History of the U.S. Army Redstone Technical Test Center (RTTC)


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The origins of the U.S. Army Redstone Technical Test Center (RTTC) can be traced back to 1 February 1956 when the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) was established at Redstone Arsenal with a military mission to field the Army's first intermediate range ballistic missile.

ABMA made notable contributions to the space and missile effort between January 1958 and July 1960 and was one of the pre-cursor organizations to the U.S. Army Missile Command (MICOM). MICOM established a research and development arm called the Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center (MRDEC) in which the Test and Evaluation Directorate was a part. RTTC had its roots as the Test and Evaluation Directorate within the MRDEC. The missile flight test ranges and rocket motor static test stands established in the early 1950's, formed the core of the Test and Evaluation Directorate and provided the means to conduct tests on a wide variety of missile components and subsystems. ABMA was abolished on 11 December 1961 as part of the Department of the Army's 1962 Reorganization which established the U.S. Army Material Command (AMC). AMC was initially organized into five commodity major subordinate commands (MSCs): Electronics Command, Missile Command; Munitions Command; Mobility Command and Weapons Command; and two functional MSCs: Supply and Maintenance Command (SMC) and Test and Evaluation Command (TECOM). Redstone Arsenal became the home of the U.S. Army Missile Command (MICOM) on 1 August 1962 under AMC's jurisdiction.

In FY90, the Test and Evaluation Directorate of MRDEC was transferred to the jurisdiction of TECOM under AMC and became known as the U.S. Army Redstone Technical Test Center. The movement of U.S. Aviation and Troop Command (ATCOM) to Redstone Arsenal, coupled with the establishment of PEO Aviation, opened up a new and challenging venue for aircraft test work at RTTC. On 1 October 1999, a new era in modern military testing began as Army developmental and operational testing consolidated under one command, the newly formed U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) in Alexandria, Va. RTTC's core values provide the framework on which its culture is founded. These values, honesty, industry and organizational loyalty are the baseline of all RTTC's operations. At RTTC, the concept of customer focus and technical expertise are the building blocks that anchor success.


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