Hermann Oberth (front) with officials of the ABMA in 1956. Left to right: Ernst Stuhlinger (seated); Major General H. N. Toftoy, Wernher von Braun, and Eberhard Rees.
Source: NASA

The Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) was the agency formed to develop and the US Army's first intermediate range ballistic missile. It was established at Redstone Arsenal on 1 February 1956 and commanded by Major General John B. Medaris with Doctor Wernher von Braun. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (546x720, 304 KB) Five pioneers pose with scale models of their missiles they created in the 1950s. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (546x720, 304 KB) Five pioneers pose with scale models of their missiles they created in the 1950s. ... Oberth (in front) with fellow ABMA employees. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dr. Ernst Stuhlinger is an American atomic, electrical and rocket scientist born in Niederrimbach, Germany, on December 19, 1913. ... Wernher von Braun stands at his desk in the Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama in May 1964, with models of rockets developed and in progress. ... Eberhard Rees (April 28, 1908 – April 2, 1998) was the second Director of NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center. ... The United States Army is the largest branch of the United States armed forces and has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... Redstone Arsenal is a census-designated place and U.S. Army post located next to the city of Huntsville in Madison County, Alabama. ... February 1 is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Wernher von Braun stands at his desk in the Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama in May 1964, with models of rockets developed and in progress. ...

In March, 1958 ABMA was placed under the new Army Ordnance Missile Command (AOMC) along with Redstone Arsenal, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, White Sands Proving Ground and the Army Rocket and Guided Missile Agency (ARGMA).^[1] General Medaris was placed in command of AOMC and BG John A. Barclay took command of ABMA. The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), in La Cañada Flintridge, near Los Angeles, California, USA, builds and operates unmanned spacecraft for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). ... White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), formerly known as the White Sands Proving Grounds, is located in a valley between the Organ Mountains and the Sacramento Mountains of New Mexico. ...

The Redstone missile was the first major project assigned to ABMA. After the US Naval Research Laboratory's Project Vanguard was chosen by the DOD Committee on Special Capabilities, over the ABMA's proposal to use a modified Redstone ballistic missile as a satellite launch vehicle, ABMA was ordered to stop work on satellites and focus, instead, on intermediate missiles. First launched in 1953, the American Redstone rocket was a direct descendant of the German V-2. ... The US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps and conducts a broad program of scientific research and advanced development. ... Project Vanguard was the name of the United States program that was to have launched the first artificial satellite of the Earth. ... The United States Department of Defense, abbreviated as DoD or DOD and sometimes called the Defense Department, is a civilian Cabinet organization of the United States government. ... First launched in 1953, the American Redstone rocket was a direct descendant of the German V-2. ... MILSTAR:A communication satellite A satellite is any object that orbits another object (which is known as its primary). ...

Von Braun, disobeying orders, continued work on the design for what became the Jupiter-C IRBM. This was a three-stage rocket, which, by coincidence, could be used to launch a satellite in the Juno I configuration. In September 1956, the Jupiter-C was launched with a 30 lb (14 kg) dummy satellite. It is generally believed that, at this time, the ABMA could have put a satellite into orbit had the US government allowed ABMA to do so. A year later, the Soviets launched Sputnik I. A Redstone based Jupiter-C launched Explorer I on 31 January 1958. Redstone was later used in Project Mercury and as part of the Saturn I launch vehicle. The Jupiter-C Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) was designed by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) The vehicle consists of a modified Redstone ballistic missile with three solid-propellant upper stages. ... The Jupiter-C Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) was designed by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) The vehicle consists of a modified Redstone ballistic missile with three solid-propellant upper stages. ... The government of the United States, established by the United States Constitution, is a federal republic of 50 states, a few territories and some protectorates. ... Motto: Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Transliterated: Proletarii vsekh stran, soedinyaytes!) (Russian: Workers of the world, unite!) Anthem: The Internationale (1922-1944) Hymn of the Soviet Union (1944-1991) Capital (and largest city) Moscow None; Russian de facto Government Federation of Soviet Republics  - Last President Mikhail Gorbachev  - Last Premier Ivan Silayev Establishment October Revolution   - Declared... Sputnik 1 was the first artificial satellite to be launched into orbit, on October 4, 1957. ... Explorer-I, officially Satellite 1958 Alpha (and sometimes referred to as Explorer 1), was the first Earth satellite of the United States, having been launched at 10:48pm EST on January 31 (03:48 on 1 February in GMT), 1958, as part of the United States program for the International... January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Project Mercury was the United States first successful manned spaceflight program. ... The Saturn I was Americas first large clustered rocket. ...

In 1956, studies began for a replacement for the Redstone missile. Initially called the Redstone-S (solid), the name was changed to Pershing and a contract was awarded to The Martin Company, beginning a program that lasted 34 years. Pershing was a family of solid-fueled two-stage medium-range ballistic missiles designed and built by Martin Marietta to replace the PGM-11 Redstone missile as the Armys primary theater-level weapon. ... The Glenn L. Martin Company was an aircraft company founded by aviation pioneer Glenn L. Martin on August 16, 1912. ...

In 1958 AMBA's scientific and engineering staff, including Von Braun and Arthur Rudolph, were transferred to the newly created NASA, and the facilities on the southern half of Redstone Arsenal became Marshall Space Flight Center. Medaris took command of AOMC in 1958 and BG John A. Barclay became the ABMA commander. In 1961 the AOMC space related missions and most of its employees, facilities and equipment were transferred to NASA. BG Richard M. Hurst took command from May 1960 until December 1961 when both ABMA and ARGMA were abolished and the remnants were folded directly into AOMC. AOMC was restructured into the new US Army Missile Command (MICOM) in 1962. Rudolph managed the Marshall Space Flight Center Saturn V Program Office. ... NASA Insignia Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from an article revision dated 2005-09-01, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... Aerial view of the test area at Marshall Space Flight Center The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is a lead NASA center for propulsion, Space Shuttle propulsion, external fuel tank, crew training and payloads, International Space Station (ISS) design and construction, for computers, networks, and information management. ... ATACMS missile The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) is the U.S. Army organization primarily responsible for life cycle management of army missile, helicopter, unmanned ground vehicle and unmanned aerial vehicle weapon systems. ...

References

1. ^ Redstone Arsenal Complex Chronology, Part II: Nerve Center of Army Missilery, 1950-62 - Section B: The ABMA/AOMC Era, 1956-62. Redstone Arsenal Historical Information. US Army. Retrieved on 28 June 2006.