VBAS History

How It All Began

The following was taken from a VBAS brochure published in 1979 to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of its formation:

IN THE FALL of 1954, 16-year-old Sammy Pruitt sold several Huntsville high school classmates on the idea of forming a club to study astronomy. Failing in their initial try to interest more boys of their own age, the group turned their efforts toward soliciting the help of a few scientists at nearby Redstone Arsenal. Among the early responders from the Army’s famous missile team were Dr. Wernher von Braun and Dr. Ernst Stuhlinger.

The society had its beginnings in a series of informal meetings at the home of Dr. Martin Schilling, another Redstone Arsenal rocketeer, during the winter of 1954 and early spring of 1955. It was at one of these early meetings that a decision was made to form an association and buy a large telescope. While Dr. von Braun went shopping for a suitable scope, plans were made to build an observatory. Wilhelm Angele, another Army missile expert, volunteered to design the observatory building.

The first temporary officers and directors were elected April 4, 1955. They were as follows:

After aerial reconnaissance to pick the best location, Paludin and Stuhlinger were successful in obtaining from the State of Alabama a 13.5-acre tract of land in Monte Sano State Park. State officials agreed to a nominal rental of $1 for a 25-year lease, renewable at the group’s option.

As soon as the land was theirs, members eagerly began to prepare the site for construction. Among the most active workers were Dr. von Braun, Dr. Stuhlinger, Priddy, Swanson, Isbell, Gerhard Heller, Eugene Mechtly and George Ferrell.

Read more...

Charter Members

Below are the Charter Members of the Rocket City Astronomical Association, which later changed its name to the Von Braun Astronomical Society: 

• Wilhelm Angele
• Thomas Beckert
• Robert Brandon
• Dean Breasseale
• William D. Escher
• George A. Ferrell
• Thomas Gunter
• Gerhard Heller
• Eike Hueter
• Uwe Hueter
• B. Spencer Isbell
• J. Rob Maulsby
• Eugene A. Mechtly
• James Norman, Jr.
• Charles T. Paludin
• Franz Pauli
• Juergen Patt
• E. Wayne Priddy
• Samuel F. Prultt
• Dr. Martin Schilling
• Gerd Schilling
• Hartmut Schilling
• Roif Sieber
• Dr. Ernst Stuhlinger
• Conrad D. Swanson
• Gerald Swanson
• Ronald Warner
• Dr. Wernher von Braun
• William W. Varnedoe
• Helmut Zoike

Dr. Stuhlinger Commentary - 1979

ASTRONOMY HAS ALWAYS occupied a place of distinction among the intellectual pursuits of man. Not only is it the oldest and purest of all sciences; it is also that science which is able, more than any other science, to give its followers a realistic feeling for man’s place in the universe. Its objects, visible and present in spite of their remoteness and mystery, have fascinated mankind for thousands of years. Although professional astronomy requires highly specialized knowledge as well as very complex and costly instrumentation, the beauty and excitement of astronomical observations can be enjoyed by amateurs of very diverse backgrounds. Indeed, hardly any other science has as many dedicated active and knowledgeable amateur followers as the science of astronomy. Many of the great astronomical discoveries of the past were made by amateurs. Even today, most new comets are first found by amateurs, and those projects which require careful, patient observations over long periods of time, such as variable star studies, often receive substantial support from amateur astronomers. Even though many of the amateurs do not engage in systematic observations of specific objects, they still build or at least modify their own instruments, and they spend many enjoyable hours looking at the craters of the moon, the rings of Saturn, the pale crescent of Venus, the satellites of Jupiter, the great nebula in Orion, the Andromeda galaxy, the sparkling clusters in Perseus, the ring nebula in Lyra, or just the myriads of stars in the Milky Way.

Read more...

Historical Audio Recording

Thanks to  Michael Ferdie, son of Ronald Ferdie one of the early member of the RCAA, we have been gifted with the original audio records from the dedication of the Observatory . You can hear the voices of the founding members and  Dr. Werner Von Bran in these historical records from  October 1958 that Michal has restored for us from Los Angeles (CA). We thanks Michael and his family for these priceless memories.

Visit the VBAS FTP server (menu on your left) and go to the Historical Records / Audio Records section to download the files in MP3 or WAV format. You can also have a glimpse at the hard work that Michael had to do in order to restore the recording. Thank you Michael!