Redstone Test Stand
Redstone Test Stand | |
Alabama Historic Civil Engineering Landmark
| |
![]() Redstone Test Stand at the MSFC in Huntsville, AL. Cold Calibration Unit (left) PGM-11 Redstone missile in static test stand (right) | |
Nearest city | Huntsville, Alabama |
---|---|
Coordinates | 34°37′58.7676″N 86°39′58.1436″W / 34.632991000°N 86.666151000°W |
Built | 1953 |
Architect | U.S. Army |
NRHP reference No. | 76000341 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | May 13, 1976[1] |
Designated NHL | October 3, 1985[2] |
Designated AHCEL | 1979 |
The Redstone Test Stand or Interim Test Stand was used to develop and test fire the
The Interim Test Stand was built in 1953 by Dr. Wernher von Braun's team for a mere US$25,000 (equivalent to $293,812 in 2024) 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:
- Engine testing
- Static rocket testing
- Test launches
First, prototype engines are tested in a
.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
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

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]

When workers assembled the first Redstone missile at Redstone Arsenal in spring of 1953, the Redstone Interim Test Stand stood ready.

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]

Dr. von Braun had proposed to
Because of its proven reliability and accuracy, the
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

As the
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

The Redstone Test Stand phased out of use in October, 1961.
See also
- List of National Historic Landmarks in Alabama
- List of German rocket scientists in the United States
- Sputnik crisis
Notes
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ a b c d "Redstone Test Stand". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on January 11, 2008. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
- ^ a b 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".
- ^ Bonenberger (1996), "MSFC, Redstone Rocket (Missile) Test Stand", Written Historical & Descriptive Data (TIFF), p. 7, retrieved July 1, 2011
- ^ a b Bonenberger (1996), "MSFC, Redstone Rocket (Missile) Test Stand", Written Historical & Descriptive Data (TIFF), p. 1, retrieved July 1, 2011
- ^ a b Bonenberger (1996), "MSFC, Redstone Rocket (Missile) Test Stand", Written Historical & Descriptive Data (TIFF), p. 8, retrieved July 1, 2011
- ^ Bonenberger (1996), "MSFC, Redstone Rocket (Missile) Test Stand", Written Historical & Descriptive Data (TIFF), p. 6, retrieved July 1, 2011
- ^ "Werner von Braun". May 2, 2001. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
- ^ Bullard (1965). "History of the Redstone Missile System". p. 14. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012.
- ^ Bullard (1965). "History of the Redstone Missile System". pp. 23–32. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012.
- ^ Bullard (1965). "History of the Redstone Missile System". p. 35. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012.
- ^ Bullard (1965). "History of the Redstone Missile System". p. 53. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012.
- ^ Bullard (1965). "History of the Redstone Missile System". p. 41. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012.
- ^ Bullard (1965). "History of the Redstone Missile System". p. 162. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012.
- ^ a b Bonenberger (1996), "MSFC, Redstone Rocket (Missile) Test Stand", Written Historical & Descriptive Data (TIFF), pp. 35–36, retrieved July 1, 2011
- , HAER AL-129-A, retrieved July 1, 2011
- ^ 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
- ^ , HAER AL-129-A, retrieved July 1, 2011
- ^ Bonenberger (1996), "MSFC, Redstone Rocket (Missile) Test Stand", Written Historical & Descriptive Data (TIFF), p. 38, retrieved July 1, 2011
- ^ a b c Bonenberger (1996), "MSFC, Redstone Rocket (Missile) Test Stand", Written Historical & Descriptive Data (TIFF), pp. 53–62, retrieved July 1, 2011
- , HAER AL-129-A, retrieved July 1, 2011
- ^ Bonenberger (1996), "MSFC, Redstone Rocket (Missile) Test Stand", Written Historical & Descriptive Data (TIFF), p. 44, retrieved July 1, 2011
- , HAER AL-129-A, retrieved July 1, 2011
- ^ 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.
- ^ Detroit, 1959/03/19 (1959). Universal Newsreel. 1959. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
- ^ a b Bonenberger (1996), "MSFC, Redstone Rocket (Missile) Test Stand", Written Historical & Descriptive Data (TIFF), pp. 43–47, retrieved July 1, 2011
- ^ Bullard (1965). "History of the Redstone Missile System". p. 140. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012.
- ^ a b Bullard (1965). "History of the Redstone Missile System". p. 145. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012.
- ^ Bullard (1965). "History of the Redstone Missile System". pp. 149–150. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012.
- ^ Bilstein, Roger E. (1996). "FROM NACA TO NASA". Stages to Saturn. NASA. p. 33. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
- ^ Bilstein, Roger E. (1996). "THE ABMA TRANSFER". Stages to Saturn. NASA. p. 42. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
- ^ Bonenberger (1996), "MSFC, Redstone Rocket (Missile) Test Stand", Written Historical & Descriptive Data (TIFF), pp. 47–48, retrieved July 1, 2011
- ^ Miller, F. E.; Cassidy, J. L.; Leveye, J. C.; Johnson, R. I. (December 1964), The Mercury-Redstone Project (PDF), NASA, retrieved July 25, 2011
- ^ Bullard (1965). "History of the Redstone Missile System". p. 157. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012.
- ^ 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
- ^ Baker, Phil (February 5, 1976), "Redstone Test Stand To Become Bicentennial Display", NASA News, Marshall Space Flight Center, Release No. 76-32
- ^ 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
References
- Behrens, Thomas M.; Pugh, Michael E.; Vona, Amy E.; Walsh, Erin L. (Summer 1995), "Marshall Space Flight Center, Redstone Rocket Test Stand, [drawings in] 7 drawings [link]", Marshall Space Flight Center, Redstone Rocket (Missile) Test Stand, Dodd Road, Huntsville vicinity, Madison, AL, Historic American Engineering Record, Survey number HAER AL-129-A, , retrieved July 1, 2011
- Bilstein, Roger E. (1996). Lucas, William R. (ed.). Stages to Saturn: A Technological History of the Apollo/Saturn Launch Vehicles. NASA. p. 42. ISBN 0-16-004259-3. Archived from the originalon October 15, 2004. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
- Bonenberger, Dan (March 1996), "Written Historical & Descriptive Data [found in] 80 data pages [link]" (TIFF), Marshall Space Flight Center, Redstone Rocket (Missile) Test Stand, Dodd Road, Huntsville vicinity, Madison, AL (Survey number HAER AL-129-A), Historic American Engineering Record, , retrieved July 1, 2011
- Bullard, John W. (October 15, 1965). "HISTORY OF THE REDSTONE MISSILE SYSTEM". United States Civilian Space Programs 1958-78. Army Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal. Historical Monograph Project Number: AMC 23 M. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
- McCleskey, Carey M.; Christensen, David L. (October 1–5, 2001), "Dr. Kurt H. Debus: Launching a Vision" (PDF), 52nd International Astronautical Congress, 35th History of Astronautics Symposium, Toulouse, France: International Academy of Astronautics, IAA-01-IAA-2.1.08, archived from the original (PDF) on September 17, 2008, retrieved June 27, 2011
- Miller, F. E.; Cassidy, J. L.; Leveye, J. C.; Johnson, R. I. (December 1964), The Mercury-Redstone Project (PDF), Huntsville, Alabama: NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Report number NASA-TM-X-53107, retrieved July 25, 2011