Cheyenne Mountain Complex

Coordinates: 38°44′33″N 104°50′54″W / 38.74250°N 104.84833°W / 38.74250; -104.84833
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Cheyenne Mountain Complex
Part of Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station
Cheyenne Mountain, El Paso County, Colorado
Cheyenne Mountain Complex is located in the United States
Cheyenne Mountain Complex
Cheyenne Mountain Complex
Cheyenne Mountain Complex is located in Colorado
Cheyenne Mountain Complex
Cheyenne Mountain Complex
Cheyenne Mountain Complex is located in North America
Cheyenne Mountain Complex
Cheyenne Mountain Complex
Coordinates38°44′33″N 104°50′54″W / 38.74250°N 104.84833°W / 38.74250; -104.84833
Site information
OperatorUnited States Space Force
Controlled bySpace Base Delta 1
Site history
BuiltMay 18, 1961 – February 8, 1966
In use
  • Cheyenne Mountain Complex[1]: 14 
  • NORAD Cheyenne Mountain Complex (January 20, 1965)[1]: 14 

The Cheyenne Mountain Complex is a

North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) headquarters are located.[6]

The bunker's Command Center was upgraded during 2003 and 2004 for $13 million.[7]

Formerly the center for the United States Space Command and NORAD, the Complex monitored the air space of Canada and the United States for missiles, space systems, and foreign aircraft through its worldwide early-warning system.[8] Since 2008, NORAD and the United States Space Command have been based at Peterson Space Force Base and the complex, re-designated as an Air Force station, is used for crew training and as a back-up command center if required.[9]

The military complex has included, in the past, many units of NORAD, U.S. Space Command,

Civil Defense Warning Center.[8]

Facilities

Main chambers

Diagram of tunnels to buildings within the mountain:
  • Access Tunnel (right) with North and South openings at the mountain's east slope,
  • side tunnels[10] to the main chambers and the support area,[11]
  • a support area including reservoirs (blue), and
  • main chambers (gray grid) for the centers (dark green buildings are 3 story)[10] with 3 tunnels 45 feet (14 m) wide, 60.5 feet (18.4 m) high, and 588 feet (179 m) long intersected by 4 cross tunnels 32 feet (9.8 m) wide, 56 feet (17 m) high and 335 feet (102 m) long.[11]

The complex was built under 2,000 feet of granite on five acres.[12] Fifteen three-story buildings are protected from movement, e.g., earthquake or explosion, by a system of giant springs that the buildings sit on and flexible pipe connectors to limit the operational effect of movement.[13] A total of more than 1,000 springs are designed to prevent any of the 15 buildings from shifting more than one inch.[13] The complex is the only underground Department of Defense facility certified to be able to sustain a high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (EMP).[13] There are a large quantity of cots for most of the personnel, including suites for high-ranking officers within the bunker. Amenities include a medical facility, store, cafeteria,[13] and fitness centers inside and outside the mountain.[14]

Blast doors

blast door
is the main entrance to another blast door (background) beyond which the side tunnel branches into access tunnels to the main chambers.

The bunker is built to deflect a 30 megaton nuclear explosion as close as 1.2 miles.[15] Within a mountain tunnel are sets of 25-ton blast doors and another for the civil engineering department. The doors were built so that they can always be opened when needed. Should a nuclear blast hit the building, they are designed to withstand a blast wave. There is a network of blast valves with unique filters to capture airborne chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear contaminants.[13]

Outdoor

The exterior North Portal protects the eastward tunnel opening. The south opening has a concrete abutment.[16]

Outside of the military complex are the parking lots, a fire station,[17][b] and outdoor recreational facilities. The recreational amenities include Mountain Man Park, picnic areas, a racquetball facility, softball field, sand volleyball court, basketball court, a putting green, and horseshoe area.[14]

Support area

The complex has its own power plant, heating and cooling system, and water supply.[12] The 21st Mission Support Group[18] ensures there is a 99.999% degree of reliability of its electricity, water, air conditioning, power, and other support systems.[13] The threats, in descending order of likelihood, that the complex may face are "medical emergencies, natural disasters, civil disorder, a conventional attack, an electromagnetic pulse attack, a cyber or information attack, chemical or biological or radiological attack, an improvised nuclear attack, a limited nuclear attack, [and] a general nuclear attack." The least likely events are the most hazardous.[13]

