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Cheyenne Mountain Complex

January 08, 2023

For the mountain itself, see Cheyenne Mountain.

The Cheyenne Mountain Complex is a Space Force installation and defensive bunker located in unincorporated El Paso County, Colorado, next to the city of Colorado Springs,[2] at the Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station,[a] which hosts the activities of several tenant units. Also located in Colorado Springs is Peterson Space Force Base, where the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) headquarters are located.[6]

Cheyenne Mountain Complex
Part of Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station
Cheyenne Mountain, El Paso County, Colorado
Cheyenne Mountain Complex
Cheyenne Mountain Complex
Cheyenne Mountain Complex
Coordinates38°44′33″N 104°50′54″W / 38.74250°N 104.84833°W / 38.74250; -104.84833Coordinates: 38°44′33″N 104°50′54″W / 38.74250°N 104.84833°W / 38.74250; -104.84833
Site information
OperatorUnited States Space Force
Controlled byPeterson-Schriever Garrison
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 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, Aerospace Defense Command (ADCOM), Air Force Systems Command, Air Weather Service, and Federal Emergency Management (FEMA). The complex's communication center is also used by the nearby U.S. 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 (15 m) wide, 60.5 feet (20 m) high, and 588 feet (180 m) long intersected by 4 cross tunnels 32 feet (10 m) wide, 56 feet (17 m) high and 335 feet (100 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 high-altitude Department of Defense facility certified to be able to sustain an 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

 
The 25-ton North 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.[citation needed] 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.[15]

Outside of the military complex are the parking lots, a fire station,[16][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[17] 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

Main article: Construction of the Cheyenne Mountain Complex

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.[18]: 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.[19][c]

In 1957, the Strategic Air Command began construction in New England inside Bare Mountain for a hardened bunker to contain the command post for the 8th Air Force, which was located at nearby 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.[21] 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,[18]: 18  by Utah Construction & Mining Company.[22]

The Space Defense Center and the Combat Operations Center achieved full operational capability on February 6, 1967. The total cost was $142.4 million.[18]: 20 [23] Its systems included a command and control system developed by Burroughs Corporation. The electronics and communications system centralized and automated the instantaneous (one-millionth of a second) evaluation of aerospace surveillance data.[24] The Space Defense Center moved from Ent AFB to the complex in 1965.[18]: 20  The NORAD Combat Operations Center was fully operational April 20, 1966[1]: 15  and The Space Defense Command's 1st Aerospace Control Squadron moved to Cheyenne Mountain that month.[25] The following systems or commands became operational between May and October, 1966: The NORAD Attack Warning System,[18]: 20  Combat Operations Command,[1]: 19  and Delta I computer system, which recorded and monitored every detected space system.[1]: 19  By January 4, 1967, the National Civil Defense Warning Center was in the bunker.[11]

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][26] 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.[26]

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.[27]

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.[28]: 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.[29] 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.[30]: 54  SPADATS was deactivated about 1980, although some of its logic continued on in SPADOC systems.[31]

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.[32][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.[32][28]: 39  There were three major segments of the 427M system: the Communication System Segment (CSS), NORAD Computer System (NCS), and Space Computational Center (SCC).[33]: 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.[28]: 9  The Command Center Processing System's original UNIVAC 1106, re-purposed for Mission Essential Back-up Capability (MEBU),[28]: 9  was upgraded to the more robust UNIVAC 1100/42.[30]: 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.[34]

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.[35] 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.[36]

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.[37]: 15  The five improvement programs were the CCPDS Replacement (CCPDS-R), CSS Replacement (CSS-R), Granite Sentry upgrade, SCIS, and SPADOC 4.[38] SPADOC 4 was for upgrading the SCC with primary and backup 3090-200J mainframes),[38] and SPADOC 4 block A achieved initial operating capability (IOC) in April 1989.[39] The CSS-R "first element" achieved IOC on April 12, 1991;[40] and the 427M system was replaced c. 1992. The CSSR, SCIS, Granite Sentry, CCPDS-R, and their interfaces were tested in 1997. Testing of Granite Sentry nuclear detonation (NUDET) data processing system found it to be inadequate.[32]

