1960s: From Swamp to Space
This marked the beginning of the rocket test facility in Mississippi and a mission to visit the Moon.
1961 – President John F. Kennedy sets the goal of sending humans to the Moon and returning them safely before the decade is out on May 25.
1961 – NASA announces decision to establish a national rocket engine test site in Hancock County, Mississippi on Oct. 25.
1961 – NASA’s national rocket engine test site is officially named Mississippi Test Operations on Dec. 18.
1962 – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opens a real estate project office to begin land acquisition negotiations for construction of the Mississippi Test Operations on April 18.
1962 – William C. Fortune is named Mississippi Test Operations manager on Oct. 1.
1963 – Workers cut the first tree to start clearing the test site area for construction on May 17.
1965 – Jackson M. Balch is named Mississippi Test Operations director on June 10.
1965 – Mississippi Test Operations is designated as the Mississippi Test Facility on July 1.
1966 – The first Saturn V rocket booster (S-II-T) is tested at the Mississippi Test Facility on April 23.
Chronology of Events
Explore the list of significant events in John C. Stennis Space Center History.
