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Static Firing Test Tower

Front: Static Test Tower.
Back: STATIC FIRING TEST TOWER, MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
The Saturn booster undergoes static firing at the NASA George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama. The booster has been successfully static fired many times prior to the launching of the first Saturn from Cape Canaveral, Florida on October 27, 1961. The same tower has been used for Redstone and Jupiter programs. Static testing of a missile consists of locking the missile into place on the stand and firing it. The missile does not "take off", but as it strains against the mighty grip of the great tower its roaring engine can be studied for performance characteristics as if it were actually in flight.

Anderson News Company, Florence, Ala.
NASA - Marshall Photo

34.626337,-86.658588

From the postcard collection of George and Peg Heeschen, The Southpaw, Huntsville, Alabama

This collection is digital only.

This material may be protected under U. S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S. Code) which governs the making of photocopies or reproductions of copyrighted materials. You may use the digitized material for private study, scholarship, or research. Though the University of Alabama in Huntsville Archives and Special Collections may have physical ownership of the material in its collections, in some cases we may not own the copyright to the material. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in our collections.

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