Program] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080910072211/http://www.garrison.redstone.army.mil/sites/directorates/dpw/emd/cnr/CulturalRes/content/ARCHAEOLOGICAL%20PROGRAM.pdf |date=September 10, 2008}}. redstone.army.mil</ref>

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 (United States)|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 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 the landscape around the installation.<ref>Curry, Beverly S. ''The People Who Lived on the Land that Is Now Redstone Arsenal''. Cultural Resources Management Program, U.S. Army Missile Command, 2006.</ref>

At the beginning of the 20th century, the approximately {{convert|57|sqmi|km2|adj=on}} 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, 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]].

===Huntsville Arsenal===
As part of the mobilization leading to U.S. involvement in World War II, Huntsville Arsenal was established in 1941 to create an inland chemical weapons plant in addition to one in [[Edgewood, Maryland]]. It was announced by the [[United States Department of War|War Department]] on July 3, 1941.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016|title=75th Anniversary of Redstone Arsenal|url=https://www.amc.army.mil/Portals/9/Documents/AMC%20Publications/Historical%20Files/75th%20Anniversary%20of%20Redstone%20Arsenal.pdf|access-date=2020-07-23|publisher=U.S. Army Materiel Command|page=14}}</ref> 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 the War Department. A land-use agreement was arranged with the [[Tennessee Valley Authority]] for the Army to use about {{convert|1250|acre|km2}} 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 Corps|Chemical Warfare Service]]; and the Redstone Ordnance Plant, operated by the [[United States Army Ordnance Department]]. The name ''Redstone'' drew on the region's [[Iron(III) oxide|red]] [[Hematite|rocks]] and [[Geography of Alabama#Climate and soil|soil]].<ref>Cagle, Mary T. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20111015121417/http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/huntsville/history_redstone_arsenal.pdf &#91;Early&#93; History of Redstone Arsenal]". Public Information Office, Redstone Arsenal.</ref>

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 missile]]s, starting with [[V-2 rocket]] derivatives, before moving on to 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 [[NASA|National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)]]. The Cold War had moved to space, and 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.

[[File:RSA Munitions.jpg|thumb|left|1940s munitions production at Huntsville Arsenal]]
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 the reservation that it be allowed to use chemical weapons against aggressors who used them. The facility also produced [[carbonyl iron]] powder (for [[magnetic core|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, 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 [[United States Army Air Forces|6th Army Air Force]] to test incendiary devices in preparation for the [[Air raids on Japan|firebombing of Japanese cities]].<ref name="baker">Baker, Michael E. ''Redstone Arsenal: Yesterday and Today''. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1993-758-626/80050; summary: http://geckocountry.com/redstons.shtml</ref>

Three days after 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 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.<ref name="baker"/>

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 the intention of establishing a major automobile manufacturing complex.  Only 18 [[Keller (automobile)|Keller]] prototype vehicles were built before the firm's president and primary organizer, George Keller, suddenly died and the operation folded.<ref>Gross, Ken, and Rich Taylor; "[http://assets.hemmings.com/uimage/2197977-0-1200.jpg America's Most Needed Car]", ''Special Interest Autos'' no. 30, September–October 1975, pp. 32–40, 59.</ref>

The [[United States Army Air Forces|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]] 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 was deactivated and consolidated with the other two entities to become Redstone Arsenal. Command responsibilities were assumed by Redstone.<ref name="baker"/>

===Army Ordnance Corps===
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 the [[V-2]] missile. Testing was done at the nearby [[White Sands Missile Range|White Sands Proving Ground]] in [[New Mexico]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nmsua.edu/tiopete/files/2008/12/wspgcoldbook.pdf |last1=Fidenbach |first1=Peter L. |title=A Brief History of White Sands Proving Ground 1941–1965 |publisher=Ordnance Department, U.S. Army |access-date=August 19, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101229102456/http://nmsua.edu/tiopete/files/2008/12/wspgcoldbook.pdf |archive-date=December 29, 2010}}</ref>

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, 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 {{convert|500|mi|km}}.  Starting with an upgraded Major missile, the design went through a series of improvements and ultimately became the PGM-11 with the popular name [[PGM-11 Redstone|Redstone rocket]]. To expedite development, an existing engine was used, greatly reducing the operational range to between 58 and 200 miles.<ref>Bullard, John W. "[http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA434109 History of the Redstone Missile System]". Historical Monograph Project No. AMC23M, Historical Division, Army Missile Command, October 1965. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120527164049/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA434109&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf |date=May 27, 2012 }}</ref>

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.<ref name="baker"/>

The Ordnance Missile Laboratories (OML) 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 H. Debus|Kurt Debus]], who set up the [[Redstone Test Stand|Interim Test Stand]] and the launch facility at [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Canaveral, Florida]].  Redstone static fire testing began in the spring of 1953, followed by the first launch at Cape Canaveral on August 20, 1953.<ref name=McCleskey>{{cite web |last=McCleskey |first=C. |author2=D. Christensen |title=Dr. Kurt H. Debus: Launching a Vision |url=http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/history/docs/pdf/debus.pdf |access-date=June 22, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080917103545/http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/history/docs/pdf/debus.pdf |archive-date=September 17, 2008}}</ref>

