Minuteman Missile Site Coordinates


Minuteman was named for the American Revolutionary War militia who could (as legend has it) be ready to fight in one minute. Unlike most of its predecessor ICBMs such as Atlas and Titan I, Minuteman can be launched in about a minute because of its solid-fuel rocket motor. Titan II was liquid fueled but could also be launched very quickly. Early in the program it was known as Weapon System Q but renamed to Minuteman around February 1958. Minuteman I was known as SM-80, LGM30A/B, and HSM-80A/B. Minuteman II was known as LGM-30F. Minuteman III is known as LGM-30G. Minuteman III has three warheads though treaties will reduce that to one. The three stages of Minuteman III missiles are manufactured by three different contractors (Thiokol, Aerojet-General, and United Technologies). Fifty Minuteman III silos around Warren AFB (flights P through T) were converted to the Peacekeeper (MX) system in the late 1980s but as of October 2005 all fifty have been retired.

As of 2005, Warren's missiles have been reduced to one warhead. But those at Minot and Malmstrom will have a mix of between one and three warheads (it sounds like the Air Force is either undecided or does not wish to be clear on the question). A good discussion of the current and future ICBM status is at http://www.afa.org/magazine/Oct2005/1005ICBM.asp. Also see http://www.afa.org/magazine/june2007/0607minuteman.ASP which discusses future incremental updates to Minuteman III.

A retrospective of Minuteman on its 40th birthday is at http://www.afa.org/magazine/March2001/0301minute_print.html.

http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/mineman1.htm Limited chronolgy of Minuteman I.

http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/mineman2.htm Limited chronolgy of Minuteman II.

http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/mineman3.htm Limited chronolgy of Minuteman III.

The Minuteman I second stage was also used for the Aries launch vehicle, for Strategic Defense Initiative tests. See http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/aries.htm.

Minutemen are deployed in groups of ten per flight with an eleventh site as a Missile Alert Facility (MAF) which consists of an above-ground structure, an underground Launch Control Center (LCC) staffed by two officers, and a Launch Control Equipment Building (LCEB) which is also underground. MAFs were formerly known as Launch Control Facilities (LCFs) but terminology was changed when Strategic Air Command (SAC) was disbanded. A MAF will have a single large "ranch style" building, and optionally a landing spot for helicopters, large radio tower, large "top hat" HF antenna, vehicle garage, and sewage lagoon(s). Less visible will be satellite antennae and perhaps a basketball court. http://fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/icbm/fig_24-01.gif is a drawing of a typical MAF. http://fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/icbm/mm3-MAF11.jpg is an impressive photo of the underground structures as they were being built.

The Launch Facilities (LFs, i.e. missile silos) are unmanned and connected to the MAF/LCC by the Hardened Intersite Cable System (HICS). In addition, sites built for Minuteman II employ a medium-frequency radio system. LFs can also be controlled by external sources such as an airborne command center if needed, and in the event an LCC becomes inoperable, by another nearby LCC. The most prominent feature of Minuteman and MX LFs is the Improved Minuteman Physical Security System (IMPSS), a tall white "spike" perhaps 20 feet tall that lets the launch crews know if somebody is on site. Security is excellent; it's been said that it takes about 45 minutes for a team to get through the personnel entry system when they know all the proper combinations and procedures. This entails first removing a weather cover to access the "A-plug" and using a combination provided by secure radio to unlock and remove the plug, which then allows retraction of a locking bolt for the primary door. The primary door (2700 pounds) is then raised via a hand crank. The secondary door or "B-plug" blocks a 42-inch-diameter shaft and requires a second combination be sent to a separate team to unlock, which is followed by an intentional time delay before the door can be opened. The secondary doors of active LFs have been receiving an upgrade to allow the doors to be raised quickly if needed, as described in an article at http://www.warren.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123041905 which is no longer available.

The silo lid weighs 110 tons (this according to a pamphlet from Warren AFB, I also read a Washington Post article that quoted a figure of 90 tons). For normal maintenance it is opened with a hydraulic pusher. For launch it is opened via fast-acting gas generators coupled with very large pneumatic actuators. I heard a story that during one of the Vandenberg launches, the door opened with such force that it continued into the chain-link fence, ripped out the entire fence and drug it across the silo. The resulting launch was a failure because the missile was snared by the fence. I notice in photos of Vandenberg sites the lid now slides into bumpers to arrest their motion rather than continuing on their own.