There is more water produced by mountain springs than the base requires, and a 1,500,000-gallon reservoir ensures that even in event of fire, there is enough water to meet the facility's needs. A reservoir of 4,500,000 gallon of water is used as a heat sink.[13] There is a "massive" reservoir for diesel fuel and a "huge" battery bank with redundant power generators.[13]

History

Construction and systems installation

The North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) was established and activated at the Ent Air Force Base on September 12, 1957. The Command is a binational organization of Canadian (1 Canadian Air Division) and United States air defense command units, in accordance with NORAD Agreements first made on May 12, 1958.[19]: 5, 16  In the late 1950s, a plan was developed to construct a command and control center in a hardened facility as a Cold War defensive strategy against long-range Soviet bombers,[6] ballistic missiles, and a nuclear attack.[20][c]

In 1957, the Strategic Air Command began construction in New England inside

Westover Air Force Base, Chicopee, Massachusetts. This underground facility was nicknamed "The Notch" (or formally as the 8th AF "Post-Attack Command and Control System Facility, Hadley") and was hardened to protect it from the effects of a nearby nuclear blast and designed so that the senior military staff could facilitate further military operations.[22] Four years later, construction at Cheyenne Mountain was started to create a similar protection for the NORAD command post. Cheyenne Mountain was excavated under the supervision of the Army Corps of Engineers for the construction of the NORAD Combat Operations Center[6] beginning on May 18, 1961,[19]: 18  by Utah Construction & Mining Company.[23]

The Space Defense Center and the Combat Operations Center achieved

Operations and improvements

Air Defense Command satellite systems

System Development Corporation updated Air Defense Command satellite information processing systems for $15,850,542 on January 19, 1973.[1][27] The improvements were primarily to the Space Computational Center's displays and application software, which was updated to provide real-time positioning of orbiting space systems for the NORAD Combat Operation Center. The first phase, which established a system integrator and modernized the communications to a major data processing system, was completed in October 1972.[27]

Ballistic Missile Defense Center

The Ballistic Missile Defense Center (BMDC) BW 1.2 release was installed in February 1974 in the Combat Operations Center, under the command of CONAD. The Safeguard command and control system, operated by the commander, communicated warnings, observation data, and attack assessment to the Combat Operations Center. It was also designed to release nuclear weapons.[28]

Combat Operations Center

By 1978, five operating centers and a command post resided within the NORAD Combat Operations Center. The Space Computational Center catalogued and tracked space objects. The Intelligence Center analyzed intelligence data. Data was consolidated and displayed in the Command Post by the System Center. The Weather Support Unit monitored local and global weather patterns. The NORAD Commander's wartime staff reported to the Battle Staff Support Center.[29]: 5 

Space Defense Operations Center

The Space Defense Operations Center (SPADOC), established on October 1, 1979, consolidated United States Air Force satellite survivability, space surveillance, and US ASAT operations into one wartime space activities hub at the NORAD Cheyenne Mountain Complex.[30] Space surveillance and missile warning functions were performed by the Core Processing Segment (CPS) using Worldwide Military Command and Control System's Honeywell H6080 computers at the SPADOC Computational Center (SCC) and NORAD Computer System (NCS). A third computer was operational backup for SCC or NCS. By 1981, the H6080 failed to meet the requirements for timely computations.[31]: 54  SPADATS was deactivated about 1980, although some of its logic continued on in SPADOC systems.[32]

Cheyenne Mountain Complex Improvements Program (427M)

NORAD had a series of warning and assessment systems that were not fully automated in the Cheyenne Mountain complex into the 1970s. In 1979, the Cheyenne Mountain Complex Improvements Program 427M system became fully operational.[33][1]: 27, 93  It was a consolidated Cheyenne Mountain Upgrade program for command center, space, ballistic missile, and space functions, developed using new software technology and designed for computers with large processing capacity.[33][29]: 39  There were three major segments of the 427M system: the Communication System Segment (CSS), NORAD Computer System (NCS), and Space Computational Center (SCC).[34]: Chapter 1:2  The 425L Command and Control System, Display Information Processor, Command Center Processing System, and other hardware were replaced by the NORAD Computer System (NCS). The new system was designed to centralize several databases, improve on-line display capabilities, and consolidate mission warning information processing and transmission. It was intended to have greater reliability and quicker early warning capability.[29]: 9  The Command Center Processing System's original UNIVAC 1106, re-purposed for Mission Essential Back-up Capability (MEBU),[29]: 9  was upgraded to the more robust UNIVAC 1100/42.[31]: 55  The 427M system, intended to modernize systems and improve performance, was initially "wholly ineffective" and resulted in several failures of the Worldwide Military Command and Control System (WWMCCS) system.[35]