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).[41]

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.[42]: 2, 9–10 

Other systems

By 1992, the U.S. Space Command Space Surveillance Center (SSC) was the data analysis and tracking center for Baker-Nunn camera images[43] and Cheyenne Mountain was connected to the AN/URC-117 Ground Wave Emergency Network (GWEN)[42]: 16  communication site in Pueblo, Colorado. By 1995, the AN/FPS-129 HAVE STARE (Globus II) radar in California had been upgraded to "relay data to Cheyenne Mountain",[44]: b  and by October 1995 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.[45]

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.[46]

Plans to house the USSPACECOM and NORAD command centers in the same location began by July 1994.[47] 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.[48]

The Combatant Commander's Integrated Command and Control System (CCIC2S) program began in 2000 with a Lockheed Martin[49] contract "to upgrade all of the mission systems within Cheyenne Mountain, which included the space surveillance systems" for delivery in 2006.[38]: 11  The portion of CCIC2S modernizing "attack warning systems within Cheyenne Mountain [was to] cost more than $700 million from fiscal years 2000 to 2006",[50] and the delayed CCIC2S upgrades for space surveillance were superseded[when?] by systems for the Joint Space Operations Center's Space C2 program and Integrated Space Situational Awareness program.[38]: 11 

By 2003, consoles for the Ground-Based Mid-Course Defense (GMD) had been contracted for Cheyenne Mountain,[51] and the planned 18 month Cheyenne Mountain Realignment to move Command Center operations to Peterson AFB[52] was complete by May 13, 2008.[53] On August 3, 2011, a ribbon cutting was held for the January 2010 – June 30, 2011, Missile Warning Center renovation funded by USSTRATCOM.[54]

Over the years, the installation came to house elements of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), U.S. Strategic Command, 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[d] was re-designated as the Cheyenne Mountain Division, with the mission to assist in establishing an integrated NORAD and USNORTHCOM Command Center within the headquarters building at Peterson Air Force Base.[6] The Unified Space Vault and the Space Control Center were moved from Cheyenne Mountain to the Joint Space Operations Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base about October 2007.[56]: 8 

In 2006, NORAD relocated to a basement[57] in the Peterson No. 2 building at the nearby Peterson AFB. Northern Command and Space Command[57] and Canadian military defense partners relocated at Peterson.[58] 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.[59]

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.[60] 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'.[61]

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 William E. Gortney, commander of NORAD and NORTHCOM, announced a $700 million contract with Raytheon to move systems into the complex to shield it from electromagnetic pulse attack, with additional work to be done at 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".[62][63][64]

Units

Electronic Systems Division Detachment 10 at Ent AFB became the Cheyenne Mountain Complex Management Office (CMCMO) in 1963,[1] the year the Chidlaw Combined Operations Center began operations; and on February 15, 1980, ESD Detachment 2 was established[1] at the "Cheyenne Mountain Complex" (Det 2 became the AFSC focal point during the Cheyenne Mountain Upgrade.)[39] Aerospace Defense Command organizations in the bunker became a specified command when the major command ended in 1980; e.g., the J31 unit of HQ NORAD/ADCOM subsequently manned the Space Surveillance Center in the same room as the Missile Warning Center (separated by partitions).[41] The "HQ Cheyenne Mountain Support Group ... was activated at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex" in October 1981[41] to support the Aerospace Defense Center's operation of the NORAD combat operations center".[65] In 1983 the Foreign Technology Division had an operating location at the bunker[66] 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".[67]

By 1995 a "missile operations section" supported the missile warning center,[48] and in 2001 the 1989 1CACS at the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station was renamed the 1st Space Control Squadron.[68] On June 24, 1994, when the "Joint Task Force – Cheyenne Mountain Operations organization was brought online to take responsibility for the installation", Brig. Gen. Donald Peterson was the commander of the JTF,[69] which was renamed the "U.S. Space Command Cheyenne Mountain operations center" by March 1995[44]: a  (the unit had an exercise branch in June 1996).[70] On July 28, 2006, the Cheyenne Mountain Realignment[56] redesignated the Cheyenne Mountain Directorate to the Cheyenne Mountain Division.[71] Circa 2004 the bunker included the 17th Test Squadron's Detachment 2 and AFTAC's research laboratory,[72] in 2008 Detachment 1 of the 392d Training Squadron operated the Cheyenne Mountain Training System (CMTS),[73] and in 2011 the installation's 721st SFS was expanded.[74]

