Portal:Spaceflight/Selected article/Week 8 2009

White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), formerly known as the "White Sands Proving Grounds", is a rocket range in New Mexico operated by the United States Army. The range covers an area of almost 3,200 mi² (8 287 km²), and gets its name from the white sands that are spread over many miles in the area. It is located in Doña Ana and Otero counties, mostly within the Tularosa Basin, but it also includes the northern reaches of the Jornada del Muerto.

Established on 9 July 1945, the range was the site of the world's first atomic weapon test on July 16, 1945 at what is now called Trinity site. V-2 rockets captured in Germany at the end of World War II were taken to WSMR for reverse engineering by the Hermes project.

In 1963 NASA established the White Sands Test Facility on the range. For the next three years NASA launched Little Joe II boosters from Launch Complex 36 at White Sands to conduct launch escape system tests for the Apollo program. More recently, the NASA Space Shuttle program has used a landing area there known as White Sands Space Harbor located about 45 miles north of WSMR headquarters. (more...)