Apollo 11 Legacies

"Topper" Birney recounts what it was like being a teenager at Fort Bliss when the German Rocket team came to America.

A firsthand account of the immigration experience for German families of the Wernher von Braun rocket team as they moved to Fort Bliss, Texas. Recorded as part of a panel discussion in Huntsville, Alabama February 2019.

Conversation with Heidi Collier, chair of Huntsville's German-American Heritage Committee and daughter of one of the original German scientists on the Apollo 11 team.

Discussion about the changing role of women at Marshall Space Flight Center. Six women panelists share experiences and stories about culture, NASA and the future. Recorded April 2019.

Veteran news correspondents Jerry Hayes, Steve Johnson and Greg Screws share stories about the "impossible mission" of the moon landing, meeting notables like Neil Armstrong, and what the space program means to Huntsville. Recorded in WHNT studios July 2019.

NASA veteran Homer Hickam, whose 1998 memoir Rocket Boys was the basis for the 1999 film "October Sky," shares his thoughts about conspiracy theorists and returning to the moon.

Operation Paperclip brought German scientists and their families to America in the chaos following WWII. Uwe Hueter provides firsthand experiences about life when his father Hans’ followed Wernher Von Braun to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville.

As German scientists and their families were moved to the US, there was both secrecy and risk. But for young boys, it was a great adventure. Klaus Rosinski reminisces with Uwe Heuete and shares humorous stories from their youth.

Volker Roth was only 4 years old when his family arrived in America. He shares memories of air raids, train rides, dust storms and learning to interact with Americans post-war.

German engineer Willie Mrazek surrendered to U.S. troops at the end of WWII and disappeared. His daughter Ursula Vann describes the uncertainty growing up under Army camp conditions and a foreign culture in part 1 of this 4-part panel discussion with offspring of von Braun’s team.

A former Brigadier General and astronaut, Robert Stewart continues his blow-by-blow accounting of the politics behind the space program, military involvement in rocket tests and the birth of NASA and the Marshall Space Flight Center. He details how the German rocket specialists escaped the Nazis to come to the United States where their knowledge helped the American military pursue the quest for outer space and race Russia to the moon.

General Robert Stewart, the first Army soldier to fly in space, gives the history of how the Huntsville Arsenal went from making chemical weapons during WWII to becoming the Redstone Arsenal and the birthplace of the space program. Stewart's captivating story covers the rivalries, players and political maneuvering in Redstone Arsenal history; the selection of Huntsville and its start with WWII chemical weapons; name changes, growth and transformation; the eye-opening interrogation of Wernher von Braun.

Retired Army Materiel Command Historian Michael Baker talks about Wernher von Braun. He recounts the shock of the Sputnik launch, Toftoy "on his hands and knees begging," Vanguard's failure leading to Explorer 1, and the impact of von Braun and Army on Apollo mission and Huntsville specifically.

Brian Odom talks about the "full stop" 20-month investigation after Apollo 1 fire and its impacts. He reviews the Jupiter-C vehicle and Redstone missile programs, Nixon's undelivered speech in case Apollo 11 failed, and Huntsville's role in solving the next set of hard problems.

NASA Historian Brian Odom helps us set the stage, starting from Kennedy's pledge to Congress as he doubles down to beat the Russians. Odom talks about the team's problem-solving approach, the audacity of the "all up" philosophy, and the impact of domestic immigration on Huntsville Alabama.

Launching soon: Apollo 11 Legacies, a podcast with details and personal stories from Huntsville, Alabama