In popular culture

Movies

  • WarGames (1983) is set partly at the command center, where it was called Crystal Palace.[75]

Television

  • Stargate SG-1 Stargate Command is located at Cheyenne Mountain.[76] There is now a broom closet in the real Cheyenne Mountain Complex called "Stargate Command".[77]
  • The bunker is also a setting in the series Jeremiah.[78]

Video Games

  • 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.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The entire installation at Cheyenne Mountain was designated the Cheyenne Mountain Air Station[citation needed] and 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.[16]
  3. ^ The Gaither Report, for instance, called for development of ballistic missile programs, early warning systems, and other defensive strategies.[20]
  4. ^ The Cheyenne Mountain Directorate was previously called the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center.[55]

References

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  2. ^ "City Council Districts." Colorado Springs, Colorado. Retrieved on December 10, 2017. This shows the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station as outside the city limits.
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    b. [author not identified] (October 1995). Guardian. p. 15. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
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External links

  Media related to Cheyenne Mountain Complex at Wikimedia Commons

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

January 08, 2023
cheyenne, mountain, complex, mountain, itself, cheyenne, mountain, space, force, installation, defensive, bunker, located, unincorporated, paso, county, colorado, next, city, colorado, springs, cheyenne, mountain, space, force, station, which, hosts, activitie. For the mountain itself see Cheyenne Mountain The Cheyenne Mountain Complex is a Space Force installation and defensive bunker located in unincorporated El Paso County Colorado next to the city of Colorado Springs 2 at the Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station a which hosts the activities of several tenant units Also located in Colorado Springs is Peterson Space Force Base where the North American Aerospace Defense Command NORAD and United States Northern Command USNORTHCOM headquarters are located 6 Cheyenne Mountain ComplexPart of Cheyenne Mountain Space Force StationCheyenne Mountain El Paso County ColoradoCheyenne Mountain ComplexShow map of the United StatesCheyenne Mountain ComplexShow map of ColoradoCheyenne Mountain ComplexShow map of North AmericaCoordinates38 44 33 N 104 50 54 W 38 74250 N 104 84833 W 38 74250 104 84833 Coordinates 38 44 33 N 104 50 54 W 38 74250 N 104 84833 W 38 74250 104 84833Site informationOperatorUnited States Space ForceControlled byPeterson Schriever GarrisonSite historyBuiltMay 18 1961 February 8 1966In useCheyenne Mountain Complex 1 14 NORAD Cheyenne Mountain Complex January 20 1965 1 14 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 Aerospace Defense Command ADCOM Air Force Systems Command Air Weather Service and Federal Emergency Management FEMA The complex s communication center is also used by the nearby U S Civil Defense Warning Center 8 Contents 1 Facilities 1 1 Main chambers 1 2 Blast doors 1 3 Outdoor 1 4 Support area 2 History 2 1 Construction and systems installation 2 2 Operations and improvements 2 2 1 Air Defense Command satellite systems 2 2 2 Ballistic Missile Defense Center 2 2 3 Combat Operations Center 2 2 4 Space Defense Operations Center 2 2 5 Cheyenne Mountain Complex Improvements Program 427M 2 2 6 Joint Surveillance System 2 2 7 Survivable Communications Integration System 2 2 8 Other systems 2 3 Peterson and Vandenberg Air Force Bases 2 4 NORAD Alternate Command 2 5 Migration of NORAD communications to Cheyenne Mountain 3 Units 4 In popular culture 4 1 Movies 4 2 Television 4 3 Video Games 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 External linksFacilities EditMain chambers Edit 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 15 m wide 60 5 feet 20 m high and 588 feet 180 m long intersected by 4 cross tunnels 32 feet 10 m wide 56 feet 17 m high and 335 feet 100 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 high altitude Department of Defense facility certified to be able to sustain an 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 Edit The 25 ton North 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 citation needed 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 