White Sands Missile Range

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White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), formerly known as the White Sands Proving Grounds, is a rocket range in New Mexico operated by the United States Army. The range covers an area of almost 3,200 mi² (8 287 km²), approximately three times the size of Rhode Island, making it the largest military installation in the United States. The range is located in Doña Ana County, New Mexico and Otero County, New Mexico. It is mostly within the Tularosa Basin (a valley between the Organ Mountains, San Andres Mountains and the Sacramento Mountains) but it also includes the northern reaches of the Jornada del Muerto. WSMR is located on U.S. 70 between Alamogordo and Las Cruces; the highway is sometimes closed for safety reasons while tests are conducted on the missile range.

Contents 1 Description 2 Missile and atomic testing 3 Leadership 4 DOD Center for Countermeasures 5 NASA use 6 Air Force use 7 Espionage 8 Simtel archive 9 In Popular Culture 10 References 11 External links

[edit] Description

The Range gets its name from the white sands that are spread over many miles in the area. These sands are composed of gypsum crystals, which have leached out of the surrounding mountains. A distinctive ecology survives in this desert. Adjacent to the Range, but not part of its active perimeter, is the White Sands National Monument. The swath of white sands extends from WSMR, through White Sands National Monument, and into nearby Holloman Air Force Base. This large expanse of bright sand is clearly visible from earth orbit, especially since the area is rarely clouded over.

WSMR and its surrounding areas are home to many species of animals, including mule deer and even a few exotic animal species, such as the oryx, which have been introduced into the vast high desert environment over the years. As one might expect from the topography and climate, the missile range is also home to many species of small game, including the jackrabbit and coyote.

The site is also featured in some works of fiction. The story of the last annexation of territory by the base was the background for the Edward Abbey novel, Fire on the Mountain. The range's desert setting was used during the filming of the 2007 film Transformers as a substitute for the Middle-Eastern nation of Qatar.

[edit] Missile and atomic testing

The Range was formally established on 9 July 1945. On July 16, 1945 the world's first test of an atomic weapon was conducted at what is now called Trinity site, within what was then the boundaries of the range, and part of the Jornada del Muerto. V-2 rockets captured in Germany at the end of World War II were taken to WSMR for reverse engineering by the Hermes project, and as part of Operation Paperclip many V-2 rocket scientists were brought as well. In spring 1945, JPL employees test-fired the first Private F missile at White Sands Proving Grounds.^[1] The Ordnance Corps of the United States Army, through its "ORDCIT" project in conjunction with GALCIT, established the range, effective 9 July 1945, for testing the MGM-5 Corporal missile.^[2] Today, seventy miles to the south, the US Army Air Defense Center, in Fort Bliss, Texas and WSMR form a contiguous swath of territory devoted to the art. Fort Bliss has an outdoor museum display of rocket-propelled missiles.

The German connection lives on as well, in El Paso Deutsche Schule, and Alamogordo Deutsche Schule, established to teach the German children of the soldiers who would later return to Germany after their tours of duty in New Mexico and Texas.

[edit] Leadership

At Change of Command ceremonies on November 30, 2005, a civilian, Tom Berard, was named director of WSMR upon the retirement of Brig. Gen. Robert J. Reese from the Army, after 35 years of service. Brig. Gen. Michael J. Combest, Commander of the U.S. Army Developmental Test Command emphasized that Tom Berard is in charge of WSMR.^[3] There have been 6 general officers in command at WSMR since 1994; Reese's tenure has been the longest, at 28 months, during that period. Berard had been the highest-ranking civilian at the Range. Officials at the Department of the Army have said that as soon as the Army can get enough generals to staff all the command positions, the Army will appoint a general officer to lead WSMR. The appointment is expected to take at least six months and could take longer.

[edit] DOD Center for Countermeasures

The Center for Countermeasures (CCM), located at the Missile Range, is a joint program of the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E), which is itself a component of the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD).^[4] CCM was founded in 1972, and is tasked with evaluating precision guided munitions and other devices in counter- and counter-countermeasures environments.

[edit] NASA use

NASA established the White Sands Test Facility on the range in 1963.^[5] From 1963 to 1966 NASA launched Little Joe II boosters from Launch Complex 36 at White Sands to conduct launch escape system tests for the Apollo program. More recently, the NASA Space Shuttle program has used a landing area there known as White Sands Space Harbor.^[6] It is located about 45 miles north of WSMR headquarters.

[edit] Air Force use

The Directed Energy Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory operates facilities at North Oscura Peak on White Sands Missile Range.^[7]

[edit] Espionage

There have been a number of spies at White Sands over the years, and not all of them were caught. For example, the true identity of the post-World War II Soviet spy code-named Perseus is still unknown.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Simtel archive

The "Simtel" archive was hosted at White Sands from 1983 to 1993. This was an important early repository of shareware, freeware and public domain software available to any Internet user via anonymous FTP at wsmr-simtel20.army.mil. The host machine had an unusual file naming syntax because it was one of the last machines to run the TOPS-20 operating system rather than the VMS and Unix systems common on the Internet at that time.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] In Popular Culture

In the movie SpaceCamp, shuttle Atlantis is forced to land here when the oxygen supply runs too low for another approach at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

[edit] References

1. ^ Bluth, John. Von Karman, Malina laid the groundwork for the future JPL. JPL.
2. ^ Development of the Corporal: the embryo of the army missile program, vol. 2. Army Ballistic Missile Agency.
3. ^ Steve Ramirez, Las Cruces Sun-News reprinted as "Director now leads missile range", in the El Paso Times, December 1, 2005 p.6A.
4. ^ Center for Countermeasures home page
5. ^ About White Sands Test Facility. NASA.
6. ^ White Sands Space Harbor. NASA.
7. ^ Lasers, microwave technology among AFRL's Directed Energy Directorate's works. AFRL.

[edit] External links

• WSMR (US Army)
• WSMR Museum
• Works by White Sands Missile Range Public Affairs Office at Project Gutenberg
• Aviation: From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary

Coordinates: 32°56′38″N, 106°25′10″W