His vast collection of papers, from grade-school report cards to private notes and correspondence, is housed in the museum and being catalogued for use by scholars. Huntsville, meanwhile, added tribute to the German-born space pioneer by naming its civic center in his honor. The museum and bus tours of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center are open every day of the year except Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. 5 p.m. Summer hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Allow five to six hours for a visit.
Admission is charged.
From its birth until 1805, Huntsville was a town built on agriculture. Then began a rapid transition from cotton mill town to technology center. In April 1950, the Army decided to consolidate its initial rocket and missile research efforts at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville. This brought Wernher von Braun and his team of 118 German scientists and engineers, and their families, to live in Huntsville. Immediately, new missile and technology industries began building nearby, pushing the 1960 population to 72,000.