Cheyenne Mountain and the NORAD Complex

CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN AND THE NORAD COMPLEX In January of 1956, Gen. Earle E. Partridge, Commander in Chief of what was then the Continental Air Defense Command, laid the groundwork for the United States Department of Defense requirement for a new underground combat operations center. The old above-ground center, located on Ent Air Force Base Colo., was too small to manage the growing air defense system and was highly vulnerable to sabotage or attack. This new combat operations center was to be remote from other prime targets and hardened to withstand a thermonuclear blast. Studies and analyses showed that a command center hollowed out of Cheyenne Mountain in the Colorado Springs area was the best solution and could be done at a reasonable cost. To oversee this new command center and the entire air defense network of the United States and Canada, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) was established. On May 12, 1958, the first NORAD agreement was signed by both countries, providing a framework for cooperative defense planning and operations between both governments. Excavation began for the new NORAD Combat Operations Center in Cheyenne Mountain in May 1961. The excavation was nearly complete one year later except for the repair of a geological fault in the ceiling which was completed in May 1964. On February 6, 1966, the NORAD Combat Operations Center attained full operational capability. Operations were transferred from Ent Air Force Base to Cheyenne Mountain on April 20, 1966. The total cost of the project was $142.4 million. In early 1979, the Air Force established a Space Defense Operations Center to counter the emerging Soviet anti-satellite threat. Although the space defense capabilities and systems established in Cheyenne Mountain were in their infancy, this marked the beginning of an increasing role in space. The evolution continued into the 1980s when Air Force Space Command was created and tasked with the Air Force Space mission. Air Force Space Command formed the Space Combat Operations staff which absorbed control of the space/missile warning activities in Cheyenne Mountain. In April 1981, Space Defense Operations Center crews and their worldwide sensors, under the direction of Air Defense Command, supported the first flight of the space shuttle. Cheyenne Mountain has continued to support every shuttle mission since. The evolution continues into the 1990s. In the latter part of the 1980s, the air sovereignty mission received renewed emphasis and continues to play a role today in working with U.S. and Canadian Customs Agencies. The Air Defense Operations Center uses its air defense network to provide surveillance and control of air operations to North America and unknown traffic. Today the NORAD Combat Operations Center has evolved into the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center which collects data from a worldwide system of satellites, radars, and other sensors and processes that information on sophisticated computer systems to support critical NORAD and U.S. Space Command missions. The Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center provides warning of ballistic missile or air attacks against North America, assists the air sovereignty mission for the United States and Canada, and, if necessary, is the focal point for air defense operations to counter enemy bombers or cruise missiles. In support of the U.S. Space Command mission, the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center provides a day-to-day picture of precisely what is in space and where it is located. The Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center also supports space operations, providing critical information such as collision advoidance data for space shuttle flights and troubleshooting satellite interference problems. Since the Persian Gulf War, the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center has continuted to play a viatal and expanding role in supporting our deployed forces with warning for short-range ballistic missiles such as the Iraqi SCUDs. Cheyenne Mountain operations are conducted by six centers manned 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The centers are: Command Center, Air Defense Operations Center, Missile Warning Center, Space Control Center, Combined Intelligence Watch Center, and the Systems Center. Command Center The Command Center is the heart of operations in Cheyenne Mountain. In this center, the Command Director and his crew serve as the NORAD and U.S. Space Command Commander in Chief's direct representative for monitoring, processing, and interpreting missile, space or air events which could have operational impacts on our forces or capabilities, or could be potential threats to North America or U.S. and allied forces overseas. The Command Center is linked directly to the National Command Authorities of both the U.S. and Canada as well as to rregional command centers overseas. When required, the Command Director must consult directly with the NORAD and U.S. Space Command Commander in Chief for time-critical assessments of missile, air, and space events; he takes action to ensure the Commander in Chief's response and direction are properly conveyed and executed. Air Defense Operations Center The Air Defense Operations Center provides command and control for the air surveillance and air defense network for North America. In 1994, they monitored over 700 "unknown" radar tracks entering North American airspace. Many of these were subsequently identified as friendly aircraft that had erred from flight plans or used improper procedures. Yet nearly 100 were idenfified as illegal drug-carrying aircraft that were subsequently prosecuted by the U.S. and Canadian Drug Enforcement Agencies. Missile Warning Center The Missile Warning Center uses a worldwide sensor and communications network to provide warning of missile attacks, either long or short range, launched against North America or our forces overseas. The Missile Warning Center is divided into "strategic" and "theater" sections. The strategic section forcuses on information regarding missile launches anywhere on earth which are detected by the strategic missile warning system and which could be a potential threat to Canada or the U.S. The theater section focuses on short-range missile launches processed by a Theater Event System which monitors missile launches in areas or theater which could threaten U.S./allied forces, such as when Iraqi SCUD