Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex

The Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex (SRMSC) was a cluster of military facilities near Langdon, North Dakota, that supported the United States Army's Safeguard anti-ballistic missile program. The complex provided launch and control for 30 LIM-49 Spartan anti-ballistic missiles, and 70 shorter-range Sprint anti-ballistic missiles.

The deployment area of the complex covered the Minuteman launchers of the 321st Strategic Missile Wing, based at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota. Under the terms of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, the US was permitted to deploy a single ABM system protecting an area containing ICBM launchers. The total of 100 launchers and 100 missiles was the maximum permitted under the treaty.

The site achieved initial operating capability on 1 April 1975, and full operational capability on 1 October 1975 costing over $15 billion adjusted for inflation. However, on 2 October 1975, the House of Representatives voted to decommission the project, after they deemed it ineffective. The complex was deactivated on 10 February 1976, after only four months of full operational capacity. In December 2012, it was purchased by the Spring Creek Hutterite Colony of Forbes, North Dakota, at auction for $530,000. In 2020, portions of the property including the Pyramid were sold to the Cavalier County Job Development Authority (CCJDA) for $462,900. The CCJDA intends to build an interpretive historical center, restore the property, and sell or lease the pyramid to a datacenter or similar business. The Hutterite colony retains ownership of the remaining property.

The site was named for Stanley R. Mickelsen, a former commanding general of the U.S. Army Air Defense Command.

Facilities

The complex was centered on the Missile Site Radar (MSR) site, near to Nekoma, North Dakota, home to the Missile Site Radar itself, as well as the 30 Spartan missiles and 16 of the shorter-range Sprints. All missiles were held in underground launch silos.

The remaining Sprint missiles were distributed at four Remote Sprint Launchers at distances of from the Missile Site Radar. These were located at:

:RSL 1
:RSL 2
:RSL 3
:RSL 4

The Perimeter Acquisition Radar (PAR) was a separately sited phased array radar intended to detect incoming targets. The radar and site remain in service today as the Perimeter Acquisition Radar Characterization System (PARCS), located at Cavalier Air Force Station.

The MSR and PSR sites are listed in the ''Historic American Engineering Record'', a Heritage Documentation Program.Historic American Engineering Recor
HAER ND-9-B HAER ND-9-P
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Images gallery

File:Stanley R Mickelsen Safeguard complex aerial.jpg, Aerial image of the MSR site
File:Remote Sprint Launch Site No 2.jpg, Aerial image of Remote Sprint Launch Site No. 2.
File:Cavalierairforcestationparcs.jpg, The PAR, now known as EPARCS, is still in operation

References

External links

srmsc.org
- unofficial site dedicated to the Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex

- Google Earth Image of Complex
*Historic American Engineering Record documentation, all filed under Nekoma, Cavalier County, ND:
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{{Coord, 48, 35, 21.91, N, 98, 21, 24.26, W, display=title

Military installations in North Dakota
Cavalier County, North Dakota
Historic American Engineering Record in North Dakota
Anti-ballistic missiles of the United States