Edit The exterior North Portal protects the eastward tunnel opening The south opening has a concrete abutment 15 Outside of the military complex are the parking lots a fire station 16 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 Edit The complex has its own power plant heating and cooling system and water supply 12 The 21st Mission Support Group 17 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 EditConstruction and systems installation Edit Main article Construction of the Cheyenne Mountain Complex 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 18 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 19 c In 1957 the Strategic Air Command began construction in New England inside Bare Mountain for a hardened bunker to contain the command post for the 8th Air Force which was located at nearby 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 21 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 18 18 by Utah Construction amp Mining Company 22 The Space Defense Center and the Combat Operations Center achieved full operational capability on February 6 1967 The total cost was 142 4 million 18 20 23 Its systems included a command and control system developed by Burroughs Corporation The electronics and communications system centralized and automated the instantaneous one millionth of a second evaluation of aerospace surveillance data 24 The Space Defense Center moved from Ent AFB to the complex in 1965 18 20 The NORAD Combat Operations Center was fully operational April 20 1966 1 15 and The Space Defense Command s 1st Aerospace Control Squadron moved to Cheyenne Mountain that month 25 The following systems or commands became operational between May and October 1966 The NORAD Attack Warning System 18 20 Combat Operations Command 1 19 and Delta I computer system which recorded and monitored every detected space system 1 19 By January 4 1967 the National Civil Defense Warning Center was in the bunker 11 Operations and improvements Edit Air Defense Command satellite systems Edit System Development Corporation updated Air Defense Command satellite information processing systems for 15 850 542 on January 19 1973 1 26 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 26 Ballistic Missile Defense Center Edit 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 27 Combat Operations Center Edit 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 28 5 Space Defense Operations Center Edit 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 29 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 30 54 SPADATS was deactivated about 1980 although some of its logic continued on in SPADOC systems 31 Cheyenne Mountain Complex Improvements Program 427M Edit 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 32 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 32 28 39 There were three major segments of the 427M system the Communication System Segment CSS NORAD Computer System NCS and Space Computational Center SCC 33 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 28 9 The Command Center Processing System s original UNIVAC 1106 re purposed for Mission Essential Back up Capability MEBU 28 9 was upgraded to the more robust UNIVAC 1100 42 30 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 34 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 35 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 36 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 37 15 The five improvement programs were the CCPDS Replacement CCPDS R CSS Replacement CSS R Granite Sentry upgrade SCIS and SPADOC 4 38 SPADOC 4 was for upgrading the SCC with primary and backup 3090 200J mainframes 38 and SPADOC 4 block A achieved initial operating capability IOC in April 1989 39 The CSS R first element achieved IOC on April 12 1991 40 and the 427M system was replaced c 1992 The CSSR SCIS Granite Sentry CCPDS R and their interfaces were tested in 1997 Testing of Granite Sentry nuclear detonation NUDET data processing system found it to be inadequate 32 Joint Surveillance System Edit 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 41 Survivable Communications Integration System Edit 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 42 2 9 10 Other systems Edit By 1992 the U S Space Command Space Surveillance Center SSC was the data analysis and tracking center for Baker Nunn camera images 43 and Cheyenne Mountain was connected to the AN URC 117 Ground Wave Emergency Network GWEN 42 16 communication site in Pueblo Colorado By 1995 the AN FPS 129 HAVE STARE Globus II radar in California had been