No public transportation systems serve the park. The two historic sites which make up the park are four miles (Launch Control Facility Delta-01) and 15 miles (Launch Facility Delta-09) from the Visitor Center. Boeing has decades of proven expertise in building, modifying or transitioning silo-based ballistic missile systems from the 1960s to today including Minuteman, Peacekeeper in Minuteman silos, and Ground-based Midcourse Defense. The Visitor Center is located immediately north of I-90, exit 131. Minuteman Missile National Historic Site is located at three sites along a fifteen mile stretch of Interstate 90 in western South Dakota. It holds the power to destroy civilization, but is meant as a nuclear deterrent to maintain peace and prevent war. The Minuteman Missile remains an iconic weapon in the American nuclear arsenal. Hidden in plain sight, for thirty years 1,000 missiles were kept on constant alert hundreds remain today. The full script is embedded below, and check out the other responsive documents on my request page.During the Cold War, a vast arsenal of nuclear missiles were placed in the Great Plains. Launch Control Facility Delta-01 is 4 mile west of headquarters. Address: 21290 SD-240, Philip, SD Directions: Park HQ is on south side of Exit 131 off I-90, beside the gas station. Not just as roadside attraction, but a relic of a global cultural battle that lasted decades. The only Cold War-era Minuteman missile site open to public tours, and the only National Park capable of destroying all the others. While as a destination for family fun, a missile silo is hardly Disneyland, we are fortunate that a space like this is preserved for the public’s benefit. As a fun icebreaker for the long ride back to the surface, visitors are encouraged to contemplate unleashing nuclear Armageddon.įor a facility whose secrecy lasted until just a few decades ago - and where any unauthorized person approaching could be fatally shot - the access the public is afforded to these missile silos is remarkable. Having gone as far as possible, the tour group should return to the elevator. The inside of the launch control center has been left as it was, with meager accommodations for the two soldiers who occupied it on 24 hour shifts. To be fair, it looks like it’d be pretty hard to miss. Once underground, the guide should draw the group’s attention to the heavy, nuke-proof Dominoes door. Then, the guide should lead the tour group into the elevator and together the group descends to the underground launch control center. Like the ability to launch missiles at the USSR, midnight chow was also under lock and key. Take a tour of the Delta-01 Missile Silo and experience the once top-secret location where Air Force personnel stood ready to launch a Minuteman Missile. Eric Leonard, Superintendent, Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. The artifacts inside the space tell the story well, but the eating habits deserve special mention. The proposed amenity fee is intended to provide enhanced tour reservation. Field Trips and Educational Programs Bring Minuteman Missile to the classroom or the classroom to the park. It is 30 minutes and takes you to the launch control center of the missile, as well as other spots. A ranger-narrated Cell Phone tour explains the history of Minuteman Missile silos on the Great Plains. Inside, the guide discusses the structure of the Air Force unit that occupied this space. There is a special tour available at Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. There’s no mention of what happens if you break any of these rules, nor is there any explanation on how a facility designed to withstand a nuclear explosion is unable to withstand the oils secreted by human skin. The tour begins outside the facility’s gates, where visitors learn the facility was activated in response to the Cuban Missile Crisis and that the silos were arranged in a “bicycle wheel” configuration with the launch facility at the hub.īefore entering the facility building, all tour guides should give a safety briefing, most notably “Do not touch anything.” That script - recently released via a National Parks Service FOIA - covers the basic history of the Cold War, provides fun facts and trivia about the park, and reinforces the fundamentals of tour guidery. Today, the public can visit and follow a National Park Ranger on a loosely scripted tour all the way down into the launch control center itself. Minuteman III ICBM silos along with coordinates. The Minuteman Missile National Historic Site (MMNHS), in rural South Dakota, lies just off Interstate 90. Here are some maps showing the locations of U.S. In the 1990s, during our nuclear disarmament initiative, the Congress preserved two intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) silos as historic sites. The museums exhibits include a launch control simulator identical to the control center at Delta-01 and their airpark display includes a Minuteman II missile.
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