Minuteman Missile National Historical Site

A Blast from the Past
Article Date: March, 2012

Article and Photography by Mark Quasius

One of the newest units added to the National Park Service is a unique site. Normally thoughts of the National Park Service bring to mind images of vast natural wonders, such as the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, or Yosemite or even some of the famous historical battlefields from the revolutionary or civil wars. Minuteman is a throwback to a more recent war - the Cold War.

The Minuteman Missile sites were famous for never having to fire a shot yet played a vital role in our nation's defense. They served as a deterrent to global nuclear attack. Hidden away beneath the ground these sites were scattered across various areas of the United States and were provided with a level of security heretofore never seen. About 500 of the 1,500 sites were located in South Dakota. It was a location that was safe from Soviet submarine launched missiles and not in major populated areas, such as the east and west coasts. After the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) many of these sites were deactivated, rendered unserviceable and sealed up. However, this particular unit was allowed to remain as a non-serviceable unit for public display.

Accessing The Site

The site is accessed via a small office facility just south of exit #131 on South Dakota's Interstate 90, which is about 75 miles east of Rapid City. Inside the office you will see a 12 minute interpretive film that brings you up to speed on the sites. The Delta-09 missile silo is located about 15 miles west at exit # 116 just to the south of the highway. You can drive there and view the site at your convenience because it is a self-guided tour. You may also make a reservation for an underground guided tour into the command and control center, which is located 4 miles west of the headquarters. We made sure to do both.

We were fortunate in that our command center tour was led by a former missileer, a retired Air Force Major who once was in command of a similar control center. His personal anecdotes contributed greatly to our understanding of life below the surface. The tours are limited in size due to the size of the elevator that takes you down underground as well as by the confined quarters of the launch control center.

We began by meeting our guide topside at the appointed time. We were let in through a chain link gate that enclosed a secure area, bristling with antenna arrays, a helicopter pad, an armored vehicle, and underground access hatch covers. A small barracks building, which looked much like a ranch house from a distance, housed the eight man support crew for the facility. Inside the barracks was a communications area as well as living quarters for the guards and tech support team. After a tour of the above ground facilities we headed for the elevator that would take us down into the hardened control center bunker.

The elevator doors opened up into a small room flanked by mechanical areas and a 3-1/2' thick blast door weighing 5 tons that led to the control center. The entire underground facility was placed in a hardened concrete cylindrical container that was capable of withstanding a nuclear blast. Topside personnel were allowed into the underground area but only the launch control officer and his assistant were allowed inside the command center. The 5 ton blast door was locked from the inside for the duration of their 24 hour shift. Each control center controlled 10 Minuteman Missiles, which were located at dispersed sites within a 20 mile radius of the command center.

The Command Center

The shifts were described as long periods of intense boredom, punctuated by brief periods of extreme panic. Training drills were implemented unannounced and with total surprise to keep the missileers on their toes. The topside crew was in a similar situation and found creative things to keep busy. Air Force flight service personnel typically paint nose art on their planes but missileers don't have planes so artwork takes form on the basement walls and on the huge blast door. In fact, the blast door at Delta-01 showed a pizza delivery box reminiscent of a popular national brand with the slogan "Worldwide Delivery in 30 Minutes or less or the Next One is Free".

With extra time on their hands, crew members found creative ways of expressing themselves.

The Minuteman was a unique missile and those features helped in its deterrence role. We had many more missiles than the Soviets so we had them outgunned. But the biggest advantage was the speed and state of readiness of the Minuteman. Typical liquid fueled rockets require lots of maintenance and fuel needs to be purged and monitored so it takes time to get a liquid fueled ICBM ready for launch. The Minuteman is a solid fueled missile so it can sit stagnant and unmanned for months at a time without any maintenance. In fact, the actual missile silos rarely had any personnel present unless site maintenance was being performed. The Minuteman could be launched within 30 seconds should the command be given. The Minuteman was also a faster missile and traveled at 15,000 MPH, which meant it could travel over the North Pole and reach its target in 30 minutes. If we detected any inbound Soviet missiles we could easily get our birds off the ground with time to spare and reach their target before the incoming missiles would arrive. All of these factors were well known by the Soviets so they knew it was a no-win situation should they decide to attack us. As such, the Minuteman ended the Cold War without ever having to fire a shot.

The tour into the launch control center was extremely interesting and the security measures required in place to prevent some nut from starting a nuclear war were extensive and would fill a book so you'll just have to go take the tour to find all of that out. The technology is all Cold War era with massive computer components that would probably be outdone by today's average laptop computer although they were built to be rugged and endure some severe conditions and still function so maybe today's PCs could learn something from their older siblings.

The Missle Silo

Shown here in its silo, the Minuteman II travels at 15,000 MPH and is capable of reaching its destination in 30 minutes or less.

The command control center controlled several missile launch sites. Each missile was placed in an underground silo and each silo was spread out within a 20 mile radius to prevent clustering into one large target. After our tour of the Delta-01 Launch Control Facility we headed off to visit the missile silo at Delta-09. Once we left the interstate exit we found small signs directing us to the missile site. Amazingly, we had passed by this area on previous trips numerous times and never knew there was a missile silo nearby. The area was fenced in by a chain link fence and various antenna arrays were present as well as a security monitoring system. This particular silo had the huge blast cover partially rolled back and a glass enclosure placed over the silo so that visitors could look into the silo and see the missile, which was now inert and harmless. Access hatch covers were visible as well as the hardware used to install the missile into the silo. A self guided tour was simplified by providing brochures at the site as well as a point by point audio tour that was available over cell phones so, when visiting this site, be sure to bring your cell phone along. When you're done visiting the missile site you may want to keep in mind that you are now only six miles away from Wall Drug.

In addition to the National Park Service missile sites, Ellsworth Air Force Base is near Rapid City, about an hour to the west and features an excellent museum filled with aircraft as well as missiles and related equipment from the Cold War era. A launch control training station has now been made part of the tour so if you can't make it to Delta-01 the mockup at Ellsworth is your next best bet. This is a really great addition to the National Park Service and something quite unique that tells a great story of those times. If you still remember duck and cover drills from your school days you'll truly appreciate this site. However, I'm sure that everyone will be fascinated with what they see.

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