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Marshall Space Flight Center

Marshall Space Flight Center

Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is a major NASA field center located within the boundaries of the US Army's Redstone Arsenal, in Huntsville, Alabama, which is responsible for developing new space launch vehicles and propulsion systems. Its programs focus on research, technology, design, development, and integration of space transportation and propulsion systems, including both reusable systems for Earth-to-orbit applications and vehicles for orbital transfer and deep space transportation. Marshall also carries out microgravity research and is the home of the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator. The center was formed on 1 July 1960, by the transfer of buildings and staff from what was then the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. It subsequently played a central part in the realization of the Jupiter C, Centaur, Skylab, and the Space Shuttle programs, but is best known for its development of the Saturn class rockets used to launch Apollo.