Minuteman_Missile_National_Historic_Site

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Minuteman Missile National Historic Site Minuteman Missile National Historic Site operated by the 66th Strategic Missile Squadron of the 44th Strategic Missile Wing, headquartered at Ellsworth Air Force Base in Rapid City, South Dakota. The facilities represent the only remaining intact components of a nuclear missile field that once consisted of 150 Minuteman II missiles, 15 launch control centers, and covered over 13,500 square miles (35,000 km2) of southwestern South Dakota.[2] (Note: 450 of the newer Minuteman III missiles are still on active duty, at Malmstrom AFB, MT, Minot AFB, ND and F. E. Warren AFB, WY.) Guided tours start at the main office, which is located just south of Interstate 90 at Jackson County and Pennington County, Location exit 131. The office is not historically significSouth Dakota, USA ant; it was created solely as an office for the Nearest city Wall, South DakotaNearest city: Wall, two missile sites. The sites can only be South Dakota toured completely by making advance reservations with the National Park Service at the Coordinates 43°55′52″N 102°09′38″W / 43.93111°N 102.16056°W / 43.93111; main office. Tours are approximately two -102.16056Coordinates: 43°55′52″N hours long and are limited to six people due 102°09′38″W / 43.93111°N to the lack of space at D-01. 102.16056°W / 43.93111; -102.16056 The launch facility, known as Delta Nine 15 acres (0.06 km²) Area (D-09) was constructed in 1963. It occupies 1.6 acres (6,000 m²) one-half mile (800 m) Established November 29, 1999 Established: southwest of Interstate 90 at Exit 116 and six November 29, 1999 miles (10 km) from the town of Wall, South 12,163[1] (in 2007, Summer Season Visitors Dakota, in eastern Pennington County. It conOnly) sists of a silo 12 feet (3.7 m) in diameter and National Park Service Governing 80 feet (24 m) deep made of reinforced conbody crete with a steel-plate liner. The door to the silo has been welded and fitted with a glass Minuteman Missile National Historic roof, and an unarmed missile placed inside. Site was established in 1999 to illustrate the Not only does this permit visitors to look history and significance of the Cold War, the down on the missile, but satellites are able to arms race, and intercontinental ballistic misverify that the site is not operational, and sile (ICBM) development. The National Hishence in compliance with the Strategic Arms toric Site preserves one of the last remaining Reduction Treaty. For safety reasons, tours Minuteman II ICBM systems in the United are not conducted underground. You can conStates.[2] duct a self-guided tour of the site during the day by calling a number with your cell phone and walking around the site, listening to the description of various points over the phone. This national historic site consists of three faThe launch control facility, known as Delta cilities: a main office and two significant Cold One (D-01), is about 11 miles (18 km) away, War-era sites, a Launch Control Facility and to the east in northwestern Jackson County. a missile silo/launch facility, formerly It occupies approximately six acres (24,000 Minuteman Missile National Historic Site Facilities 1 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia m²) 1.7 miles (3 km) north of I-90 at Exit 127. It consists of an aboveground building containing a kitchen, sleeping quarters, and life support equipment, and a launch control center buried 31 feet (9.4 m) deep and connected to the main building by an elevator. Guided tours are conducted underground here, but are limited to six people at a time due to the very small underground launch control center ("capsule"). Self-guided tours are not possible here; the gate for the fence around D-01 is always locked. Beginning in summer 2007, numerous open houses were held at Delta-01 which greatly increased the numbers of visitors. Additionally, summer-season limited public tour hours were established for drive-up visitors at the Delta-09 launch facility.[1] Minuteman Missile National Historic Site their silos, and in 1994 the 44th Missile Wing was officially deactivated. The last site was destroyed in 1996, leaving a single launch facility and silo to be preserved as Cold War historic sites.[2] D-01 and D-09 were candidates for becoming a national historic site for a few reasons: • close to a major road (Interstate 90) • close to existing recreational facilities (Badlands National Park, Mount Rushmore) • the sites saw limited modification since they were built in the 1960’s (true of all sites in the 44 MW). See also • List of museums in South Dakota • Titan Missile Museum • Strategic Air and Space Museum Museum collection includes Minuteman II, Minuteman III, and Titan II re-entry vehicle shrounds and launch control systems on display. References [1] ^ [1] NPS Press Release “Minuteman Missile has Record Breaking 2007 Summer Season”, October 8, 2007 [2] ^ [2] National Park Service; Minuteman Missile National Historic Site A view of the silo from above. History The sprawling missile complex, one of several located in the central United States, remained on alert for nearly 30 years, until the site was de-activated following the signing of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) by President George Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1991. Under the terms of the treaty, the missiles were removed from External links • National Park Service, Minuteman Missile National Historic Site • Minuteman Missile National Historic Site: Protecting a Legacy of the Cold War , a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan • Aviation: From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minuteman_Missile_National_Historic_Site" Categories: National Historic Sites in South Dakota, Aerospace museums in South Dakota, Jackson County, South Dakota, Military and war museums in the United States, National Park areas in South Dakota, Pennington County, South Dakota This page was last modified on 22 May 2009, at 09:20 (UTC). All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.) 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