In 1979 and 1980, there were a few instances when false missile warnings were generated by the Cheyenne Mountain complex systems. For instance, a computer chip "went haywire" and issued false missile warnings, which raised the possibility that a nuclear war could be started accidentally, based upon incorrect data. Staff analyzed the data and found that the warnings were erroneous, and the systems were updated to identify false alarms. Gen. James V. Hartinger of the Air Force stated that "his primary responsibility is to provide Washington with what he calls 'timely, unambiguous, reliable warning' that a raid on North America has begun." He explained that there are about 6,700 messages generated on average each hour in 1979 and 1980 and all had been processed without error.[36] An off-site testing facility was established in Colorado Springs by NORAD in late 1979 or early 1980 so that system changes could be tested off-line before they were moved into production. Following another failure in 1980, a bad computer chip was updated, and staff and commander processes were improved to better respond to warnings.[37]

The Cheyenne Mountain Upgrade (CMU) of November 1988, designed to consolidate five improvement programs, was not installed because it was not compatible with other systems at Cheyenne Mountain and it did not meet the defined specifications according to deficiencies identified during testing.

nuclear detonation (NUDET) data processing system found it to be inadequate.[33]

Joint Surveillance System

The Joint Surveillance System (JSS), developed under an agreement with the Canadian government, became fully operational in seven Region Operations Control Centers (ROCCs) on December 23, 1983.[1]: 49, 57  The Joint Surveillance System was implemented to replace Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE).[42]

Survivable Communications Integration System

In 1986, Congress approved development of the Survivable Communications Integration System (SCIS) to communicate missile warning messages simultaneously over many forms of media, but it was subject to delays and cost overruns. By 1992, the project was estimated to be delayed to 1995 and cost projected to increase from $142 million to $234 million.[43]: 2, 9–10 

Other systems

By 1992, the

1st Command and Control Squadron (1CACS) in the bunker[where?] was providing space collision avoidance data to the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center's space control center.[46]

In June 1993, the Cheyenne Mountain Complex Operations Center had the USSPACE and NORAD Command Center, NORAD Air Defense Operations Center (ADOC), NORAD/USSPACECOM Combined Intelligence Watch Center (CIWC), USSPACECOM Space Defense Operations Center (SPADOC), USSPACECOM Space Surveillance Center (SSC), AFSPACECOM Weather Operations Center, and the AFSPACECOM Systems Center within its facility.[47]

Plans to house the USSPACECOM and NORAD command centers in the same location began by July 1994.[48] A $450 million upgrade was made to the missile warning center beginning in February 1995. The effort was part of a $1.7 billion renovation program for Cheyenne Mountain.[49]

'Granite Sentry' was an improvement program for the complex.

nuclear detection data provided from the Integrated Correlation and Display System."[33] For $230 million the program was also to "replace display screens of the Attack Warning and Attack Assessment System." It was delayed from 1993 to 1996.[39]

Granite Sentry and other

[nuclear] detonation messages…injected into the Defense Support Program Data Distribution Center [was] not adequate...".[33]

The Combatant Commander's Integrated Command and Control System (CCIC2S) program began in 2000 with a

: 11 

By 2003, consoles for the Ground-Based Mid-Course Defense (GMD) had been contracted for Cheyenne Mountain,[53] and the planned 18 month Cheyenne Mountain Realignment to move Command Center operations to Peterson AFB[54] was complete by May 13, 2008.[55] On August 3, 2011, a ribbon cutting was held for the January 2010 – June 30, 2011, Missile Warning Center renovation funded by USSTRATCOM.[56]

Over the years, the installation came to house elements of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD),

U.S. Air Force Space Command and U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM). Under what became known as the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center (CMOC), several centers supported the NORAD missions of aerospace warning and aerospace control and provided warning of ballistic missile or air attacks against North America.[6]

Peterson and Vandenberg Air Force Bases

On July 28, 2006, the Cheyenne Mountain Directorate

Vandenberg Air Force Base about October 2007.[58]
: 8 

In 2006, NORAD relocated to a basement

Peterson AFB. Northern Command and Space Command[59] and Canadian military defense partners relocated at Peterson.[60] The Cheyenne Mountain complex is maintained by a skeleton crew and no longer operates on a 24/7 basis. The complex is on "warm standby", meaning it is only staffed when required.[61]

