Huntsville, Alabama | MISSILE AND SPACE INTELLIGENCE CENTER

The beginnings of the Missile and Space Intelligence Center can be traced back to the development of missiles by the U.S. Army at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, under the leadership of Dr. Wernher von Braun, Maj. Gen. John Medaris and a team of German scientists. In June 1956, the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency established the Technical Intelligence Division, a special security office with a mission to analyze and report on foreign missile-related activities.

In 1962, this division was renamed the Missile Intelligence Office. This group, initially staffed with engineers from Redstone and intelligence analysts from around the country, established its presence early when chosen by the CIA to lead the technical assessment team during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

In 1967, DIA identified MSIC as one of six national Scientific and Technical Intelligence production centers. From 1970 to 1985, the organization was known as the Missile Intelligence Agency. The name changed to the Missile and Space Intelligence Center in 1985, when MSIC moved from the Army's Research and Development Community to the Intelligence Community as part of the Army Intelligence Agency. In 1992, congressional legislation moved MSIC to DIA.

The Cold War strategy of mutually assured destruction relied heavily on ...

Reference: www.dia.mil

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