Redstone Test Stand
Encyclopedia
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 and a National Historic Landmark
in 1985. 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 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.
The Interim Test Stand was built in 1953 by Dr. Wernher von Braun’s
team for a mere $25,000 out of materials salvaged from the Redstone Arsenal. 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. 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 manned 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.
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. 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
. 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
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 miles (804.7 km) range missiles and began developing one, called Hermes C-1. The study envisioned warhead payloads of 1500 and 3000 lb (680.4 and 1,360.8 kg), with the first test launch in 20 months. As Cold War
tensions escalated by the Korean War
drove the payload up to a 6900 pounds (3,129.8 kg) atomic bomb with a reduced range. 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. 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. However, the construction of facilities was not funded.
When workers assembled the first Redstone missile at Redstone Arsenal in spring of 1953, the Redstone Interim Test Stand stood ready. 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. 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. A total of fourteen tests were performed with the first four missiles.
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. The next eight missiles stood for twenty-two tests. 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.
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. Water injected through small holes in the elbow quickly turned to steam, keeping the flame away from the metal elbow.
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).
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 built thirty-eight developmental Redstone missiles and all sixty-three tactical Redstone in Detroit. In addition, the several of 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 established that the Redstone could be deployed in the Arctic
.
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.
Dr. von Braun had proposed to Project Orbiter
using a Redstone as the main booster for launching artificial satellites on June 25, 1954. 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.
The first stage was soon test fired.
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 discover of the Van Allen cosmic radiation belt
.
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
.
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.
continued, the civilian space agency, NASA
started on October 1, 1958 but the Army kept the von Braun and the ABMA for another year and a half. NASA's Project Mercury
chose the "Old Reliable" Redstone, with its unmatched launch record, as America's first manned launch vehicle. Nevertheless, the Army had to make improvements for manned 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. 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 shutdown. The launch vehicle sustained minor damage and was returned to MSFC. Static fire testing on the Redstone Test Stand February, 1961 verified that repairs were successful. The second test launch, Mercury-Redstone 1A
, was successful on December 19, 1960. On January 31, 1961, the chimpanzee ([Ham the Chimp | Ham]) flew into space on Mercury-Redstone 2
. Another test flight, Mercury-Redstone BD
, added to evaluate changes, confirmed the system was ready.
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 manned suborbital flight, carried Virgil I. Grissom
to a peak altitude of 118 miles and safely landed him 303 miles downrange. The Redstone Test Stand contributed to the success of the first two Americans to fly in space.
After becoming rundown and littered, the site was restored for the US Bicentennial
. A Redstone missile, which US Army Missile Command (MICOM) loaned to NASA, was installed in February 27, 1976.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as being nationally significant in May 13, 1976.
Alabama Section, American Society of Civil Engineers
declared it an Alabama Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1979.
It was declared a National Historic Landmark in October 3, 1985.
The Intirim Test Stand is in good condition.
Redstone missile, Jupiter-C sounding rocket
Jupiter-C
The Jupiter-C was an American sounding rocket used for three 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....
, Juno I launch vehicle
Juno I
The Juno I was a four-stage American booster rocket which launched America's first satellite, Explorer 1, in 1958. A member of the Redstone rocket family, it was derived from the Jupiter-C sounding rocket...
and Mercury-Redstone launch vehicle
Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle
The Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle, designed for NASA's Project Mercury, was the first American manned space booster. It was used for six sub-orbital Mercury flights from 1960–61; culminating with the launch of the first, and 11 weeks later, the second American in space.A member of the...
. It was declared an Alabama Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1979 and a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1985. It is located at NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
's George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)
Marshall Space Flight Center
The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. The largest center of NASA, MSFC's first mission was developing the Saturn launch vehicles for the Apollo moon program...
in Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
on the Redstone Arsenal
Redstone Arsenal
Redstone Arsenal is a United States Army base and a census-designated place adjacent to Huntsville in Madison County, Alabama, United States and is part of the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area...
, designated Building 4665. The Redstone missile was first missile to detonate a nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
. 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
Alan Shepard
Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr. was an American naval aviator, test pilot, flag officer, and NASA astronaut who in 1961 became the second person, and the first American, in space. This Mercury flight was designed to enter space, but not to achieve orbit...
into space. The Redstone earned the name "Old Reliable" because of this facility and the improvements it made possible.
The Interim Test Stand was built in 1953 by Dr. Wernher von Braun’s
Wernher von Braun
Wernher Magnus Maximilian, Freiherr von Braun was a German rocket scientist, aerospace engineer, space architect, and one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Nazi Germany during World War II and in the United States after that.A former member of the Nazi party,...
team for a mere $25,000 out of materials salvaged from the Redstone Arsenal. In 1957 the permanent test facility called the Static Test Tower
Propulsion and Structural Test Facility
Propulsion and Structural Test Facility is a facility of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. It was the site where the first single stage rockets with multiple engines were tested....
was finally finished, but the Army decided to continue operations at the Interim Test Stand rather than move. 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 manned 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.