On the fiftieth anniversary of the NORAD agreement—May 12, 2008—the Command Center located within Cheyenne Mountain Complex was officially re-designated as the NORAD and USNORTHCOM Alternate Command Center. The Cheyenne Mountain Division of NORAD and USNORTHCOM was re-designated as the J36 branch within the NORAD and USNORTHCOM's Operations Directorates.[6]

NORAD Alternate Command

Since 2002, the complex has been classed as Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station and has been used in crew qualification training, while the former command function has been redesignated as the "NORAD and USNORTHCOM Alternate Command Center" since 2008 after all the original functions of the complex were removed to Peterson Air Force Base.[62] The complex is maintained by the 21st Mission Support Group which provides support and maintenance for the 'NORAD/USNORTHCOM's training, exercise and alternate command center functions, U.S. Strategic Command's Missile Warning Center, Detachment 2 of the 17th Test Squadron, Air Force Technical Applications Center's research laboratory, the Defense Intelligence Agency's Western Continental United States Regional Service Center'.[63]

Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station is owned and operated by Air Force Space Command. NORAD and USNORTHCOM now use just under 30% of the floor space within the complex and comprise approximately 5% of the daily population at Cheyenne Mountain.[6] The Cheyenne Mountain Complex serves as NORAD and USNORTHCOM's Alternate Command Center and as a training site for crew qualification. Day-to-day crew operations for NORAD and USNORTHCOM typically take place at Peterson Air Force Base.[6]

Migration of NORAD communications to Cheyenne Mountain

In early 2015, Admiral

Vandenberg and Offutt. According to Gortney, "because of the very nature of the way that Cheyenne Mountain's built, it's EMP-hardened. And so, there's a lot of movement to put capability into Cheyenne Mountain and to be able to communicate in there".[64][65][66]

Units

Electronic Systems Division Detachment 10 at

Foreign Technology Division had an operating location at the bunker[68] and in 1992, an airman of the "1010th Civil Engineering Squadron at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Base" developed a 3-D AutoCAD model of the bunker "to zoom in on a specific room".[69]

By 1995 a "missile operations section" supported the missile warning center,

SFS was expanded.[76]

In popular culture

Movies

  • WarGames (1983) is set partly at the command center, where it was codenamed "Crystal Palace."[77]
  • Interstellar (2014) has NASA's main command center within the bunker at Cheyenne Mountain. [78]

Television

  • In Stargate SG-1 and its spin-offs, Cheyenne Mountain houses "Stargate Command", a top-secret unit of the United States Air Force that uses the titular Stargate to explore other planets.[79] In recognition of the series' close relationship with the real-life Air Force, there is now a broom closet in the real Cheyenne Mountain Complex called "Stargate Command".[80]
  • The bunker is also a setting in the series Jeremiah.[81]
  • The base appears in Episode 7 of the series Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn. Here, the bunker is depicted as an Earth Federation base and used as firing control for the Gryps 2 colony laser.

Video games

  • In
    Horizon: Zero Dawn
    , Cheyenne Mountain is known as All-Mother Mountain, and the Complex has been retrofitted as a Cradle facility prior to the apocalypse. The protagonist, Aloy, was found inside the facility.
  • The Terminator: Dawn of Fate included the facility as having been repurposed as Skynet's primary base of operations, something which was alluded to in the films. By the end of the game, the base is heavily damaged when the Resistance use the Time Displacement chamber to send Kyle Reese back to 1984 to save Sarah Connor.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The entire installation at Cheyenne Mountain was designated the Cheyenne Mountain Air Station by February 1995.[3] In 2000, the installation was renamed Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station. That year all Air Force Space Command Air Stations in the United States have been redesignated as Air Force Stations.[4] The Space Force Station is the site of NORAD's Air Defense Operations Center.[5]
  2. ^ The fire station is located at 38°44′26″N 104°50′23″W / 38.74056°N 104.83972°W / 38.74056; -104.83972.[17]
  3. ^ The Gaither Report, for instance, called for development of ballistic missile programs, early warning systems, and other defensive strategies.[21]
  4. ^ The Cheyenne Mountain Directorate was previously called the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center.[57]

References

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  2. ^ "City Council Districts." Colorado Springs, Colorado. Retrieved December 10, 2017. This shows the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station as outside the city limits.
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External links

External images
image icon construction scaffolding
image icon c. 1972 Space Defense Center
image icon BMDC Operations Room (p. 12-4)
image icon Space Computational Center
image icon landform viewed from Ent AFB site
video icon 1970s exterior footage (minute 6:50)