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Marshall Space Flight Center

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The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. The original home of NASA, Marshall is today the agency's lead center for Space Shuttle propulsion and its external tank; payloads and related crew training; International Space Station (ISS) design and assembly; and computers, networks, and information management. Located on the Redstone Arsenal near Huntsville, Alabama, MSFC is named in honor of General of the Army George Marshall.

The center also contains the Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC), a facility that supports Space Shuttle launch, payload and experiment activities at the Kennedy Space Center, ISS launch and experiment operations. The HOSC also monitors rocket launches from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station when a Marshall Center payload is on board.

History

Ceremony of transfer from Army to NASA July 1, 1960

MSFC arose from the US Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) and the Army Ordnance Missile Command (AOMC) centered at Redstone Arsenal. Initially housed at Fort Bliss, TX, the team led by Wernher von Braun was later transferred to Redstone Arsenal. The transition from military to civilian space exploration came when President Dwight D. Eisenhower announced on site the formation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on July 1, 1960. At this time Marshall also received its name and a bronze bust of the general from the President. The center became the civilian base for von Braun, his team of German rocket scientists and a host of military and civilian contractors.

Projects

Present and future

Modern boosters developed at MSFC included the Space Shuttle liquid and solid propellant engines and the Delta series, used in satellite and Mars mission launches.

Starting in 2006, MSFC's Exploration Launch Projects Office began work on the new Project Constellation mission vehicles (Ares I, Ares V and Orion) which will replace the aging Shuttle fleet as well as transport humans to the Moon, Mars and other future destinations. MSFC is responsible for design and development and testing of the Ares I crew and Ares V cargo launch vehicles while Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas has overall responsibility for development. In addition, the MSFC Lunar Precursor and Robotic Program office will manage projects and direct studies on lunar robotic precursor activities across NASA. The Lunar Lander Project Office originally planned to be established at Marshall, has been appointed for development at JSC. This office will be responsible for performing early trade studies and developing requirements for the Altair lunar lander that would transport crew members to and from the surface of the moon.

Projects and project offices

• International Space Station Support -- Payload Operations and Integration Center
• Launch Vehicle Development—Exploration Launch Projects Office
• Advanced Propulsion—The Propulsion Research Laboratory
• Exploring the Solar System—Exploration Launch Projects Office
  • Constellation Program Office
  • Lunar Precursor and Robotic Program
  • Discovery and New Frontiers Program Office
• National Space Science and Technology Center
• Optics and Exploration Technology—Space Optics Manufacturing Technology Center
  • Instrument and Payload Systems Department
  • The Spacecraft and Vehicle Systems Department
  • The Propulsion Systems Department
  • Materials and Processes Laboratory
  • Test Laboratory
  • Mission Operations Laboratory
• Continuing Scientific Research and Discovery
• Engineering the Future—Engineering Directorate

Current projects

• Chandra X-ray Observatory
• HINODE (Solar B)
• Constellation program

Past projects

1960s–1970s

• Hermes, an early U.S. adaptation of the German V-2
• Juno I, used to launch the Explorer I satellite
• Redstone rocket
• ABMA/AOMC to NASA transition vehicle used in the ballistic missile program
• Project Mercury space program
• Juno
• Atlas, with the US Air Force used in the ballistic missile program and Mercury
• Project Gemini space program
• Titan, also used for Gemini
• Saturn series (I-V), used in the Apollo and Skylab programs

Many vestiges of the early programs are still visible around the center, including engine test stands. The nearby United States Space & Rocket Center museum showcases much of Marshall's history.

1990s

• National Launch System (canceled)
• X-33 (canceled)
• X-34 (canceled)
• Space Launch Initiative (canceled)
• Advanced Solid Rocket Motor (canceled)

2000s

• Orbital Space Plane (canceled)
• X-37A (transferred to DARPA in 2004)
• Gravity Probe B

Directors

• Wernher von Braun - July 1, 1960 to January 27, 1970
• Eberhard Rees - March 1, 1970 – January 19, 1973
• Rocco Petrone - January 26, 1973 to March 15, 1974
• William R. Lucas - June 15, 1974 to July 3, 1986
• Thomas Jack Lee - (acting) July 3, 1986 to September 29, 1986
• James R. Thompson, Jr. - September 29, 1986 to July 6, 1989
• Thomas Jack Lee - July 6, 1989 to January 6, 1994
• Gene Porter Bridwell - January 6, 1994 to February 3, 1996
• Jerroll Wayne Littles - February 3, 1996 to January 3, 1998
• Carolyn S. Griner - (acting) January 3, 1998 to September 11, 1998
• Arthur G. Stephenson - September 11, 1998 to May 2003
• David A. King - June 15, 2003 to March 26, 2009
• Robert M. Lightfoot Jr. - August 24, 2009 to present (also acting director from King's departure until named director)

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Marshall Space Flight Center

• Alex McCool, manager of the Space Shuttle Projects Office

External links

• MSFC History and Fact sheet
• Official site
• "America's Space Program: Exploring a New Frontier", a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan
• International Space Station: Payload Operations Center
• Marshall Space Flight Center article, Encyclopedia of Alabama