THIS IS REDSTONE ARSENAL

huntsville alabama founded in 1800 and five the first settled community in the state it Nestle's against the mountains in the heart of the beautiful Tennessee Valley just a few years ago huntsville was a quiet town comparable to many other county seats in the south the 1950 census recorded a population of slightly more than 16,000 the economy was geared to the land the sound of industry was the hum of cotton gins but today the sound of industry and progress in this community is the bellow of a rocket motor and that sound is the work song of Huntsville's neighbor Redstone Arsenal quiet no longer Huntsville now is Rocket City USA since the army moved its rocket program to redstone in 1950 Huntsville has gained more than 125,000 residents what it's of made Huntsville one of the nation's major aerospace centers to the ranks of the banker the merchant and the farmer have been added scientist engineers and highly skilled technicians people with new and perhaps unfamiliar titles test conductors computer programmers systems analysts and project managers enlightened civic leadership is gracefully blending the new with the old municipal facilities roads sewers schools and recreational areas have kept pace with the needs of a healthy growing community but the job is not done the end not yet in sight more than 50 flights a day and now operate from this new 20 million-dollar airport served by major airlines new faces arrive daily [Music] the activities at Redstone Arsenal attract people from all walks of life from every state in the Union many come on business many others come to stay and take an active part redstone is the nerve center of the Army's missile and rocket programs it is home for the u.s. army missile command which directs a worldwide effort of the Army and American industry to arm our soldiers with the best that technology can devise redstone is also headquarters for the army missile and munition Center and school one of the largest educational institutions in the south where missiles and conventional ammunition are the subjects and military men from America and her allies are the student body the Nike X project office we're developing an effective defense against ballistic missile attack is pursued under the highest national priority and two industries oriented to army rocket propulsion research and development cycle Chemical Corporation and Rohm and Haas Atena Don redstone as NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center begun with a nucleus of facilities and personnel transferred from the Army team now home of the mighty Saturn space vehicle designed to send Americans on a voyage of discovery to the moon redstone is a big place nearly 40,000 acres stretching north from the Tennessee River three mountains are within the Arsenal's perimeter as well as rolling pastureland which the army leases to local farmers modern communications facilities keep activities on the Arsenal in touch with one another as well as red stones army customers throughout the world they also are but one of the many support services the Army at Redstone furnishes to its nasa neighbors action is the essence of the missile program and at redstone things are on the move by rail truck barge and airplane the aviation section is one of the busiest in the Army for high-priority 1 missile and space program shipments the Army Airfield can handle the largest cargo planes but the wheel is still prime mover at the home of Army missiles but a typical workday more than 25,000 military and civilian government employees as well as industrial contractors travel to and from their jobs by car there are almost 300 miles of roads on the Arsenal and they lead to more than 2,400 buildings and structures army buildings and equipment alone at Redstone are valued at about 300 million dollars together with NASA's installation they represent an investment of more than half a billion of your tax dollars but your real investment at Redstone is in people people like these and the know-how they represent because people run the army missile program people are the army missile program more than 13,000 of them have vital tasks in the nation's defense at Redstone they form an experienced military civilian team known throughout the world for confidence in the complex parts of the guided-missile much of their work is classified many of their major accomplishments go unpublicized as a result but some you may recall the army is old reliable the Redstone ballistic missile named for the Arsenal where it was born it was the redstone that the army team at redstone modified to make the Jupiter C launch vehicle used to orbit Explorer one the free world's first scientific earth satellite and a modified redstone provided the boost that sent astronaut Shepard on America's first suborbital spaceflight but that was yesterday today's work for the Army at Redstone is missiles missiles and rockets to do a variety of tasks for the soldier and a variety of potential conflicts be it a so-called anti guerrilla action in some faraway corner of the world providing defense for American homes from attack from the air or extending the soldiers reach and striking power on some future battlefield in limited or general war the army activities at Redstone makes sure that the soldier is ready to fight in defense of freedom ready with the weapons that today's technology makes possible and demands the Army's big job at Redstone is weapons system management directing the entire operation from beginning to end from first design through supporting operational missiles in service with army units throughout the world the term missile system that is no misnomer the Army team at Redstone knows there is a lot more to a missile system than the missile itself electrical power communications test and check out gear vehicles to move the equipment everything