![]() ![]() Visitors can conduct self-guided tours of the site during the day by calling a number on their cell phones and walking around the site, listening to the description of various points over the phone. Because the only way to get to the underground part of the site is by a ladder 30 feet (9.1 m) long, tours are not conducted underground for safety reasons. Not only does this permit visitors to see the missile, it enables Russian satellites to verify that the site is not operational, and hence in compliance with the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. The launch tube was then covered with a glass viewing enclosure. The launch tube's 90-ton cover has been rolled partly away and welded to the rails it rides on. It consists of an underground launch tube ("missile silo") 12 feet (3.7 m) in diameter and 80 feet (24.4 m) deep, made of reinforced concrete with a steel-plate liner. It occupies 1.6 acres (6,000 m 2) nearly one-half mile (800 m) southwest of Interstate 90 at Exit 116 and six miles (9.7 km) from the town of Wall, South Dakota, in eastern Pennington County. The silo, known as launch facility Delta Nine (D-09) was constructed in 1963. 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 km 2) of southwestern South Dakota. This National Historic Site consists of three facilities: a visitor center and two significant Cold War-era sites, a launch control center and a missile silo/launch facility, formerly operated by the 66th Strategic Missile Squadron of the 44th Strategic Missile Wing, headquartered at Ellsworth Air Force Base in Box Elder, near Rapid City. Some 450 of the newer Minuteman III missiles are still on active duty at Malmstrom AFB, Montana, Minot AFB, North Dakota, and F. Guided tours are available of the underground Launch Control Center, and a missile silo can be observed from above. The site preserves the last intact Minuteman II ICBM system in the United States, in a disarmed and demilitarized status. The Minuteman Missile National Historic Site is an American national historic site established in 1999 near Wall, South Dakota to illustrate the history and significance of the Cold War, the arms race, and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) development. JSTOR ( April 2022) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message).Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.įind sources: "Minuteman Missile National Historic Site" – news Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. The ROCC, under the control of the 24th Air Division/North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) Region, was moved from Hancock Field, Syracuse, N.Y.This article needs additional citations for verification. Army Soldiers from the South Dakota National Guard’s HFCA 1607_Special Events And VIPS Volume 1_112.jpg Visit of Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to Sturgis, South Dakota, Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, Porter Sculpture Park, Montrose, South Dakota Telescope - National Parks Gallery Chips from a metal block sit on a computer numerical The control room of the recently completed Regional Operations Control Center (ROCC). Map of Lawrence County, South Dakota / U.S. ![]()
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