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The third in the state’s university system is the University of Alabama in Huntsville, the smallest of the three, but in some aspects the most intriguing. Huntsville is a small city, just south of the Smokey Mountains and the Tennessee Valley; outdoor opportunities are remarkable, and the regional experience something close to four real seasons. It is an oddity in the South in that it has vestiges of its place as a cotton marketing entrepot while operating at the most sophisticated level as the U.S. Space and Rocket Center at the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center and the site of the largest military arsenal in the United States. During World War II, Huntsville had become home to the Redstone Arsenal, and it was there that the Ordnance Guided Missile Center was developed. The most prominent rocket scientists in the world were brought to Huntsville, and it was there that Werner Von Braun and others brought the Redstone Rocket and the Apollo Lunar Landing Programs into being. Space and Rocket technology and military hardware are still important in the life of the city, and one of the great advantages enjoyed by UAH is the active support of technology industries. The recent development of a booming industry in biotechnology firms has created the Huntsville Biotech Initiative has brought yet another sophisticated set of skills to the Huntsville community.