Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard complex

A hundred miles away from Grand Forks, North Dakota lies a pretty bizarre cluster of buildings. From the outset it looks like a massive concrete pyramid, flanked by smaller structures. This is the Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard complex, and it was built for a singular purpose: To provide launch and control for 30 LIM-49 Spartan long-range anti-ballistic missiles and 70 short-range Sprint missiles, which were positioned in underground launch silos. It was operational for a mere 24 hours and cost $6 billion. It was named after former U.S. Army Air Defense commanding general, Stanley R. Mickelsen. What makes this building so badass is that it was built to withstand a nuclear bomb. The complex could detect range in upwards of several hundred miles and would guide the Spartan and Sprint missiles to intercept any attack.  On April 1, 1975 the site was partially operational, and just a few months later it reached full operational capability, in October of that same year, and 24 hours after it became operational the House Appropriations Committee shut down the Safeguard program. In part, it was believed that should the Soviets launch a missile attack, the multiple warheads would "overwhelm the system." So, it was ultimately deemed to be ineffective. It was fully deactivated five months later. The site is now listed in the Historic American Engineering Record, a Heritage Documentation Program. The pyramid was 24-meters in height and is known as the Missile Site Radar (MSR), its purpose: To track warheads and guide interceptors. The four-sided pyramid was able to locate targets in every direction. The north-facing Perimeter Acquisition Radar (PAR) supported the MSR from 25 miles away, and was focused on Soviet missiles that were 800 miles away (i.e. once they passed over the North Pole), and the PAR was designed to "determine their trajectory and impact point."  The complex was America's first operational anti-ballistic missile defense system. This was a pretty important building during the Cold War, in part because it helped convince the Soviets to agree to the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. President Nixon's Safeguard Program was designed to "protect important strategic weapons assets," because of the fear of a Soviet-launched missile attack against America. These assets included the Minutemen ICBMs housed at Grand Forks Air Force Base. In fact, you can actually visit Minuteman Missile National Historic Site today. Many believe the Safeguard Program and the construction of the Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex was an important component to the eventual decline of hostilities between the USSR and America.  Read more: http://srmsc.org/