White Sands Missile Range
| Condron AAF | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Characteristics | |||
| IATA code | WSD | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Height above MSL | 1199 m (3934 ft ) | ||
| Basic data | |||
| operator | US Army | ||
| Runways | |||
| 01/19 | 4350 m × 46 m grass / sand | ||
| 09/27 | 1867 m × 23 m asphalt | ||
White Sands Missile Range ( WSMR ), originally called White Sands Proving Ground ( WSPG ) until it was renamed May 1, 1958 , is a United States Army's training and testing ground for missile and drone technologies. It is located in the south of the US state of New Mexico .
During the development of the atomic bomb ( Manhattan Project ), the first nuclear weapon test in history was carried out on a part of the site that is now closed .
geography
The WSMR is located in Otero County , New Mexico , in a valley between the Organ Mountains and the Sacramento Mountains .
The head office of WSMR is located about 70 kilometers north of the city of El Paso ( Texas ) and about 32 kilometers east of Las Cruces ( New Mexico ) on US Highway 70 . The terrain extends west of Alamogordo and east of the San Andres Mountains with a north-south extension of about 160 kilometers. In an east-west direction about 70 kilometers are reached; the middle of the highway is closed from time to time for safety reasons when tests are carried out on the premises. At approximately 8,300 square kilometers, WSMR is the largest military facility in the United States.
Naming
The term White Sands Missile Range refers to the white sand that is typical of parts of the site. More precisely, it is a kind of plaster of paris . For more information, see the articles on the Chihuahua Desert and the White Sands National Monument .
history
Development of the atomic bomb
The facility was originally built during World War II as a test site for the nuclear research laboratories operated in Los Alamos , New Mexico . The first atomic bomb was detonated in a remote part of the test site on July 16, 1945 as part of the Manhattan Project . This test was carried out on the Trinity site , the site is called " Jornada del Muerto " - see Trinity test .
Early missile research and testing
At the end of the Second World War, the German scientists working in Peenemünde , including Wernher von Braun , were brought to Los Alamos and on to the White Sands Missile Range. The captured V1 and V2 rockets were transported to the WSMR, where they were reverse-engineered , recreated and further developed.
In addition to military rockets, NASA , among others, tested the rescue rockets of the Apollo spacecraft with the help of Little Joe II rockets.
Research and Development Today
Today, research on new missile types continues on the site, as well as research on nuclear and other weapons. In the High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility (HELSTF), for example, the THEL system is being tested, an attempt to use lasers to repel projectiles. Another focus is on the development and testing of drones for reconnaissance and combat purposes.
Alternative runway for the space shuttle
The runway called Northrup Strip , 72 kilometers north of the main building, was one of the landing alternatives for the space shuttle . Northrup Strip was named after Northrop Corporation , which carried out flight experiments there, but the name was entered on US Army maps with a typo.
The runway was used only once when, on March 30, 1982, the Columbia space shuttle ( STS-3 ) was unable to land at Edwards Air Force Base in California due to poor weather conditions. At this point in time, there was no landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida . The fine gypsum dust led to severe pollution of the mechanical systems of the space shuttle, which necessitated extensive repairs to the space shuttle. For this reason, shuttle landings at White Sands Missile Range were only considered in emergencies when the primary landing sites were not available.
Due to adverse weather conditions during the flight of STS-116 , Northrup Strip was designated as one of the possible landing sites for a landing on December 22, 2006 at White Sands Missile Range. When the weather in Florida improved, the space shuttle Discovery was finally able to land in Florida as planned. A landing on Northrup Strip would have led to logistical problems, since WSMR does not have the same equipment as Edwards Air Force Base and the return transport of the Discovery would have taken three months.
tourism
The WSMR is also home to the White Sands Missile Range Museum (32.386 ° N; 106.479 ° W) , a collection of exhibits of all missile types that have ever been tested on the test site - from the V1 to the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system .
The White Sands National Monument , a must-see tourist destination, is located about 20 kilometers west of Alamogordo on US Highway 70.
Others
- The White Sands Missile Range was fired at from the Green River Test Site with several Athena and Pershing missiles for research and testing purposes.
- The connections with Germany - created by the many German scientists - still exist today. There are still German-speaking schools in Alamogordo and El Paso that originally taught the researchers' children. Today there is a German school available at both locations for the schooling of the children of German soldiers stationed in El Paso ( Fort Bliss ) and Alamogordo ( Holloman Air Force Base ).
Web links
- WSMR (US Army website)
- WSMR Museum (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ WSMR: Chronology: Cowboys to V-2s to the Space Shuttle to lasers
- ^ Paul Freeman: Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: New Mexico: Alamogordo area. December 31, 2008, accessed on October 14, 2011 : "The Northrop Strip area became part of the Army's White Sands Missile Range in 1952. An early press release contained a typographical error, misspelling Northrop as" Northrup ". The error was reproduced in subsequent releases, and later signs, route markers and official Army maps carried the name "Northrup Strip", making it quasi official. "