missiles threatened our troops in Operation Desert Storm. Cheyenne Mountain's capabilities to provide timely and accurate warning and cueing for defensive systems such as the Patriot batteries have improved considerably since Desert Storm and continue to improve as new computer and communications systems are added to Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center. Space Control Center The Space Control Center supports the space control missions of space surveillance and protection of our assets in space. This center was formed in March 1994 through the combination of the Space Surveillance Center and Space Defensive Operations Center. The Space Control Center's primary objective in performing the surveillance mission is to detect, track, identify, and catalog all man-made objects in space. The Center maintains a current computerized catalog of all orbiting space objects, charts objects, charts present position, plots future orbital paths, and forecasts times and general locations for significant objects reentering the Earth's atmosphere. Since 1957, over 24,000 space objects have been cataloged, many of which have since reentered the atmosphere. Currently, there are about 8,000 on-orbit objects being tracked by the Space Control Center. The Center's protection mission is accomplished by compiling information on possible hostile threats which could directly or indirectly threaten U.S./allied space assets. This information is then analyzed to determine effects/impacts of these threats to our assets in space so that timely warning and countermeasure recommendations can be made. A good example of this mission is our constant protection of the space shuttle while in orbit, by providing collision avoidance information for NASA. Combined Intelligence Watch Center The Combined Intelligence Watch serves aas the nation's indications and warning center for worldwide threats from space, missile, and strategic air activity, as well as geopolitical unrest that could affect North America and U.S. forces/interests abroad. The Watch gathers intelligence information to assist all the Cheyenne Mountain work centers in correlating and analyzing events to support NORAD and U.S. Space Command decision makers. Systems Center The Systems Center ensures continuity of operations throughout the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center by providing communications and computer systems management for over 100 computer systems and 600 communications circuits in support of NORAD and U.S. Space Command missile warning, space control, and air defense missions. This center is also responsible for monitoring all environmental systems maintained within Cheyenne Mountain, to include electrical power generation, water purity, integration of communications and computer systems testing, operator and maintenance technician training, and maintenance of all Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center communications and computer systems. Weather Support Unit The Weather Support Unit, located on Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., provides weather reports to the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center Command Director on a 24-hour-a-day basis. The Weather Support Unit performs continuous meteorological monitoring of terrestrial, geophysical, and solar (space) weather elements which could affect NORAD and U.S. Space Command units, their missions, and equipment. Cheyenne Mountain Security and Reliability The United States? strategic warning system is completely secure to unauthorized interference. It is a self-contained warning system using stand-alone computers and dedicated communication circuits. In addition, cryptological (scrambling) devices are employed at both ends of every communication circuit. There are over 1,100 military and civilian personnel working in the Mountain. Although Cheyenne Mountain would probably not survive a direct hit from today?s accurate and high-yield nuclear weapons, it could survive lower yield nuclear and conventional weapons impact. It is also well protected against other actions such as sabotage and terrorism. It is self-sustaining, capable of providing its own power, water, air, and food for up to 800 people for 30 days. The Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center comprises the largest and most complex command and control network in the world. The system uses satellites, microwave radio routes, and fiber optic links to transmit and receive vital communications. The bulk of electronic information is transmitted by two blast-hardened microwave antennas and two underground coaxial cables. Most of this information is data sent from the worldwide space surveillance and warning network directly to computers inside the Mountain. Redundant and survivable communications hot lines connect the Command Center to the Pentagon, White House, U.S. Strategic Command, Canadian Forces Headquarters in Ottawa, other aerospace defense system command posts, and major military centers around the world. Cheyenne Mountain Operating Costs A Cheyenne Mountain Complex cost analysis was conducted by the Air Force Audit Agency in May 1995. The audit established the total annual operating cost for Cheyenne Mountain in 1994 at $152 million. Of this total, the mission costs accounted for about 80 percent, with only 20 percent being facility related. In fact, there are some costs which are unique to Cheyenne Mountain operations. Two noncommissioned officers are required to tighten bolts which provide strength to the rock walls, and three noncommissioned officers maintain the blast door pneumatic valves. Heating is actually a "negative cost" since the Mountain is heated as a by-product of the heat generated by its computers. Also, since there are only two entrances to the Mountain, security requirements are minimal. The audit concluded that there are very few costs unique to the Mountain and that mission expenses drive the Mountain costs, not the location. For the past 29 years, Cheyenne Mountain has sustained a constant vigil over the North American continent, guarding against attacks from land, sea, air, and space. The Mountain continues to evolve in an ever-changing environment effectively and efficiently, supporting not only critical national defense missions for the U.S. and Canada, but also space support and theater defense missions worldwide. Source information used with permission from the Department Of The Air Force

now this complex really impresses me under all that rock and yet very operational

