Watch The Big Picture - Army Ballistic Missile Agency

Experience the American Journey through our country's visual heritage in this historical recording provided by the National Archives of the United States. From the U.S. Army's "The Big Picture" television series, 1950-1975. "THE BIG PICTURE" CAMERAS ENTER THE ARMY'S CLASSIFIED MISSILE AGENCY -- The producers of the Army's weekly TV series, THE BIG PICTURE, deserve particular credit for the straightforward and honest approach made in examining the guarded installation at Redstone Arsenal. The headquarters of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency is near the growing community of Huntsville, Alabama. It is here that the challenge of tomorrow is being met--a birthplace for research programming that delves into the secrets of outer space. High-speed cameras follow the flight of the now famous Redstone missile as it gains altitude and finally vanishes into space. Models of future missiles are seen being built and tested in the laboratory under the careful eyes of civilian employed engineers and scientists. The finest and most complicated equipment is provided for this research, consisting of supersonic wind tunnels and electron microscopes that can enlarge a human hair to the size of a Redwood tree. Viewers will realize as the film continues, that this activity at ABMA constitutes a "crash program" for the world of tomorrow is being opened at Huntsville, Alabama. As ever with THE BIG PICTURE, it is an entertainingly instructive half hour for both old and young.

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