A diagram of an LF is at http://fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/icbm/fig_24-02.gif.

Many diagrams of LFs, MAFs, LCC, etc. are on Rusty Barton's web site, see http://www.geocities.com/minuteman_missile/diagrams.htm (which unfortunately has died).

Site numbering can be confusing. Boeing built the Ground Electronic System (GES) for Minuteman I such as Warren AFB, and these denote flights with a single letter (A-U); the MAF is always -01 and its LFs are -02 through -11. Sylvania built the GES for Minuteman II sites (Grand Forks and one squadron of Malmstrom); the MAF is always -00 and the LFs are -01 through -10, or -11 through -20, up to -50 then they start over. But some Minuteman I sites were upgraded to Minuteman II and the capsules are quite different from "real" (original) Minuteman II which are called "Deuce" (which refers to the weapon system not the sites). Sylvania capsules are much larger (and have been described as "harder"), and used special light bulbs only available from Sylvania. There were no Minuteman III sites built, they were all upgrades and thus retain their original numbering; the same is true of MX/Peacekeeper sites which were all upgrades of Minuteman III sites which started out as Minuteman I sites. Often a leading zero will be dropped, for example D-01 is often spoken as D-1 or Delta-1 and signs at the LFs may or may not have the leading zero. Vandenberg is too weird to describe!

Originally there were 1,000 Minutman missiles in six areas but this has been reduced to 500 in three areas. Still-active bases include Warren AFB (Wyoming, 150 Minutemen), Malmstrom AFB (Montana, 200), and Minot AFB (North Dakota, 150). Grand Forks North Dakota (150), Ellsworth AFB (Rapid City, South Dakota, 150), and Whiteman AFB (Missouri, 150) have all been removed from service per treaties and the facilities destroyed.

What happened to all the Minuteman I and Minuteman II missiles, let alone the Minuteman IIIs removed from service? Some have been used as targets for missile defense tests, and I've heard of at least one space launch. For example, see http://www.ast.lmco.com/launch_msls.shtml (which has died, try http://web.archive.org/web/20030618094509/http://www.ast.lmco.com/launch_msls.shtml; this implies Lockheed Martin has dropped their Multi-Service Launch Systems (MSLS) program which utilized retired Minuteman II boosters; it is also possible the program went black (secret) because MSLS was to be used for testing missile defense systems, or the name has changed to Payload Launch Vehicle (PLV)). The government is now making Minuteman II missiles available to Orbital Sciences Corporation. They take the first two stages, plus their Pegasus rocket, and call the combination Minotaur. See http://www.orbital.com/SpaceLaunch/Minotaur. In December of 2006 they expect the first Minotaur launch from a new facility in Virginia, see http://www.spaceflightnow.com/minotaur/tacsat2/061208preview.html and http://www.spaceflightnow.com/minotaur/index.html.

A very curious re-use of an old Minuteman involved sinking it in an old rock quarry now used for scuba diving. http://www.rockdivers.com/scubaimages.htm except that link has died, try: http://web.archive.org/web/20050311110512/http://www.rockdivers.com/scubaimages.htm. The location appears to have some other aerospace junk including an F-4, possibly a Titan, and junk from SpaceLab. It is called the Madison Aquatic Park, in Alabama, see http://www.dtmag.com/dive-usa/MadisonAquaticParkAL.html.

One of the standard references for Minuteman is the book "Nuclear Heartland" edited by Samuel H. Day, published in 1988. While it's a highly political book it is also very good at listing the location of every Minuteman silo (though not by latitude/longitude).

There was a curious program called the Air Mobile Feasibility Test where a Minuteman I was dropped from a C-5A on October 24 1974 near Vandenberg AFB. It flew a short distance downrange because it had a small amount of fuel. This was one of the more ambitious mobile-launch ideas for an ICBM, others included railroad cars and trucks. Though the feasibility was proven there were no further tests. Previous tests were done with concrete slabs, then inert missiles, then this limited live-fire test.