Cheyenne Mountain would probably not survive a direct hit from today�s accurate and high-yield nuclear weapons, it could survive lower yield nuclear and conventional weapons impact.

Does anyone have infomation on this subject as to what the complex would stand up to and what modern nukes would do to the mountain .

I'm sure my dad does. I live less than a mile away from Cheyenne Mountain on Ft. Carson. It's practically in my Backyard. He was supposed to get a job in NORAD when we moved here, but his orders changed. He probably wouldn't type anything here on ATS as he does not believe me when I say this is a Authentic conspiracy site.

wouldn't type anything here on ATS as he does not believe me when I say this is a Authentic conspiracy site

I would like to read what your dad has to say on the subject and also out of intrest what does your dad say is a Authentic conspiracy site and why in this one not

Cheyenne mountains official page:
www.cheyennemountain.af.mil...
LOL, notice "https".


www.fas.org...
www.globalsecurity.org...

Thanks for the reply E.T good of you to hunt the infomation i was after.

Originally posted by dwh0

Does anyone have infomation on this subject as to what the complex would stand up to and what modern nukes would do to the mountain .

From the bits I remeber from the tour I once took there 20+ years ago, it was designed to survive a close proximity blast. Remember back when it was built the CEP of warheads were pretty big. But I think with the accuracies of todays a direct hit would collapse the tunnel systems that leads to it. Its an impressive structure none the less with the huge blast doors and the giant springs that the building was mounted on.

Originally posted by FredT
From the bits I remeber from the tour I once took there 20+ years ago, it was designed to survive a close proximity blast. Remember back when it was built the CEP of warheads were pretty big. But I think with the accuracies of todays a direct hit would collapse the tunnel systems that leads to it.

Bigger bombs literally vaporise big chunk of rock so with direct hits it could be destroyed easily.

koti.mbnet.fi...

Originally posted by E_T
Bigger bombs literally vaporise big chunk of rock so with direct hits it could be destroyed easily.

No doubt, but some of the earlier ICBM designs were not much more than glorified SCUDs fo thier accuracy made a direct hit alot harder than they are today. I don't think they ever really believed that it would survive a direct hit from say a hydrogen bomb or large warhead. But it could shake off near misses. Not sure about the entrances etc though.

For me NORAD is a fond childhood memory, My father worked for the Department of Defense in the 60's before his stroke. He was head of security at the time, I was only 5, He took me to work on occasion(to give my mom a break or to show me off?)Ican still hear the air raid sierns & him running to make it inside the steel doors as they were losing & handing me to his secetary. I miss him.

I think it's disgusting that there are complexes like this. This is such a misappropriation of money, energy and time and it reflects poorly upon the desire of some humans to hurt, maim , kill and control others.

Yes, the engineering feat is impressive, but imagine if we all banded (and bonded) together and put our efforts into educating, feeding, healing and housing. I realise I am an idealist.

I would also like to say that I am not anti-American. I dislike the regime, not the general populace. I realise that there are other countries which also disproportionately spend on defense and offense.

It makes me sad

Originally posted by ChChKiwi
I think it's disgusting that there are complexes like this. This is such a misappropriation of money, energy and time and it reflects poorly upon the desire of some humans to hurt, maim , kill and control others.

Yes, the engineering feat is impressive, but imagine if we all banded (and bonded) together and put our efforts into educating, feeding, healing and housing. I realise I am an idealist.

I would also like to say that I am not anti-American. I dislike the regime, not the general populace. I realise that there are other countries which also disproportionately spend on defense and offense.

It makes me sad

The unfortunate part is if America was to give itself up like that, a lot of countries would take advantage of that vulnerability. NORAD isn't a waste of money when it's protecting the United States from Nuclear Missiles and such.

It's like having a knife while out camping. Handy tool for survival if needed.

Yes, I am well aware of that and that is why it makes me sad. We have made such an uncomfortable bed to lie in, but it's the only bed we have now.
That's why it makes me sad.

I can just imagine some imaginary ultimate being:
Oh those Humans, they had such potential!

Hi, what the OP did not mention is that they have expanded NORAD over the last couple years. The add on is located at Peterson Air Force Base just South East of the Springs.

When I was there last they were developing technology to monitor every kind of Federally owned and state owned vehicle with GPS tracking. Their software will track the location of every ambulance, fire truck, police car etc.

The situation they were comparing they were preparing for is a dirty bomb. This would track the biological agents with the current weather and would track where it is spread with the wind etc. They would know which areas are safe and which are not.

What we see going on right now however, is that they have integrated this system with the recent Hurricanes and FEMA.

Oh, and there are ways of getting into this underground complex, without entering the main gate.

It's really hard to get a fix on just what Cheyenne Mountain could survive. I know much about our nuclear testing program, and the results of damage tests against all variety of targets. Atomic and thermonuclear weapons are devastating effective primarily against UNPROTECTED, or "soft" targets -- cities, industrial complexes, and standard military bases. The blast of even high-yield thermonuclear detonations tend to lose effectiveness markedly against hardened targets.

And Cheyenne Mountain is the ultimate "hard" target -- it was specifically designed with high-yield thermonuclear weapons in mind. While some have dismissed Cheyenne Mountain as being unable to survive a direct hit, I have my doubts about such claims, which are usually politically motivated. As for the opinions of nuclear weaponeers and military engineers who actually designed the site, I've seen survival estimates ranging as high as 30 megaton weapon detonation within a half-mile. This may be the most optomistic estimate, but it is FAR FAR more than any nuclear weapon any nation in the "Nuclear Club" keeps in it's arsenal.

The nominal thermonuclear warhead at the time Cheyenne Mountain was built was only 3 megatons (anything else was considered overkill), and even that figure has moved down to the 1.2 megaton range now for your nominal nuke. I have strong doubts that even the most accurate 3 megaton nuclear detonation could destroy the complex. True, the Soviets did once detonate a 50 megaton monster bomb ("Tsar Bomba" as it was dubbed), but the highest the US ever detonated was 14 megatons. These huge nukes were experimental models that were considered highly unnecessary overkill, and were never deployed in any delivery system.

Judging from our long series of thermonuclear tests, both above ground and underground, that took place from the Fifties to the early 90's, I think folks would be surprised how blast resistant a strong geologic feature, such as a granite dome, could be. One must remember that most of the blast is vented up and to the sides, NOT into the ground. For instance, our largest thermonuclear test ever, Ivy Mike at 14 megatons, did vaporize the test island it occurred on, and created a crater roughly 300 feet across and 100 deep -- but that was into relatively soft volcanic material of the island's base.

With that in mind, it's hard to visualize even that large a weapon being able to "evacuate" much material in the largely granite Cheyenne Mountain -- no matter how "accurate" the hit is. Even our higher-yield underground tests simply cannot do that much "excavating" -- and remember, the Cheyenne Mountain complex is shielded by up to 2,000 feet of granite. Also, our extensive nuclear test program revealed that nukes do most damage thru direct blast effect, and Cheyenne Mountain's main tunnel design was used to minimize the direct blast effects on the blast doors -- most of the blast would rip through the tunnel, but NOT "hit" the blast doors directly. Technically, even a complete tunnel collapse would not effect the complex itself, and Cheyenne Mountain is designed with at least one "escape route" completely independent of the main tunnel.

How survivable the sensitive electronic systems of Cheyenne Mountain are to a close-by nuclear blast is another matter entirely. No doubt a direct hit would send a shock-wave through the whole mountain that would disable much electronic equipment. Thus the very "reason for being" might be taken away, with NORAD effectively blinded. But I think the actual survivability of the Cheyenne Mountain complex itself is very high -- much higher than some have led the public to believe.

reply to post by E_T


While not a structural engineer, I do have great familiarity with America's nuclear testing program, particularly effects tests on structures and excavating tests. I do not believe even a "direct hit" on Cheyenne Mountain by an ICBM warhead could physically destroy the complex, or even inflict serious structural damage. The damage to sensitive electronic equipment, however, could seriously compromise the ability of the complex to fulfill it's mission.

Some experts have claimed that Cheyenne Mountain could structurally survive up to a 40 megaton "near miss" (1/2 mile) -- which is of course far above the yield of nominal thermonuclear weapons used by any nation. The yield of a nominal ICBM thermonuclear warhead at the time Cheyenne Mountain was built was only 3 megatons. Against a relatively hard target like thousands of feet of pure granite, even a "direct hit" would have little more effect than such a "near miss". No burrowing warhead ("bunker buster") could plow very deep into the solid granite dome of Cheyenne Mountain....I'm guessing maybe 40 feet maximum.

