On January 31, 1961, a chimpanzee by the name of Ham blasted off on a Mercury-Redstone rocket and became the first hominid to ...

Redstone was survived by his son, Brent Redstone, and daughter, Shari Redstone, who is now in control of the family dynasty. They are children from his first marriage, to Phyllis Raphael.

Because of the large available space, empty buildings, and ease of access to rail, highway, and water traffic, the Army chose Redstone as the place to consolidate its newly formed rocket program.