And in 2005, the basic concept was once again tested. On October 7 an inert 65-foot rocket was dropped out of a C-17 cargo plane. See http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123012066. (U.S. Air Force photos)

A spurious claim is that a Minuteman I is moving at Mach 1 by the time it travels its own length from the launcher. This claim was made at http://www.edwards.af.mil/moments/docs_html/59-02-17.html for example except the link has died, so try http://web.archive.org/web/20061207105833/http://www.edwards.af.mil/moments/docs_html/59-02-17.html. I estimated this would require an acceleration of around 156 Gs which is an absurdly high number. If you take the claimed weight and thrust of a Minuteman I it actually works out to around 2 Gs at launch.

Other references:

Minuteman missiles on display, courtesy of a list from Rusty Barton posted to the missile_talk group on Yahoo (his web site lists these and has photos, at http://www.geocities.com/minuteman_missile/displays.htm (although the web site has died).


A Minuteman III has a bad day over Vandenberg.
Edwards Air Force Base is roughly 60 miles north of Los Angeles and 20 miles northeast of Lancaster California. Edwards is well known as one of the landing sites for space shuttles and various flight test programs. They had two Minuteman test silos, per siloman at http://www.siloworld.com/MINUTEMAN/minphotos.htm. Details are sketchy; siloman's site simply says "May 1960" and the Astronautix site indicates the 8th and last flight of a Minuteman mockup was May 6 1960. Schwiebert writes: "... the Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California, would provide the site of silo-launcher development testing, missile-captive testing, and some specialized engine-static testing. The first firing of a full-scale solid-propellant missile of intercontinental range from an underground silo took place on September 15, 1959, at Edwards AFB, California. The test missile contained a live first stage, only partially charged, and dummy second and third stages; the missile was tethered by a nylon and steel cable to control impact. From these tests the compatibility and operational configuration of the silo were determined as well as the optimum type of flame director. By May, 1960, the captive tests had accomplished their purpose and were terminated, although ten additional tests had originally been scheduled."

Photo Base Coordinates ID

Terraserver 		Edwards 34-57-10  117-38-42
3.5 miles S Boron CA 		Minuteman

Patrick Air Force Base and Cape Canaveral Air Station seem almost synonymous. The Cape has two Minuteman launch complexes, each has a flat pad and a silo. Both complexes have been retired; one of the silos contains the remains of the shuttle Challenger, and the other will probably be the burial site for Columbia.

Resources:

45th Space Wing 6555th ATG
(Patches courtesy of USAFPatches.com)

The People: It gets a bit confusing because wings and other units have been reorganized and renamed several times. Currently the 45th Space Wing oversees most (all?) missile launches. At one time or another subordinate units included the 4800th Guided Missile Wing, and the 6555th which has been a Guided Missile Wing, Guided Missile Group, and Aerospace Group. See for example http://www.maxwell.af.mil/au/afhra/rso/wings_groups_pages/0045sw.asp.

Other resources:

Photo Base Coordinates ID

Terraserver 		Patrick 28-27-12  80-33-20 LC-31 and LC-32

Vandenberg Air Force base (see http://www.strategic-air-command.com/bases/Vandenberg_AFB.htm) is on the west coast of southern California, near Santa Maria. It is most commonly associated with tests and development of military missiles but is also used to launch polar-orbiting satellites. It had almost completed a space shuttle launch facility when the Challenger accident occurred, causing the air force to rethink launch methods and abandon shuttle launches. For Minuteman they have many launch facilities along the coast in the northernmost corner for the base.

Photo Base Coordinates ID

Terraserver   Terraserver 		Vandenberg 34-52  120-36
17 miles SW Santa Maria California 		Minuteman
The launch facilities for Minuteman are strung out along the north coastline thus the coordinates are general.

Because there are so many Minuteman sites I've split them into separate web pages by area (support base).

F. E. Warren AFB, Cheyenne Wyoming
Minot AFB, Minot North Dakota
Grand Forks AFB, Grand Forks North Dakota
Ellsworth AFB, Rapid City South Dakota
Malmstrom AFB, Great Falls Montana
Whiteman AFB, Missouri