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Redstone Arsenal cemeteries

Cemeteries in Huntsville, AlabamaMilitary cemeteries in the United StatesProtected areas of Madison County, AlabamaUse mdy dates from June 2013

The Redstone Arsenal cemeteries are a grouping of historic cemeteries on the Redstone Arsenal property in Madison County, Alabama, all administered by the United States Army. Prior to Army acquisition of the land in 1941 through 1942, the area was occupied by several loosely-knit rural communities which included at least 46 individual cemeteries.The historic cemeteries that remain include plantation family plots, probable slave cemeteries, and Reconstruction era through early 20th century community cemeteries. Following the displacement of roughly 550 families by the acquisition of over 40,000 acres (160 km2) of land including both historic cemeteries and archaeological sites with the potential for containing human burials, the Army initially considered establishing a new cemetery on the northeast end of the installation and moving all of the historic interments to this new location. This plan was never implemented.After the United States Congress passed the National Cemetery Act in 1973, discussion of establishing a National Cemetery at Redstone Arsenal was revived since the Mobile National Cemetery, the only other National Cemetery in Alabama at the time, was out of space, partially due to the dramatic casualty load from the Vietnam War. After consulting with the Army Memorial Affairs Agency, however, it was decided that there was no need to expand the current national cemetery program. There was no discussion at this time of relocating any of the cemeteries on the installation.The 46 cemeteries continue to be maintained in situ as long as the Army owns the land, per the Army's responsibility according to Army regulations.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Redstone Arsenal cemeteries (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Redstone Arsenal cemeteries
Weeden Mountain Road,

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N 34.684 ° E -86.654 °
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Weeden Mountain Road

Weeden Mountain Road
35808
Alabama, United States
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Redstone Arsenal
Redstone Arsenal

Redstone Arsenal is a United States Army base adjacent to Huntsville, Alabama in the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge. It is a census-designated place in Madison County, Alabama, United States and is part of the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. The Arsenal is a host to over 75 tenant agencies including the Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and NASA's largest field center, the Marshall Space Flight Center.The Arsenal today contains a government and contractor workforce that averages 36,000 to 40,000 personnel daily. The base has benefited from decisions by the Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission and has a residential population of 837 as of 2020.Established during World War II as a chemical manufacturing facility, in the immediate post-war era the Arsenal was used for research and development by German rocket scientists who were brought to the U.S. as part of Operation Paperclip. The team first worked on ballistic missiles, starting with derivatives of the V-2 rocket, before moving on to a series of ever larger designs. In 1956 the Army was relieved of most of its ballistic missiles in favor of similar weapons operated by the US Air Force. The German design team was spun off to become part of the newly founded NASA. The Cold War had moved to space, and the US intended to compete with the Soviet Union there and across the globe. The Arsenal served as the primary site for space launch vehicle design and testing into the 1960s.

U.S. Space & Rocket Center
U.S. Space & Rocket Center

The U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama is a museum operated by the government of Alabama, showcasing rockets, achievements, and artifacts of the U.S. space program. Sometimes billed as "Earth's largest space museum", astronaut Owen Garriott described the place as, "a great way to learn about space in a town that has embraced the space program from the very beginning." The center opened in 1970, just after the Apollo 12 Moon landing, the second crewed mission to the lunar surface. It showcases Apollo Program hardware, including the Apollo 16 capsule, and also houses interactive science exhibits, Space Shuttle exhibits, and Army rocketry and aircraft. With more than 1,500 permanent rocketry and space exploration artifacts, as well as many rotating rocketry and space-related exhibits, the center occupies land carved out of Redstone Arsenal adjacent to Huntsville Botanical Garden at exit 15 on Interstate 565. The center offers bus tours of nearby NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. Two camp programs offer visitors the opportunity to stay on the grounds to learn more about spaceflight and aviation. U.S. Space Camp gives an in-depth exposure to the space program through participant use of simulators, lectures, and training exercises. Aviation Challenge offers a taste of military fighter pilot training, including simulations, lectures, and survival exercises. Both camps provide residential and day camp educational programs for children and adults.

Neutral Buoyancy Simulator
Neutral Buoyancy Simulator

The Neutral Buoyancy Simulator was a neutral buoyancy pool located at NASA's George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). Engineers and astronauts developed hardware and practiced procedures in this tank from its completion in 1968 through its decommissioning in 1997. Marshall recognized the need for underwater simulations of extra-vehicular activities (EVAs) and developed three successively larger tanks for the purpose. The Neutral Buoyancy Simulator contributed significantly to the American crewed space program. Skylab, the Space Shuttle, Hubble Space Telescope, and the International Space Station have all benefited from the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator. Until Johnson Space Center constructed the Weightless Environment Test Facility in the mid-1970s, MSFC had the only NASA-owned test facility that allowed engineers and astronauts to become familiar with the dynamics of body motion under weightless conditions.: 1968-03 p.39 The water within the simulator was temperature controlled, continuously recirculated and filtered. Special systems were integrated into the tank for underwater audio and video, pressure-suit environmental control and emergency rescue and treatment. Life support was simultaneously provided by these systems for up to four pressure-suited subjects. Additional systems included data acquisition and recording, underwater lighting, special underwater pneumatic and electrical power operations of motor, valves, controls, and indicators that required for high fidelity and functional engineering mockups and trainers.