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 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 [[Project Nike|Nike Hercules]]), [[MIM-23 Hawk|Hawk]] and others.  Surface-to-Surface projects were the [[MGR-1 Honest John|Honest John]], [[MGR-3 Little John|Little John]], [[MGM-18 Lacrosse|Lacrosse]], and [[MGM-5 Corporal|Corporal Type III]]; the liquid-fueled Corporal Type III was soon canceled and the solid Thiokol fueled [[MGM-29 Sergeant|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.<ref name="baker"/>

At a 1954 meeting of the Spaceflight Committee of the [[American Rocket Society]], von Braun proposed placing a [[satellite]] into orbit using the Redstone with clusters of small [[solid-fuel rocket]]s on top.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Roger R. |last1=Bate |last2=Mueller |first2=Donald D. |last3=White |first3=Jerry E. |title=Fundamentals of Astrodynamics |publisher=[[Dover Publications]] |date=1971 |page=[https://archive.org/details/fundamentalsofas00bate/page/152 152] |isbn=0-486-60061-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/fundamentalsofas00bate/page/152}}</ref> The proposal, [[Project Orbiter]], was rejected in 1955.

===Ordnance schools===
{{main|United States Army Ordnance Munitions and Electronic Maintenance School}}

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 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 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 (Virginia)|Fort Lee]] in 2011.<ref>[http://omems.redstone.army.mil/ "Welcome to OMEMS"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081224092705/http://omems.redstone.army.mil/ |date=December 24, 2008}}.</ref>

===Army Ballistic Missile Agency===
[[File:Medaris vonBraun and Toftoy 01.jpg|thumb|right|RSA commander Maj. Gen. [[John Bruce Medaris|John Medaris]], [[Wernher von Braun]], and RSA deputy commander Brig. Gen. [[Holger Toftoy]] (left to right) in the 1950s]]

The [[Army Ballistic Missile Agency]] (ABMA), commanded by Maj. Gen. [[John Bruce Medaris|John Medaris]], was formed on 1 February 1956, taking over from Redstone Arsenal the facilities and personnel of OGMC.  Von Braun 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.<ref name="baker"/>

The ABMA's primary mission was developing and fielding the Army's first intermediate-range ballistic missile, the [[Jupiter (missile)|Jupiter]]. By August 1958, the system was delivered to the Air Force for early deployment overseas. Jupiter deployment to Turkey later proved to be 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]].<ref name="baker"/>

As part of the 1957–58 [[International Geophysical Year]], both 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)|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, 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]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/profile.cfm?MCode=Explorer_01 |title= Explorer I Mssion |access-date=February 6, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080108105558/http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/profile.cfm?MCode=Explorer_01 |archive-date=January 8, 2008}}</ref>

By 1958, 20,000 civilian, military, and contractor workers were employed within Redstone Arsenal.<ref>{{cite news |title=Jobs Rise At Redstone|page=4 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1959/01/03/83433060.pdf |access-date=May 21, 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=January 3, 1959}}</ref>

The Army Ordnance Missile Command (AOMC) 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.<ref name="baker"/>

Six months after ''Explorer I'', President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Dwight Eisenhower]] created 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 {{convert|1840|acre|km2}} of land transferred from RSA/ABMA's Development Operations Division to NASA's [[Marshall Space Flight Center|George C. Marshall Space Flight Center]] (MSFC). Von Braun was MSFC's first director.<ref>"Historical Facts", MSFC History Office; [http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/history_fact_sheet.htm]{{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

===Army Missile Command===
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 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 (missile)|Sprint]]) and high-altitude ([[LIM-49 Spartan|Spartan]]) high-velocity interceptor missiles. To manage this development, in 1963 MICOM created the Nike-X Project Office headed by Colonel (later Brigadier General) Ivy O. Drewry.<ref name="baker"/>

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.<ref>"[https://books.google.com/books?id=clYEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PP1 Logic behind the ABM system]". ''Life'', September 19, 1967, pp. 26–28.</ref> 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 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 [[United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command|U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command]].<ref name="baker"/>

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 a new organization at RSA, the [[United States Army Aviation and Missile Command]] (AMCOM).<ref>Baker, Michael E.; "Redstone Arsenal Through the Years", 2003 (video); ''[https://archive.org/details/redstone_years Redstone Arsenal Through the Years]''. 2003.</ref>

===Today===
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]], 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 the [[Saturn (rocket family)|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.<ref name = RSICshuttered >{{Cite news |url=https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2019/10/15/army-defends-decision-to-close-redstone-arsenals-space-tech-library/|title=Army defends decision to close Redstone Arsenal's space, tech library|agency=Associated Press|date=October 14, 2019|newspaper=Army Times}}</ref> The cost-saving measure was announced by Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center (AvMC);<ref name= RSICshuttered/> selected documents from RSIC were acquired by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.<ref name= RSICshuttered/>