SavageEagle
Grandmaster
- Apr 27, 2008
- 19,568
- 38
Former ND nuclear missile site gets first visitors - Yahoo! News
I think this is awesome. I'm sure our enemies already know most of what these look like on the inside, so why not?
COOPERSTOWN, N.D. – A former nuclear missile launch center that closed as the Cold War was winding down opened Monday to a public curious to see what life was like at the once-top secret site.
Visitors can go underground and view where Air Force officers once sat to wait for a possible nuclear war. It was their job to monitor 10 nearby Minuteman III nuclear missiles — and to launch them if ordered.
A freight elevator took about 30 visitors Monday to two cavernous rooms that resemble railroad tunnels, where the underground air smelled faintly of diesel fuel and parts of the floor were sticky with hydraulic fluid.
One room housed diesel generators and air conditioners to cool the equipment. Another was for two officers who worked 24-hour shifts. Rows of light on a console showed the status of each missile. One labeled "missile away" would indicate a launch.
"We want to beat down that idea that one guy who has had a bad day can push the button," he said. "People who don't know anything about the system, I think they go away feeling much safer."
I think this is awesome. I'm sure our enemies already know most of what these look like on the inside, so why not?