upgraded to relay data to Cheyenne Mountain 44 b and by October 1995 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 45 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 46 Plans to house the USSPACECOM and NORAD command centers in the same location began by July 1994 47 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 48 The Combatant Commander s Integrated Command and Control System CCIC2S program began in 2000 with a Lockheed Martin 49 contract to upgrade all of the mission systems within Cheyenne Mountain which included the space surveillance systems for delivery in 2006 38 11 The portion of CCIC2S modernizing attack warning systems within Cheyenne Mountain was to cost more than 700 million from fiscal years 2000 to 2006 50 and the delayed CCIC2S upgrades for space surveillance were superseded when by systems for the Joint Space Operations Center s Space C2 program and Integrated Space Situational Awareness program 38 11 By 2003 consoles for the Ground Based Mid Course Defense GMD had been contracted for Cheyenne Mountain 51 and the planned 18 month Cheyenne Mountain Realignment to move Command Center operations to Peterson AFB 52 was complete by May 13 2008 53 On August 3 2011 a ribbon cutting was held for the January 2010 June 30 2011 Missile Warning Center renovation funded by USSTRATCOM 54 Over the years the installation came to house elements of the North American Aerospace Defense Command NORAD U S Strategic Command 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 Edit On July 28 2006 the Cheyenne Mountain Directorate d was re designated as the Cheyenne Mountain Division with the mission to assist in establishing an integrated NORAD and USNORTHCOM Command Center within the headquarters building at Peterson Air Force Base 6 The Unified Space Vault and the Space Control Center were moved from Cheyenne Mountain to the Joint Space Operations Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base about October 2007 56 8 In 2006 NORAD relocated to a basement 57 in the Peterson No 2 building at the nearby Peterson AFB Northern Command and Space Command 57 and Canadian military defense partners relocated at Peterson 58 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 59 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 Edit 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 60 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 61 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 Edit In early 2015 Admiral William E Gortney commander of NORAD and NORTHCOM announced a 700 million contract with Raytheon to move systems into the complex to shield it from electromagnetic pulse attack with additional work to be done at 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 62 63 64 Units EditElectronic Systems Division Detachment 10 at Ent AFB became the Cheyenne Mountain Complex Management Office CMCMO in 1963 1 the year the Chidlaw Combined Operations Center began operations and on February 15 1980 ESD Detachment 2 was established 1 at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex Det 2 became the AFSC focal point during the Cheyenne Mountain Upgrade 39 Aerospace Defense Command organizations in the bunker became a specified command when the major command ended in 1980 e g the J31 unit of HQ NORAD ADCOM subsequently manned the Space Surveillance Center in the same room as the Missile Warning Center separated by partitions 41 The HQ Cheyenne Mountain Support Group was activated at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex in October 1981 41 to support the Aerospace Defense Center s operation of the NORAD combat operations center 65 In 1983 the Foreign Technology Division had an operating location at the bunker 66 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 67 By 1995 a missile operations section supported the missile warning center 48 and in 2001 the 1989 1CACS at the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station was renamed the 1st Space Control Squadron 68 On June 24 1994 when the Joint Task Force Cheyenne Mountain Operations organization was brought online to take responsibility for the installation Brig Gen Donald Peterson was the commander of the JTF 69 which was renamed the U S Space Command Cheyenne Mountain operations center by March 1995 44 a the unit had an exercise branch in June 1996 70 On July 28 2006 the Cheyenne Mountain Realignment 56 redesignated the Cheyenne Mountain Directorate to the Cheyenne Mountain Division 71 Circa 2004 the bunker included the 17th Test Squadron s Detachment 2 and AFTAC s research