Origin of the Redstone Missile Program (Rocket Technology Research, IBM, RCA, Space, NASA)

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Computer History Archives Project ("CHAP")

3 жыл бұрын

A vintage 1957 film on the origin of the Redstone Missile Program. The Redstone was an example of the evolution of a military defense project turned towards civilian space exploration uses. The Redstone rocket was named for the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. It was first launched in 1953. A variation of the Redstone was used to launch EXPLORER 1, the first U.S. orbital satellite in 1958. On May 5, 1961, the Mercury-Redstone version carried astronaut Alan Shepard in the “Freedom 7” capsule. Shepard became the first American in space. Two months later, Astronaut Gus Grissom became the second U.S. astronaut in space, aboard another Mercury Redstone, carrying the “Liberty Bell 7” capsule. This film shares a bit of early history of the Redstone.
Film also shows various technologies including IBM computers, Dumont oscilloscopes, RCA electron microscope, missile tracking and recording equipment, and other items of the 1950's.
(Adapted from U.S. Army "Big Picture" series , episode titled "Army Ballistic Missile Agency" 1957.)

Пікірлер: 46

@wildweasel8564 9 ай бұрын

My father-in-law was an instrumentation engineer, and fire fighter on bad days, for Rocketdyne, who developed the Redstone engine. He met Von Braun several times during engine development. Who was credited with "Missile reliability will require that the target area is more dangerous than the launch area."

@user-um9sl1kj6u 6 ай бұрын

A lot of people have relatives that worked on the red stone missile program, and met Von Braun. Most are retired or are in their twilight years. My own dad is one of them

@larrybethune3909 2 ай бұрын

Many thanks operation paperclip!

@christysocol4919 Жыл бұрын

My dad was on 0f the first instructors at Redstone Arsenal to teach missile systems to the young men that would be reassembling and building them. He made training films for his classes produced by the Army Signal Core. This would have been around 1954-56. Does anyone know of films from that time from Redstone Arsenal?

@VictorianMaid99 2 жыл бұрын

I love old tubes!

@WWeronko 3 жыл бұрын

That video makes me want to pull up stakes and move to Huntsville working for the ABMA.

@WWeronko 9 ай бұрын

It was a joke. @@MrShobar

@NipkowDisk 2 жыл бұрын

A few miles from where I live in NW Washington State, is a platted subdivision with 1960s NASA rocket names, etc. for the streets. Pretty cool.

@MarksKicksOnRoute66 3 жыл бұрын

Nice job this is my hometown and my dad retired from DARPA projects office at Redstone Arsenal.

@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject 3 жыл бұрын

Hi Movin' Mark, thanks for the kind words. DARPA must have been a fascinating place to work. ~ Victor

@Maris_Hvidt Жыл бұрын

Thank you very much for sharing.

@lilblackduc7312 Жыл бұрын

Good job restoring this gem! Thank you...🇺🇸 😎👍☕

@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject Жыл бұрын

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it

@peewee678 3 жыл бұрын

Missile paradise. It's a blast!

@robertdixon8238 2 жыл бұрын

I've always been amazed at how much big infrastructure must have been built for Apollo (design facilities, rocket test stands, blockhouse, etc) in seemingly only a handful of years. This film makes it clear that even by 1960, there was a lot of knowledge, facilities and trained personnel already in place, that Mercury, Gemini and Apollo could build upon. Thanks for this fascinating snapshot of rocket development in the USA.

@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Robert, good points! Thanks very much. ~ Victor

@lilblackduc7312 Жыл бұрын

@@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject In your 'Details', you left out the fact that the scientist @ 6:40 was working on an improved Thermos of coffee...🇺🇸 😎👍☕

@muricaforever2978 Жыл бұрын

A lot of the infrastructure for NASA was built by the US Army Corps of Engineers, which had a lot of practice building similar complexes of scale quickly during WW2. Besides bases, munition works, roads, and the world's largest office building (in only 18 months!) today known as the Pentagon, they also ran the Manhattan Project and built the vast network of laboratories and facilities to develop the first atomic bomb. So after all that, building the infrastructure for the space program just a decade or so later was a breeze for the workforce of Army Engineers, a good percentage of them WW2 vets themselves.

@godfreycarmichael 3 ай бұрын

It was an analogue world, folks!

@jonahwestrich6930 7 ай бұрын

Just imagine if these dudes had SolodWorks

@jrhoads4849 2 жыл бұрын

The automatic typewriter needs to be brought back.

@cbecht Жыл бұрын

16:35 Ok, just swap out the whole plug board I guess. That's sure one way to install a program.

@kurthugger9107 3 жыл бұрын

This is an edited episode from the television deries "The Big Picture" the title is "Army Ballistic Missile Agency". (1957)

@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject 3 жыл бұрын

Yes, that's correct, thanks!

@headpox5817 2 жыл бұрын

Great find by CHA - keep up the good work ! 21:37 "Tremendously high-speed X-ray cameras will even record the interior workings if the missile during flight." ....is there such a camera? X-rays would go through the missile, and something needs to be on the other side to detect and produce an image....I doubt the X-rays would have enough energy 100's or even 1000's of meters away. The camera might be "inside" the missile, but the film shown during the narration makes you think otherwise.

@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Head Pox, thank you for the kind words. Glad you enjoy our channel's offerings! ~ Victor, CHAP

@scottkludgedorsey4805 2 жыл бұрын

That certainly sounds like a "let's throw the Soviets for a loop" bit of misdirection.

@daveruff47 8 ай бұрын

The Big Picture?

@mattclawson 3 жыл бұрын

What was the target audience for a film such as this?

@mikaoshatz8082 3 жыл бұрын

My guess is students and engineers looking for work - definitely feels like a recruitment video

@disposablebasterd 2 жыл бұрын

Lol, they used my favorite word, corpuscle!

@kent_hdd 2 жыл бұрын

I was expecting a Minecraft missile.

@warthunderclipper 2 жыл бұрын

Minecraft red stone missile

@Madness832 3 жыл бұрын

Am I to guess that they opened a Walmart there, in later years, and that Main Street went right down the toilet?

@disposablebasterd 2 жыл бұрын

Not really, the Main Street shopping district was killed off by the suburban strip malls and early shopping malls before Walmart even made it to that area

@disposablebasterd 2 жыл бұрын

Also I’m amazed there aren’t 10 posts screaming about her case statue at 10:00

@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject 2 жыл бұрын

Hadn't noticed that till you pointed it out. Good spotting.