Rocket City USA: In the Saturn Years A Personal Memoir Jesco von Puttkamer

Summer 1962

Huntsville Happenings before Summer 1962 Explorer 1 (Jan. 31, 1958) – first US Earth satellite NASA established (from NACA, Oct. 1, 1958) Pioneer IV (March 2, 1959) – first solar satellite Monkeys Able & Baker (May 28, 1959) MSFC established (July 1, 1960) Explorer XI (Juno II, April 27, 1961) Alan Shepard (Mercury-Redstone, May 5, 1961) JFK’s Apollo Lunar Landing mandate (May 25, 1961) Virgil Grissom (Mercury-Redstone, July 21, 1961) 1 st F-1 engine complete test firing RL1- engine testing 1 st Saturn-I flight (SA-1, Oct. 27, 1961) – “Block I” MSFC selects Michoud for booster production & RIFT MSFC selects MTF for six large engine test stands

Huntsville Happenings before Summer 1962

Explorer 1 (Jan. 31, 1958) – first US Earth satellite

NASA established (from NACA, Oct. 1, 1958)

Pioneer IV (March 2, 1959) – first solar satellite

Monkeys Able & Baker (May 28, 1959)

MSFC established (July 1, 1960)

Explorer XI (Juno II, April 27, 1961)

Alan Shepard (Mercury-Redstone, May 5, 1961)

JFK’s Apollo Lunar Landing mandate (May 25, 1961)

Virgil Grissom (Mercury-Redstone, July 21, 1961)

1 st F-1 engine complete test firing

RL1- engine testing

1 st Saturn-I flight (SA-1, Oct. 27, 1961) – “Block I”

MSFC selects Michoud for booster production & RIFT

MSFC selects MTF for six large engine test stands

Downtown Huntsville in the Sixties

KSC, Nov. 16, 1963 Sept. 11, 1962

Weekly Notes

Ruth von Saurma Eberhard Rees William Lucas Fritjof Speer Rudolf Hermann Helmut Horn Horst Thomae Ernst Geissler

Eberhard & Gerlinde Rees Ernst & Gerda Geissler Willi Mrazek Fritz & Uschi Müller Maria von Braun & Eberhard Rees Fritjof Speer

George Mueller’s GEM Boxes

Nov. 9, 1967

July 26, ‘69

July 26, 1969

Wernher F. Speer, U.v.P., O. Holderer J.v.P . Lili von Saurma E. & G. Geissler