laboratory 72 in 2008 Detachment 1 of the 392d Training Squadron operated the Cheyenne Mountain Training System CMTS 73 and in 2011 the installation s 721st SFS was expanded 74 In popular culture EditMovies Edit WarGames 1983 is set partly at the command center where it was called Crystal Palace 75 Television Edit Stargate SG 1 Stargate Command is located at Cheyenne Mountain 76 There is now a broom closet in the real Cheyenne Mountain Complex called Stargate Command 77 The bunker is also a setting in the series Jeremiah 78 Video Games Edit 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 See also EditKosvinsky Kamen a potential Soviet Russian counterpart Mount Yamantau a potential Soviet Russian counterpart Canada portal War portal Colorado portalNorth American Aerospace Defense Command Raven Rock Mountain Complex Aerospace Defense Command United States Space Command Related Colorado Springs military installations Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station Peterson Air Force Base Ent Air Force Base Chidlaw BuildingNotes Edit The entire installation at Cheyenne Mountain was designated the Cheyenne Mountain Air Station citation needed and 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 The fire station is located at 38 44 26 N 104 50 23 W 38 74056 N 104 83972 W 38 74056 104 83972 16 The Gaither Report for instance called for development of ballistic missile programs early warning systems and other defensive strategies 20 The Cheyenne Mountain Directorate was previously called the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center 55 References Edit a b c d e f g h i j Del Papa Dr E Michael Warner Mary P October 1987 A Historical Chronology of the Electronic Systems Division 1947 1986 PDF Report Archived PDF from the original on December 24 2013 Retrieved 2012 07 19 City Council Districts Colorado Springs Colorado Retrieved on December 10 2017 This shows the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station as outside the city limits Orban Staff Sgt Brian February 1995 The trip wire Guardian Air Force Space Command 6 City The Gazette Colorado Springs CO February 5 2000 Archived from the original on March 29 2015 Retrieved February 19 2015 Joseph Angelo 31 October 2013 Dictionary of Space Technology Routledge p 276 ISBN 978 1 135 94402 5 a b c d e f g h Cheyenne Mountain Complex North American Aerospace Defense Command NORAD April 26 2013 Archived from the original on February 20 2015 Retrieved February 20 2015 This article incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain Zubeck Pam June 16 2006 Cheyenne Mountain s fate may lie in study contents The Gazette Colorado Springs Archived from the original on January 15 2012 Retrieved 2012 07 22 a b Joseph Angelo 31 October 2013 Dictionary of Space Technology Routledge p 70 ISBN 978 1 135 94402 5 North American Aerospace Defense Command gt About NORAD gt Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station www norad mil a b Finley Bruce 2006 12 26 Military to put Cheyenne Mountain on standby The Denver Post Retrieved 2012 08 01 a b c America s Defense Tied to City in Mountain Google News Archive The Lewiston Daily Sun Lewiston Maine January 4 1967 Retrieved August 29 2012 a b Johnson Lea July 30 2012 721st MSG activates squadron appoints leadership Air Force Space Command Retrieved July 3 2016 a b c d e f g h i America s Fortress Cheyenne Mountain NORAD live on CNET June 27 2009 Retrieved January 29 2013 a b Peterson Air Force Support Squadron CMAFS Peterson Air Force Base Retrieved February 20 2015 Cheyenne Mountain Google designated summit Map Google Maps Retrieved 2012 07 22 a b Cheyenne Mountain NORAD Air Force Station Fire Department Geographic Names Information System United States Geological Survey United States Department of the Interior Retrieved July 25 2012 721st MSG inactivates realigns with 21st MSG Peterson Air Force Base a b c d e A Brief History of NORAD PDF Office of History North American Aerospace Defense Command NORAD December 31 2012 Archived from the original 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Complex Operations Center Overview Space Operations Orientation Course Handbook Third ed Peterson AFB 21st Crew Training Squadron p 1 Orban SSgt Brian July 1994 Outstanding Guardian a b Orban SSgt Brian February 1995 The trip wire Guardian Air Force Space Command p 6 Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center CMOC TheLivingMoon com mirror webpage of former Official Site Retrieved 2012 08 09 Defense Acquisitions Further Management and Oversight Changes Needed