But now, tourists will be able to look directly down the 80-foot hole. The three-and-a-half-feet-thick door used to cover a 72,000-pound Minuteman missile. Construction workers are building a viewing platform and the 90-ton launch door of the Delta 9 missile has been rolled back so workers can install a plastic cover. One missile will be preserved from this site. "To guarantee no unauthorized launch," Pavek says. Later, a series of codes would come down and it would take two people with a lock box to receive further orders. In the early years, it was a simple toggle switch to activate a missile launch. There are large black phone receivers, relatively primitive radio communications and computer capabilities that are the equivalent of a 10-year-old personal computer. The chairs are mounted on a track that slides back and forth along the racks of radio, and computer equipment. Everything is drab green except two red chairs. The launch control center is protected in a capsule, suspended between huge, hydraulic shock absorbers. It reads "Minuteman Two - guaranteed delivery in 30 minutes or less or your next one's free." Pavek says it's a reminder of the Minuteman missiles' power. The hand-painted sign resembles a Domino's pizza box. When a seven-ton door comes swinging open, you wouldn't want to be pinned behind it," Pavek says. "As we come off the elevator, you'd often hear a faint voice from the heavy door saying to 'stand clear.' You'd have to stand behind this yellow line. They listened to coded radio commands and could launch nuclear weapons to a target on the other side of the world.Īs a sliding gate door closes on the freight elevator, you descend into a cooler, damper climate. For 30 years, two Air Force officers worked 24-hour shifts 32 feet below ground. Prior to that, he was the missile facilities engineer for the 150 missiles under the Ellsworth charge. "As we walk in we'll see the magazines, the salt and pepper shakers, the Parmesan cheese containers are still on the table as they were when this site was deactivated in the early 1990s," says Tim Pavek, the Minuteman Two deactivation program manager for Ellsworth Air Force Base. A satellite dish and basketball hoop are evidence of human habitation. It's easy to overlook the antennae and security fencing that were the "topside" signs of the below-ground, nuclear-tipped missiles.Ībout a mile off the interstate is a suburban tract home with odd lawn art: a large bump of metal and a long metal post are UHF antennas and motion sensors. Many don't know that they're traveling a section of roadway reinforced to handle military air traffic. Millions of people travel on Interstate 90 between the Badlands and the Black Hills of South Dakota. ![]() A Minuteman missile silo and launch command in South Dakota are all that's left. The START agreement provided that one silo and launch command center be preserved to teach future generations about the Cold War and contemplate the power of nuclear weapons. Hundreds of missile silos and launch facilities in the Midwest were demolished. In 1991, President George Bush signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Even our appreciation of history is evolving. ![]() Camera manufacturerĭigital Camera FinePix S5800 S800 Ver1.As our nation faces a new kind of war, much has been made about what has changed in our world. The timestamp is only as accurate as the clock in the camera, and it may be completely wrong. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details such as the timestamp may not fully reflect those of the original file. This file contains additional information such as Exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it.
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