The Redstone Rocket

The words

1. Arsenal

   The Redstone rocket took its name from Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. The Army’s missile-development center there began work on the new rocket in 1950.

   NASA: Redstone’s origins and later uses (opens a new tab)

2. Carbon

   The Redstone’s tail used carbon jet vanes that projected into the engine exhaust. The vanes helped steer the rocket during powered flight.

   NASA Marshall: Mercury-Redstone (opens a new tab)

3. Chrysler

   Chrysler served as prime contractor for Redstone production. The company later assembled six Mercury-Redstone launch vehicles, while the first two were assembled by NASA’s Marshall center.

   NASA Marshall: Mercury-Redstone (opens a new tab)

4. Ethyl Alcohol

   Ethyl alcohol mixed with water was the Army Redstone’s fuel, while liquid oxygen supplied its oxidizer. This propellant pairing powered the missile’s liquid-fueled engine.

   NASA: Redstone’s origins and later uses (opens a new tab)

5. Fort Bliss

   Fort Bliss, Texas, housed von Braun’s German rocket specialists after World War II. They worked for the Army before moving to Huntsville in 1950.

   NASA: von Braun’s wartime and Army work (opens a new tab)

6. Freedom Seven

   Alan Shepard’s Mercury capsule was named Freedom 7. A modified Redstone launched him on May 5, 1961, making him the first American in space on a suborbital flight.

   Did you know?

   After its flight and initial inspections, Freedom 7 traveled to Paris for exhibition at the International Aeronautical Show on May 25, 1961.

   NASA: Shepard’s Freedom 7 flight (opens a new tab)

7. Hermes

   Redstone grew from the Army’s earlier Hermes C-1 project. The missile also drew on German V-2 experience and an engine developed for the separate Navaho program.

   NASA Marshall: Mercury-Redstone (opens a new tab)

8. Jet Vanes

   Jet vanes were steering surfaces placed in the rocket’s exhaust stream. The Redstone used them alongside four stabilizing fins and external air rudders.

   NASA Marshall: Mercury-Redstone (opens a new tab)

9. Mercury

   NASA adapted Redstone for short Mercury flights into space without entering orbit. Longer tanks and other changes prepared the former Army missile for carrying a spacecraft and astronaut.

   NASA Marshall: Mercury-Redstone (opens a new tab)

10. Ordnance

    Military weapons and equipment.

    The Army’s Ordnance Guided Missile Center at Redstone Arsenal began developing the rocket in 1950. Redstone started as an Army weapons project before its later adaptation for human spaceflight.

    NASA: Redstone’s origins and later uses (opens a new tab) · US Army: Holger Toftoy (opens a new tab)

11. Paperclip

    Operation Paperclip brought von Braun, a former Nazi Party and SS member, to the United States for Army missile work. His V-2 program used enslaved concentration-camp labor, and many prisoners died.

    NASA: von Braun’s wartime and Army work (opens a new tab)

12. Peenemunde

    Peenemünde was Nazi Germany’s V-2 development center. The missile was used against European cities; its later production at Mittelwerk relied on enslaved concentration-camp labor, and many prisoners died.

    NASA: von Braun’s wartime and Army work (opens a new tab)

13. Redstone

    The Army’s Redstone missile became a launch vehicle for spaceflight. Modified versions carried Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom on Mercury’s two crewed suborbital flights in 1961.

    Did you know?

    Early Saturn I development reused Redstone technology and tooling. Eight Redstone-derived tanks were grouped around a central core, helping build a much larger launch vehicle.

    NASA: Redstone’s origins and later uses (opens a new tab)

14. Toftoy

    Major General Holger N. Toftoy helped recruit German rocket specialists for the Army after World War II. He later directed the Ordnance Missile Laboratories and commanded Redstone Arsenal.

    US Army: Holger Toftoy (opens a new tab)

15. White Sands

    White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico hosted launches of captured German V-2 rockets after World War II. This was part of the Army work preceding Redstone’s development in Huntsville.

    NASA: von Braun’s wartime and Army work (opens a new tab)