Background
Liquid-propellant rocket development has always proceeded in three steps:- Engine testing,
- Static rocket testing, and
- Test launches.
First, prototype engines are tested in a Rocket engine test facility
Rocket engine test facility
A rocket engine test facility is a location where rocket engines may be tested on the ground, under controlled conditions. A ground test program is generally required before the engine is certified for flight...
, 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. Wernher von Braun and his team used this process to develop the V-2 or A4 missile in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
during WWII
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
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
Operation Paperclip
Operation Paperclip was the Office of Strategic Services program used to recruit the scientists of Nazi Germany for employment by the United States in the aftermath of World War II...
. 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
Hermes project
The Hermes project was an United States Army Ordnance Corps rocket program ....
at Fort Bliss, Texas
Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in the U.S. states of New Mexico and Texas. With an area of about , it is the Army's second-largest installation behind the adjacent White Sands Missile Range. It is FORSCOM's largest installation, and has the Army's largest Maneuver Area behind the...
and White Sands Proving Grounds
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
Redstone Arsenal
Redstone Arsenal is a United States Army base and a census-designated place adjacent to Huntsville in Madison County, Alabama, United States and is part of the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area...
. 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 miles (804.7 km) range missiles and began developing one, called Hermes C-1. The study envisioned warhead payloads of 1500 and 3000 lb (680.4 and 1,360.8 kg), with the first test launch in 20 months. As Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
tensions escalated by the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
drove the payload up to a 6900 pounds (3,129.8 kg) atomic bomb with a reduced range. 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. 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. However, the construction of facilities was not funded.
Early development, 1952–1955
The first twelve missiles were built at Redstone Arsenal. 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. Three railroad tank cars that had been used to transport chemicals at the arsenal during the war were cleaned, modified, and buried 300 feet (91.4 m) away to serve as control and observation bunkers. To view the firings, the tanks also contain two periscopes believed to have been from two surplus Army tanks.When workers assembled the first Redstone missile at Redstone Arsenal in spring of 1953, the Redstone Interim Test Stand stood ready. 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. 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
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is an installation of the United States Air Force Space Command's 45th Space Wing, headquartered at nearby Patrick Air Force Base. Located on Cape Canaveral in the state of Florida, CCAFS is the primary launch head of America's Eastern Range with four launch pads...
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. A total of fourteen tests were performed with the first four missiles.
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. The next eight missiles stood for twenty-two tests. 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.
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. Water injected through small holes in the elbow quickly turned to steam, keeping the flame away from the metal elbow.
Army Ballistic Missile Agency, 1956–1958
The Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA)Army Ballistic Missile Agency
The Army Ballistic Missile Agency was the agency formed to develop the US Army's first intermediate range ballistic missile. It was established at Redstone Arsenal on February 1, 1956 and commanded by Major General John B...
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).
The Redstone missile development continued with routine missile qualification tests and several improvements were made to the Interim Test Stand. A load cell
Load cell
A load cell is a transducer that is used to convert a force into electrical signal. This conversion is indirect and happens in two stages. Through a mechanical arrangement, the force being sensed deforms a strain gauge. The strain gauge measures the deformation as an electrical signal, because the...
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
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
was tested at the Interim Stand. Chrysler built thirty-eight developmental Redstone missiles and all sixty-three tactical Redstone in Detroit. In addition, the several of 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 established that the Redstone could be deployed in the Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
.
In 1957 the permanent Propulsion and Structural Test Facility
Propulsion and Structural Test Facility
Propulsion and Structural Test Facility is a facility of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. It was the site where the first single stage rockets with multiple engines were tested....
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.
Dr. von Braun had proposed to Project Orbiter
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...
using a Redstone as the main booster for launching artificial satellites on June 25, 1954. The day Sputnik 1
Sputnik 1
Sputnik 1 ) was the first artificial satellite to be put into Earth's orbit. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957. The unanticipated announcement of Sputnik 1s success precipitated the Sputnik crisis in the United States and ignited the Space...
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.
The first stage was soon test fired.
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 discover of the Van Allen cosmic radiation belt
Van Allen radiation belt
The Van Allen radiation belt is a torus of energetic charged particles around Earth, which is held in place by Earth's magnetic field. It is believed that most of the particles that form the belts come from solar wind, and other particles by cosmic rays. It is named after its discoverer, James...
.
Because of its proven reliability and accuracy, the Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
decided to use the Redstone missile in tests to study the effects of nuclear detonations in the upper atmosphere, Operation Hardtack I
Operation Hardtack I
Operation Hardtack I was a series of 35 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1958 in the Pacific Ocean.Operation Newsreel was a series of three high-altitude nuclear tests conducted as part of Hardtack I. The individual tests in the series were Orange, Teak and Yucca.-Test Blasts:-...
