Huntsville is an aerospace, technology, and aviation hub. Space Camp is here. The Space and Rocket Center is host to the famous Moonbuggy Races. Student rocket launch competitions take place here, too.
There is Redstone Arsenal: NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and the US Army Aviation and Missile Command.
People come to Huntsville with a purpose. Likely as not, no matter the age: whether business, education, or play: it is, somehow technology, computer, aerospace, or rocket science related.
From the start, the town boomed. Early on, it was cotton and railroads. After the civil war, it was textile mills. After the Depression, it was known as the "Watercress Capital of the World."
However, the biggest boom of all started in 1950 when Dr. Wernher von Braun and his entire team at Fort Bliss, Texas, were transferred to Redstone Arsenal. Von Braun had a lifelong dream of exploring the moon. He did not just dream it. He spent his entire life making his dream a doable reality and he did it by building rockets.
When he and his team came to Huntsville, it was to further his work with rockets. That work brought a boom to the area's economy and a change in the whole outlook of the town. People come from all over the world to work and do business in Huntsville. Aerospace and technology industries sprang up in the area. It wasn't long before Huntsville was known as "the Rocket City."
Much of the work on the Saturn V, which enabled the first human footprints on the moon, was done in Huntsville. Much of the work on the Space Shuttle was also done here. Many leaders in the technology industry have offices in Huntsville. Cummings Research Park is among the oldest and well established research parks in the world.
Whether work or play, Huntsville is "the Rocket City." One more thing, that new fleet of rockets, the Ares, which you may have heard are now being developed, that too is being done in Huntsville.
Also See:
-
US Space and Rocket Center
-
Space Camp
-
Marshall Space Flight Center
-
Cummings Research Park
-
Constellation and the Ares Rockets
-
University of Alabama in Huntsville, UAH
-
Alabama A&M
-
Oakwood University
Comments
Huntsville is a grand place to visit.
Huntsville is such a great city. We tried moving back "home" to Minneapolis in 2008, but less than two years later, we had to move back HOME to Huntsville. p.s. you might want to include HudsonAlpha in one of your upcoming stories. It is diversifying Huntsville's economy by working to attract world-class biotech companies to the area :).
excellent!
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!