It's a blast

Rocket City is the nickname for Huntsville, and it makes kids out of everyone. The only rocket scientists were the tour guides at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center (yes, retired rocket scientists answer your questions, even when your questions are weird).

It started out serious

The origins of Rocket City and the NASA space program in Huntsville are the real deal. After World War II the United States brought—saved—200 German scientists and engineers and sent them to Huntsville to tap into their brains for rocket and missile development. Led by Wernher von Braun, a Nazi scientist under Adolf Hitler, the group of scientists were identified by the U.S. government to leverage the German expertise in the war effort against the Japanese and for postwar research. Called Operation Paperclip, the larger secret program took more than 1,600 Germans out of harm’s way and brought them to the United States to work in research, and von Braun along with his cohorts ended up in Huntsville.

Sloane—who is Jewish—and I have a serious conversation in front of the historic displays in the U.S. Space & Rocket Center that show von Braun in his Nazi uniform. It’s unnerving to think this remarkable scientist who created and designed so much of what became the highly regarded and successful U.S. space and rocket program was a part of one of the worst regimes in history. We are left from reading the descriptive panels and excerpts from historic documents to hope that von Braun was part of a machine that he could not control and that he contributed to only in the sense of doing his research; that it was his brain that was involved, not his heart.

After a somber moment, we move on because somewhere in the center Warner and Tulis are attempting to squeeze into the Mercury capsule and may not be able to get out.

Astronaut for a day

Both Sloane and McCarthy have taken part in the adult version of the center’s famous Space Camp. It was von Braun who suggested this summer camp for all ages to learn about rockets, missiles, and the space program. And in the ensuing years nearly 16 million participants have slept standing up, eaten astronaut ice cream, and stuffed themselves into the Mercury capsule. This is where we find Warner and Tulis. Neither man is “small,” and the capsule is. There’s a reason it was said the capsule was “worn not ridden.” Plus, it’s positioned on its side and the entryway is tight. First Warner gets himself inside and asks for photos to be taken. Squeezed into the cramped space, his body and face are up against the 120 controls, 55 electrical switches, 30 fuses, and 35 different levers inside the tiny capsule. It’s more amusing watching him wiggle out of the capsule than seeing him mug for the camera. Then the taller Tulis gives it a try. The struggle was real; I thought we’d have to leave him in there.

Eventually we continue the tour, with Media Director Pat Ammons herding these big children through this maze of amazing inventions and artifacts. You round a corner and the giant Saturn V rocket is hanging from the ceiling; it assaults you with its size and massive boosters. You can get inside a space capsule like the Mercury and try your hand at the controls; and climb inside a simulator and feel the real vibrations of space flight. In the Skylab mockup our group plays astronauts and scientists mugging for one another. McCarthy puts his face up against a porthole and signals for help. It’s so immersive and open, it’s like a giant playground in “space.”

In Rocket Park you’ll get a stiff neck from gazing skyward. The locals call the view of Rocket Park from Interstate 565 the “spaceline.” Recently renovated, Rocket Park includes the U.S. Army Redstone ballistic missile and the Jupiter, Jupiter-C, and Juno II rockets. The 363-foot-tall Saturn V rocket, which launched astronauts to the moon, is also on the grounds. There is a mockup of the SLS (space launch system) core stage Pathfinder. In 2018, the rockets were dismounted and repaired, adding new paint schemes before being remounted in 2024.

More than rockets

There is more to Huntsville than rockets and space although the demographics of the city are greatly influenced by the military, engineers, NASA employees, and rocket scientists that make up a lot of the population. Everyone seems a little more fit and stylish than expected, and the city is reported to have more than 100 languages spoken here. Huntsville was the first racially integrated city in Alabama and the first to desegregate its public schools. In 1960, NASA established the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. Von Braun was its first director. Now with the Army Ballistic Missile Agency at Redstone Arsenal and the Gulf Chemical Warfare Depot, Huntsville became the heart of the U.S. space program, which changed the Alabama city’s destiny. The city developed Cummings Research Park, which is now the second-largest research park in the United States. In addition to NASA projects, other aerospace companies have made Huntsville home: Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Blue Origin, and more. Today, Huntsville is one of the most prosperous cities in the Southeast. In the heart of the city is downtown’s Big Spring International Park where the Huntsville Museum of Art and von Braun Center are located. There are really big and curious fish in that lake and a waterfall and a constantly lit gas torch. Arts and retail centers such as Lowe Mill and Stovehouse feature shops, restaurants, distilleries, and breweries. There is a U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum and not-to-be-missed 112-acre Botanical Garden. Harrison Brothers Hardware store has been in operation since 1897 and is a fun visit for collectibles and space tchotchkes if you didn’t find enough at the space store at the center.

Back at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, visit the grave of “Miss Baker,” the squirrel monkey who rode in the Jupiter rocket and lived at the center with her husband, George, until 1984.

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