. 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
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
.
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.
Mercury-Redstone, 1959–1960
As the space raceSpace Race
The Space Race was a mid-to-late 20th century competition between the Soviet Union and the United States for supremacy in space exploration. Between 1957 and 1975, Cold War rivalry between the two nations focused on attaining firsts in space exploration, which were seen as necessary for national...
continued, the civilian space agency, NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
started on October 1, 1958 but the Army kept the von Braun and the ABMA for another year and a half. NASA's Project Mercury
Project Mercury
In January 1960 NASA awarded Western Electric Company a contract for the Mercury tracking network. The value of the contract was over $33 million. Also in January, McDonnell delivered the first production-type Mercury spacecraft, less than a year after award of the formal contract. On February 12,...
chose the "Old Reliable" Redstone, with its unmatched launch record, as America's first manned launch vehicle. Nevertheless, the Army had to make improvements for manned 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. 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
Mercury-Redstone 1
Mercury-Redstone 1 was the first Mercury-Redstone mission in the Mercury program and the first attempt to launch a Mercury spacecraft with the Mercury-Redstone launch vehicle. Intended to be an unmanned sub-orbital flight, it was launched on November 21, 1960 from Cape Canaveral, Florida...
, 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 shutdown. The launch vehicle sustained minor damage and was returned to MSFC. Static fire testing on the Redstone Test Stand February, 1961 verified that repairs were successful. The second test launch, Mercury-Redstone 1A
Mercury-Redstone 1A
Mercury-Redstone 1A was launched on December 19, 1960 from LC-5 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The mission objectives of this unmanned suborbital flight were to qualify the spacecraft for space flight and qualify the system for an upcoming primate suborbital flight. The spacecraft tested its...
, was successful on December 19, 1960. On January 31, 1961, the chimpanzee ([Ham the Chimp | Ham]) flew into space on Mercury-Redstone 2
Mercury-Redstone 2
Mercury-Redstone 2 was an American space mission, launched at 16:55 UTC on January 31, 1961 from LC-5 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Mercury spacecraft No...
. Another test flight, Mercury-Redstone BD
Mercury-Redstone BD
Mercury-Redstone BD was an unmanned booster development flight in the U.S. Mercury program. It was launched on March 24, 1961 from Launch Complex 5 at Cape Canaveral, Florida...
, added to evaluate changes, confirmed the system was ready.
Alan B. Shepard, Jr.
Alan Shepard
Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr. was an American naval aviator, test pilot, flag officer, and NASA astronaut who in 1961 became the second person, and the first American, in space. This Mercury flight was designed to enter space, but not to achieve orbit...
became the first American in space on May 5, 1961. Mercury-Redstone 3
Mercury-Redstone 3
Mercury-Redstone 3 was the first manned space mission of the United States. Astronaut Alan Shepard piloted a 15-minute Project Mercury suborbital flight in the Freedom 7 spacecraft on May 5, 1961 to become the first American in space, three weeks after the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin had carried...
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
Mercury-Redstone 4
Mercury-Redstone 4 was the second United States manned space mission, launched on July 21, 1961. The Mercury program suborbital flight used a Redstone rocket. The spacecraft was named Liberty Bell 7 piloted by astronaut Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom. It reached an altitude of more than 118.26 mi ...
,
also a manned suborbital flight, carried Virgil I. Grissom
Gus Grissom
Virgil Ivan Grissom , , better known as Gus Grissom, was one of the original NASA Project Mercury astronauts and a United States Air Force pilot...
to a peak altitude of 118 miles and safely landed him 303 miles downrange. The Redstone Test Stand contributed to the success of the first two Americans to fly in space.
Epilogue
Redstone Test Stand phased out of use in October, 1961.After becoming rundown and littered, the site was restored for the US Bicentennial
United States Bicentennial
The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to the historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic...
. A Redstone missile, which US Army Missile Command (MICOM) loaned to NASA, was installed in February 27, 1976.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as being nationally significant in May 13, 1976.
Alabama Section, American Society of Civil Engineers
American Society of Civil Engineers
The American Society of Civil Engineers is a professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. It is the oldest national engineering society in the United States. ASCE's vision is to have engineers positioned as global leaders who strive toward...
declared it an Alabama Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1979.
It was declared a National Historic Landmark in October 3, 1985.
The Intirim Test Stand is in good condition.
See also
- List of National Historic Landmarks in Alabama
- List of German rocket scientists in the United States
- Sputnik crisisSputnik crisisThe Sputnik crisis is the name for the American reaction to the success of the Sputnik program. It was a key event during the Cold War that began on October 4, 1957 when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite....