South Dakota Attractions】What is Delta-09? Minuteman Missile National Historic Site Half-Day Travel Guide

South Dakota

Briefing on Minuteman Missile National Historic Site

Minuteman Missile National Historic SiteThe U.S. National Historic District in South Dakota is the site of dozens of U.S. nuclear bombs that were deployed in the area during the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union from 1946-1993. After the end of the Cold War, these bombs were deactivated, but two bases were left here for visitors to commemorate this period of history. Because of the remote location, it is not easy to visit here, but it is very close to the east entrance of Badlands national park. We came here becauseBadlands national parkI wanted to see what other attractions were nearby, but the content was much more interesting than expected, so I recommend everyone to come and visit if you have a chance.

The Historic site is divided into three parts: Visitor Center, Delta-01, and Delta-09. The Visitor Center introduces the history of the Cold War, so it is recommended that you come here first to have a clearer understanding of the later parts of the site, and Delta-01 and Delta-09 actually refer to the No.1 and No.9 bombs, and you can visit the control center of Delta-01 by reservation if you have time. If you have time to go to Delta-01, you can make an appointment to visit the control center, while Delta-09 you can visit the nuclear warheads on your own, which takes about half a day. These places are all on I-90, each station is about ten minutes away from each other by car, just along the east exit of Walls Township and Badlands national park, which is suitable for arranging the same trip with Badlands national park.

Visitor Center

The Visitor Center is the first stop on the tour, and it has a lot of static exhibits and videos, so it can be regarded as a museum of the Cold War.

Minuteman Missile national historic site

The history here is the history of the U.S.-Soviet nuclear race during the Cold War. From 1963 to the 1990s, the United States deployed 150 nuclear warheads and 15 control centers in South Dakota. Only two of these centers are open for tours now, but we can see a map of the past in the Visitor Center, and we're in the green section, D1. During the Cold War, both countries were so worried about war with each other that they began an arms race, and both countries deployed a considerable number of nuclear weapons. From the display, we can see the changes in the amount of nuclear weapons of the two countries, with a peak of more than 60,000 nuclear weapons. Later, when the international community realized the destructive and dangerous nature of nuclear weapons, the two countries gradually dismantled their nuclear arsenals in the 1990s, after lengthy negotiations, and only after both sides agreed to do so. The U.S. has left behind the bases and warheads (empty, of course) that were used at the time for us to see.

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The Visitor Center also describes in detail the maintenance and operation of many of the military bases of the time, where two people would work together on a mission at any given time, and where very strict safety measures were in place.

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The life of the local people during the war is also an interesting story. Since this was a military base, the people in the neighborhood had to be prepared for war at all times. During the past 50 years, every home was stocked with war food and daily necessities, and the TV program taught children to take cover in case of bombardment.cartoon movieIn addition, there were bomb shelters in homes and neighborhoods where people could hide. These are documented in the Visitor Center.

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Delta-01 Launch Control Facility

After visiting the Visitor Center, the second stop should be the Delta-01 Missile Control Center, which you need to make a reservation at the Visitor Center. Unfortunately, the center was not open during the off-season, so we could only see the control center and the original Delta-01 missiles from the outside.

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Delta-09 Missile Silo

Delta-09 nuclear warhead is the last stop and the most interesting part for military fans. We can see the actual nuclear warhead from here. Driving all the way here, you can't see the military base here at all, that's why the base is located here, the whole South Dakota is a very wide plain all the way, and the neighborhood is not very populated, if it's not for the fact that for the purpose of designing the site for the tourists to visit and put a glass cover as a sign, even if you are using aerial photography, you probably can't see what's here.

The site of the nuclear bomb is free to visit, walk along the parking lot next to the entrance to the site, although there is no on-site instructions, but the National Parks Department has made a phone and app version of the phone to listen toLanguage GuideIt is quite convenient to follow the guide and learn a lot of things for free.

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Underneath the glass cover is the actual nuclear warhead, of course it is no longer capable of attack, when disarmed the Soviets and Russians have sent people to inspect it. 10 warheads in total in the Delta nuclear cluster, Delta-09 is the ninth, are controlled by the control center of Delta-01 to launch. If the launch command is given, the cables below will be released, the cover on the ground will be opened, and the nuclear bombs can be launched.

We can also see the entrances and exits for maintenance, which look like drain covers. The yellow line on the side is for the trucks carrying the nuclear bombs to aim at, the people carrying the bombs will drop them directly from the trucks, and then the people in charge of the installation will do the rest of the work, and the whole process is designed so that different people will be in charge of each job.

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Further reading

Other Nearby Attractions



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