it takes to get the missile on site ready to go that's what the army means what it talks about a missile system missile systems are not manufactured at redstone for that job the Army has traditionally turned to American industry it's big business one that annually involves more than a billion of your tax dollars more than ninety cents of every army missile dollar goes to American industry and business the work goes on across the length and breadth of the United States and supports thousands of jobs the military civilian team at Redstone manages the efforts of its industrial partners when millions of dollars are wagered on the correctness of a technical approach it's just good sense to have people who know what they're talking about overseeing the operation for the army Redstone Arsenal must see to it that the army buys well when advise missiles the army like the housewife shops for quality at low cost missiles are designed to be fired just once they must function perfectly the first time a soldier in combat has no time to be impressed with gadgets and fancy frills and by eliminating them the army saves money while improving weapon effectiveness long before a weapon goes into production however other members of the Redstone Arsenal Army team have had their say for people engaged in research and development today's work is concerned with tomorrow's weapons this new structure the Francis J McMorrow missile laboratories provides one of the finest facilities in the nation for the vital job of missile research and development in the missile business as in anything else those who are content with today's technology are standing still here is where people really pay off people with know-how people charged with responsibility for developing new techniques new components everything it takes to ensure that our soldiers have the best and only the best this technical competence at Redstone allows the army to assist its industrial partners in missile development and provides a built in government capability to better evaluate and direct a contractors technical work people like these at Redstone were responsible for major technical breakthroughs and easily handled solid fuel rocket propellant now used in almost all military missiles in nosecone designed to enable the missile warhead to survive a fiery plunge back into the Earth's atmosphere in self-contained guidance systems to direct missiles unerringly to their targets every scrap of knowledge every new idea is filed away and cross-checked redstone scientific information center provides ready references for all that has been done all that has been learned army missile engineers and those of the space agency share this knowledge bank and a cooperative effort and add to it in their daily walk along the frontier of science and technology each new idea gets its trial by fire and a rigorous testing program arming missiles must go where the soldier goes fight where he fights testing at Redstone makes sure they can missiles are exposed to simulated desert sand or dust storm conditions sunshine and searing heat and artic cold driving rain salt spray even jungle fungus as part of the test program missiles can be deliberately dropped bounced examined in the high altitude chambers and of necessary x-ray [Music] before an expensive test misil is committed to flight it fly is tied to the ground at redstone while hundreds of instrument readings are taken to analyze its performance small missiles are tested fired on the Arsenal and again the ever-watchful engineers are present with cameras radars another flight data recording system other larger missiles go through their paces in controlled tests down the Atlantic missile range from Cape Kennedy Florida or across the army is Overland test site at White Sands Missile Range New Mexico even when the missile meets the test even after they are operational with army forces in the field Redstone Arsenal has a continuing responsibility military and civilian supply experts coordinate a worldwide network to assure that operational army missile units received the care and repair parts required to stay ready to go wherever American soldiers serve their our army missiles one missile may contain hundreds of parts one missile system has thousands there are literally hundreds of army missiles operational the supply problem staggers the imagination yet using the latest automatic data processing techniques redstone fills orders from around the world ordering parts from stocks and army depots or direct from manufacturers electronic brains help in this complex task but they are no substitute for the real thing people again make the difference and at Redstone Arsenal people like these make sure that the battle that was lost for one of our own ale will not find the counterpart in the age of guided missiles elsewhere at Redstone thousands of men each year from the US Armed Services and allied nations learn the complex skills of conventional ammunition or how to keep an array of powerful missile weapons in constant readiness grew out the free world and here again as men meet missiles at the end of the Redstone story people make the difference the end product of the army activities at Redstone Arsenal is a stronger army a stronger America a significant contribution to the defense of the United States and to the defense of freedom everywhere that is what America's leaders have found for themselves in visits to Redstone there's no place in the world in this decade that is going to play a more significant role than this community right here in the center of Alabama and I leave this valley this state this region realizing once again what a strong great country we are what a strong great people we are and we're all determined to keep itself a strong great country a strong great people determined to keep it so that's Redstone Arsenal [Music] [Applause]