Missile and Space Intelligence Center
Encyclopedia
The Missile and Space Intelligence Center (MSIC) is an intelligence organization that is part of the Defense Intelligence Agency
of the United States
. MSIC is located at Redstone Arsenal
in Huntsville, Alabama
.
's missile team, a component of the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency in 1956. The missile agency's first office, known as the Technical Intelligence Division, consisted of only 6 people. MSIC analyzed developments in the Soviet Union
and played a role in the Cuban Missile Crisis
. In the mid-1980s, MSIC transitioned into the Army Intelligence Agency. Their final organizational move came on January 1, 1992 when they became part of the Defense Intelligence Agency
. The center employs 650 civilian and military personnel.
and other U.S. Government organizations such as the FBI.
Defense Intelligence Agency
The Defense Intelligence Agency is a member of the Intelligence Community of the United States, and is the central producer and manager of military intelligence for the United States Department of Defense, employing over 16,500 U.S. military and civilian employees worldwide...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. MSIC is located at Redstone Arsenal
Redstone Arsenal
Redstone Arsenal is a United States Army base and a census-designated place adjacent to Huntsville in Madison County, Alabama, United States and is part of the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area...
in Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
.
History
MSIC began as a part of Wernher von BraunWernher von Braun
Wernher Magnus Maximilian, Freiherr von Braun was a German rocket scientist, aerospace engineer, space architect, and one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Nazi Germany during World War II and in the United States after that.A former member of the Nazi party,...
's missile team, a component of the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency in 1956. The missile agency's first office, known as the Technical Intelligence Division, consisted of only 6 people. MSIC analyzed developments in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and played a role in the Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
. In the mid-1980s, MSIC transitioned into the Army Intelligence Agency. Their final organizational move came on January 1, 1992 when they became part of the Defense Intelligence Agency
Defense Intelligence Agency
The Defense Intelligence Agency is a member of the Intelligence Community of the United States, and is the central producer and manager of military intelligence for the United States Department of Defense, employing over 16,500 U.S. military and civilian employees worldwide...
. The center employs 650 civilian and military personnel.
Mission
MSIC’s overall mission is to support field commanders, weapon system developers, and policy makers with scientific and technical all-source intelligence on surface-to-air missiles (SAM), short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) with ranges less than 1000 kilometers, anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM), missile defense systems, directed-energy weapons (DEW), selected space programs and systems, and relevant command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR). It also provides analyses of those materials to the Department of DefenseUnited States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
and other U.S. Government organizations such as the FBI.