for Efforts to Modernize Cheyenne Mountain Attack Warning Systems GAO 06 666 Report GAO July 6 2006 cited by GAO 07 803R p 1 ref 4 af Near Term Command and Control of Homeland Air and Missile Defense PDF Dtic mil Archived PDF from the original on December 24 2013 Retrieved 2012 11 27 Homeland Security Roles and Missions for United States Northern Command CRS Report for Congress Order Code RL34342 Report Congressional Research Service January 28 2008 Retrieved 2012 07 22 Harrell Eben June 27 2008 Still Training for the End of the World Time Archived from the original on July 29 2008 Retrieved 2012 07 28 Cheyenne Mountain unveils renovated Missile Warning Center Colorado Springs Military Newspaper Group CSMNG 2011 08 17 Retrieved 2012 10 02 Defense Infrastructure Full Costs and Security Implications of Cheyenne Mountain Realignment Have Not Been Determined GAO 07 803R PDF Government Accounting Office May 21 2007 a b D Agostino Davi M May 21 2007 Defense Infrastructure Full Costs and Security Implications of Cheyenne Mountain Realignment Have Not Been Determined PDF Report United States General Accounting Office GAO 07 803R Retrieved 2012 09 09 a b Dangerous move for NORAD The Washington Times Retrieved 9 December 2014 Military to put Cheyenne Mountain on standby Denverpost com 2006 07 27 Retrieved 9 December 2014 Cheyenne Mountain HowStuffWorks HowStuffWorks 2007 08 28 Retrieved 9 December 2014 North American Aerospace Defense Command Norad mil Retrieved 9 December 2014 PETERSON AFB Mybaseguide com Retrieved 9 December 2014 US aerospace command moving comms gear back to Cold War bunker Yahoo News AFP 7 April 2015 Retrieved 9 April 2015 NORAD Moving Comms Gear Back To Mountain Bunker Sightline Media Group April 8 2015 Retrieved 8 January 2016 Weisgerber Marcus 7 April 2015 NORAD Moving Comms Gear Back To Mountain Bunker National Journal Group Inc Retrieved 8 January 2016 Lepingwell John W R June 1986 Soviet Assessments of North American Air Defense Research Report No 86 2 p Report MIT Center for International Studies Soviet Security Studies Working Group Archived PDF from the original on December 24 2013 Retrieved 2012 07 31 Fennessy D 12 January 1983 Analysis of Cosmos 1220 and Cosmos 1306 Fragments Secret Report AH 23 Report Cheyenne Mountain Colorado FTD OLAI Hall SSgt Jesse April 1991 Mapping the mountain Space Trace The Air Force Space Command Magazine funded Air Force newspaper p 12 at Cheyenne Mountain AFB Amn Steven H Leser is currently working a pet project that offers engineers a three dimensional drawing of Cheyenne Mountain s interior CES airmen is first termer of year Space Trace 13 March 1992 additional article on March 1992 p 13 identifies the 47th Communications Group Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Base 1 Space Control Squadron AFSPC AFHRA af mil Archived from the original USAF Fact Sheet on 2014 12 19 Retrieved 2012 09 22 author not identified July 1994 Joint Task Force activates Guardian p 12 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a author has generic name help Recognizing its best Guardian June 1996 Cheyenne Mountain Complex North American Aerospace Defense Command NORAD mil Archived from the original on 2012 07 26 Retrieved 2012 07 19 AFSPC Cheyenne Mountain AFS Energystar gov Retrieved 2013 01 24 mirror website of c 2004 webpage at www cheyennemountain af mil 1 Schriever Air Force Base Brochure PDF Schriever af mil Archived from the original PDF on 11 June 2014 Retrieved 9 December 2014 United States Air Force Fiscal Year 2011 Force Structure Announcement PDF Public Affairs verification needed Archived from the original AFA org webpage on 2012 09 16 Retrieved 2012 11 27 David Lowe Tony Joel January 21 2014 Remembering the Cold War Global Contest and National Stories Routledge p 53 ISBN 978 1 317 91259 0 Philipp Kneis 2010 The Emancipation of the Soul Memes of Destiny in American Mythological Television Peter Lang p 78 ISBN 978 3 631 60817 3 Cheyenne Mountain Nuclear Bunker Atlas Obscura David C Wright Jr Allan W Austin 6 April 2010 Space and Time Essays on Visions of History in Science Fiction and Fantasy Television McFarland p 165 ISBN 978 0 7864 5634 5 External links Edit Media related to Cheyenne Mountain Complex at Wikimedia Commons External images construction scaffolding c 1972 Space Defense Center BMDC Operations Room p 12 4 Space Computational Center landform viewed from Ent AFB site 1970s exterior footage minute 6 50 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cheyenne Mountain Complex 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