White Sands Missile Range
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- For other uses of WSMR see WSMR link
White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), formerly known as the White Sands Proving Grounds, is located in Otero County, New Mexico, mostly in the Tularosa Basin, a valley between the Organ Mountains, San Andres Mountains and the Sacramento Mountains of the U.S. state of New Mexico, it includes the northern reaches of the Jornada del Muerto. The area of the range is approximately the same as that of the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island put together. The story of the last annexation of territory by the base was the background for Edward Abbey's novel, Fire on the Mountain.
The Range gets its name from the white sands that are spread over many miles in the area. These sands are composed of gypsum crystals, which have leached out of the surrounding mountains. A distinctive ecology survives in this desert. Adjacent to the Range, but not part of its active perimeter, is the White Sands National Monument. It is interesting to note that the swath of white sands extends from WSMR, through White Sands National Monument, and into nearby Holloman Air Force Base. This large expanse of bright sand is clearly visible from earth orbit, especially since the area is rarely clouded over.
The WSMR and its surrounding areas are home to many species of animals, including mule deer and even a few exotic animal species, such as the oryx, which have been introduced into the vast high desert environment over the years. As one might expect from the topography and climate, the missile range is also home to many species of small game, including the jackrabbit and coyote.
On July 16, 1945 the world's first test of an atomic weapon was conducted at what is now called Trinity site, within what was then the boundaries of the range, and part of the Jornada del Muerto. After the V-2 rockets of Peenemünde were captured in World War II, the rockets and the rocket scientists were taken to WSMR for reverse engineering. Today, seventy miles to the south, the US Army Air Defense Center, in Fort Bliss, Texas and WSMR form a contiguous swath of territory devoted to the art. Fort Bliss has an outdoor museum display of rocket-propelled missiles.
The German connection lives on as well, in El Paso Deutsche Schule, and Alamogordo Deutsche Schule, established to teach the German children of the soldiers who would later return to Germany after their tours of duty in New Mexico and Texas.
At Change of Command ceremonies on November 30, 2005, a civilian, Tom Berard, was named director of WSMR upon the retirement of Brig. Gen. Robert J. Reese from the Army, after 35 years of service. Brig. Gen. Michael J. Combest, Commander of the U.S. Army Developmental Test Command emphasized that Tom Berard is in charge of WSMR.<ref name="EPTimes 1">Steve Ramirez, Las Cruces Sun-News reprinted as "Director now leads missile range", in the El Paso Times, December 1, 2005 p.6A.</ref> There have been 6 general officers in command at WSMR since 1994; Reese's tenure has been the longest, at 28 months, during that period. Berard had been the highest-ranking civilian at the Range. Officials at the Department of the Army have said that as soon as the Army can get enough generals to staff all the command positions, the Army will appoint a general officer to lead WSMR. The appointment is expected to take at least six months and could take longer.
WSMR is located on U.S. 70 between Alamogordo and Las Cruces; the highway is sometimes closed for safety reasons while tests are conducted on the missile range.
On just one occasion, STS-3, the NASA space shuttle made a landing at Northrop Strip, 45 miles due north of WSMR Headquarters, when both Kennedy Space Center in Florida and Edwards Air Force Base in California were unable to accommodate a landing due to weather. In the movie SpaceCamp, the shuttle is depicted as landing here after missing a chance to land at Edwards.
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[edit] Espionage
There have been a number of spies at White Sands over the years, and not all of them were caught. For example, the true identity of the post-WWII Soviet spy code-named Perseus is still unknown.
[edit] Simtel archive
An important early archive of software called "Simtel" was hosted at White Sands from 1983 to 1993.
It was available to any Internet user via anonymous FTP at wsmr-simtel20.army.mil on a machine running the TOPS-20 operating system.
[edit] References
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