When one reviews the actual damage done in different geological sites, even in the largest US thermonuclear tests (up to 15 megatons, which was the Ivy-Mike yield, the largest thermonuclear detonation ever by the U.S.) one cannot avoid the conclusion that Cheyenne Mountain is VERY survivable. Ivy-Mike was 15 megatons on a relatively soft sand and coral test island. True, the island was completely obliterated, but the crater of Ivy-Mike was approximately 300 feet diameter and 100 feet deep. As I recall, the complex at Cheyenne Mountain is up to 4,000 feet deep under solid granite.

As in ANY detonation -- conventional, atomic, or thermonuclear -- most of the blast effect is through the air (above and to the sides of the detonation), not into the ground itself. This is why when considering atomic or thermonuclear devices for excavating purposes of civil engineering projects, buried devices were necessary, otherwise most of the blast effect was wasted. Operation Plowshare specifically tested these devices; always with devices in boreholes. Even the optimal depth of the device was determined, beyond which cratering effects actually lessened. And of course when testing moved underground after 1963, the results of deeper detonations on various geological features, although secondary to the purpose of the tests, could be well viewed. In tests done in relatively harder geologic material, the "excavation" bubble, while large, was still usually under 100 feet across. This suggests the relative ineffectiveness of damage by nuclear detonations conducted underground, and even that presupposes the ability to actually place the device underground -- something not possible in an air-delivered weapon.

If one could drive a thermonuclear weapon deep into the main access tunnel running through Cheyenne Mountain, and detonate it just opposite the complex, no doubt the destruction would be great; perhaps complete. But an ICBM warhead detonated on the top or sides of the granite dome of Cheyenne Mountain would be of relatively little structural effect against the complex, bearing in mind the up to 4,000 feet of solid granite shielding the complex. I believe the main effect of even a "direct hit" by an ICBM warhead on Cheyenne Mountain would be to damage the sensitive electronic equipment the complex relies upon to complete it's mission -- but it would not compromise the physical integrity of the complex.

Originally posted by dwh0

Cheyenne Mountain would probably not survive a direct hit from today�s accurate and high-yield nuclear weapons, it could survive lower yield nuclear and conventional weapons impact.

Does anyone have infomation on this subject as to what the complex would stand up to and what modern nukes would do to the mountain .

1 megaton equals 1,000 kilotons...

A 30-megaton blast is equal to 30,000 kilotons...

The atom bomb dropped on hiroshima was 13 kilotons...

Which means that the cheyenne bunker complex is designed to withstand an atomic blast thats around 2,308 hiroshima bombs!!!

The term "us" and "them" doesnt even begin to describe the class seperation that exists between tptb and the vast majority of people,you and i,the expendable commodoties who will be left on the surface to face whatever tptb are well aware of thats coming our way,gamma ray burst? prolonged solar flares? pole shift? Axis tilt? Alien invasion?

This particular one is 2,000ft within and beneath the solid granite cheyenne mountains...

The Operations Center itself lies along one side of a main tunnel bored almost a mile through the solid granite heart of the mountain.The tunnel is designed to route the worst of a blast's shock wave out the other end,past the two 25-ton blast doors that mark one wall.The center was designed to withstand up to a 30 megaton blast within 1-nautical-mile...

Fifteen buildings,freestanding without contact with the rock walls or roofs and joined by flexible vestibule connections,make up the inner complex.Twelve of these buildings are three stories tall,the others are one and two stories.The outer shells of the buildings are made of three-eighths-inch,continuously welded low carbon steel plates which are supported by structural steel frames.Metal walls and tunnels serve to attenuate electromagnetic pulse....

The buildings in the complex are mounted on 1,319 steel springs,each weighing about 1,000 pounds,the springs allow the complex to move 12 inches in any one direction...

And they contain hospitals, dentist offices, lounges, years worth of food and drinking water, high-tech air filtration systems, climate controlled heaters and air conditioning, food courts, barber shops, physical fitness centers, dining rooms, pharmacies, saunas, sleeping quarters, ect,ect...en.wikipedia.org...

This Installtion is very impressive, its huge and its built into a mountain, thats is an engineering feat! I have been fascinated by what goes on here, apart from the Airforce and Space debris tracking I have always wondered what else they track, and what secrets to they keep at this site?