The Eastern Range (ER) is a rocket range that supports missile and rocket launches from the two major launch heads located at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and the Kennedy Space Center.[1]: pg 5 [2] The range has also supported Ariane launches from the Guiana Space Centre as well as providing support for launches from the Wallops Flight Facility and other lead ranges.[1]: pg 7 The range also uses instrumentation operated by NASA at Wallops Flight Facility and at Kennedy Space Center (KSC).[1]: pg 12
The Headquarters of the range is the 45th Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base.[1]: pg 1
History
editLaunches of captured V-2 rockets had been ongoing since the end of World War II at White Sands Proving Grounds in New Mexico, but it became clear that a much longer range away from heavily populated areas would be needed.[3] The Joint Research and Development Board established the Committee on the Long Range Proving Ground in October, 1946 to study locations for such a range, with three potential sites emerging: along the northern coast of Washington with a range along the Aleutian Islands; El Centro, California, with a range along the Baja peninsula; and Banana River Naval Air Station with a launch site at Cape Canaveral and a range over the Bahama's and into the Atlantic Ocean.[4][3] The Washington site was quickly discarded due to difficulties with support due to cold weather and remoteness.[4] El Centro was put forth as the primary choice (due to being close to missile manufacturers) with the Cape as second choice.[4][3] However, the El Centro site had to be abandoned after a wayward V-2 missile from White Sands crashed into a cemetery in Juarez, Mexico, leading to then Mexican President Aleman refusing to allow missiles to overfly Baja.[4][3]
Joint Long Range Proving Ground
editThe Navy transferred Banana River Naval Air Station, which had been in a caretaker status since it's deactivation in 1947, to the Air Force on September 1, 1948[[4] and it remained on standby status. On 1949-05-11, President Truman signed Public Law 60 which established the Joint Long Range Proving Ground.[4][3][5] On June 10, 1949, Banana River Naval Air Station was redesignated the Joint Long Range Proving Ground Base; Advance Headquarters, Joint Long Range Proving Ground was established as the headquarters of the range; and the Air Force Division, Joint Long Range Proving Ground was established as the headquarters of the base.[4][3][5] The Air Force Division, Joint Long Range Proving Ground (JLRPG) was established at the same time that the base was transfered from the Navy to the Air Force.[4][3][5]
Long Range Proving Ground (1949-1951)
editOn May 16, 1950 the base dropped the "Joint" in it's name due to a DOD decicion earlier in the year to put the range exclusively under Air Force jurisdiction.[4][5] The Long Range Proving Ground Base was renamed Patrick Air Force Base on August 1, 1950, in honor of Major General Mason M. Patrick.[4][3][5] On May 17, 1950, the range followed the base in dropping the "Joint" in it's name and became the Long Range Proving Ground (LRPG).[4][5] On July 24, 1950, Bumper #8 became the first missile to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, followed by Bumper #7 a few days later. [3][5] The LRPG also supported 10 LARK and 2 MATADOR cruise missile launches thru mid 1951.
Florida Missile Test Range (1951-1958)
editOn June 30, 1951, the Long Range Proving Ground became the Florida Missile Test Range (FMTR), with the managing organization, the Long Range Proving Ground Division, becoming the Air Force Missile Test Center (AFMTC).[4][3][5]
At the begining of this period, launch operations and tracking support were performed by uniformed Air Force personel exclusively. Thru the end of 1953, Air Force personel tracked at least 113 launches from the Cape, mostly MATADOR and LARK cruise missiles but including the first Redstone missile in 1953.
A cost comparison study conducted in the early 1950's indicated that the range could be run more inexpensively by using civilian contractors, and on December 31, 1953, the first range contract was signed with Pan American World Services. On February 28 1954, Pan American signed its own contract with RCA Service Company, which would operate and maintain range stations and tracking systems. Handover of equipment and tracking responsibilities was completed by July 1, 1954. During the transition period, 56 more launches were made.
For the rest of the period as the FMTR saw almost a doubling of launch operations to 333, most of which were still of winged cruise missiles, but included the first Atlases and Thors (soon to evolve into the Delta), testing of the the Polaris missile, and the launch of the first United States satellite into orbit, Explorer 1.
Atlantic Missle Range (1958-1964)
editOn May 1, 1958 The Air Force redesignated the Florida Missile Test Range as the Atlantic Missile Range (AMR).[4][3][5][6]
In October 1952, plans were approved by the Air Research and Development Command to extend the range to 5,000 miles to meet requirements for the SNARK and NAVAHO cruise missle testing requirements. Agreements were worked out with the Brazilian and British governments that extended the range to 13 stations from the Cape all the way into Ascension Island in the South Atlantic.
| Station number | Station Location | Activation Date | Deactivation Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Canaveral Air Force Station | May 11, 1949 | Currently Active | Main Launch Head of the Range |
| 2 | Jupiter Inlet, Florida | Early 1950's | ? | Same geographic area as JDMTA (station designation 28) which was activated mid to late 1980's |
| 3 | Grand Bahama | Early 1950's[8] | June 30, 1987 | (Returned to the Government of the Bahamas January 20, 1988)[8] |
| 4 | Eluthera | August 1955[8] | July 1, 1971 (transfered to Navy)[8] | |
| 5 | San Salvador | August 1955[8] | January 31, 1970 (caretaker status March 1965)[8] | |
| 6 | Mayaguana | July 18 1955[8] | June 16 1970 (all except airfield)[8] | Communications station[7] |
| 7 | Grand Turk | August 1955[8] | Early 1980's[8] | |
| 8 | Dominican Republic | December 5, 1956[8] | November 6, 1962[8] | Communications station[7] |
| 9 | Mayaguez | December 5, 1956[8] | August 1961[8] | |
| 9.1 | Antigua | October 1957[8] | Currently Active | (current station designation 91) |
| 10 | St. Lucia | December 5, 1956[8] | December 1967[8] | Communications station[7] |
| 11 | Fernando de Noronha | September 18, 1958[8] | January 14, 1969[8] | |
| 12 | Ascension | October 1957[8] | Currently Active |
Eastern Test Range (1964-1990)
editThe Atlantic Missile Range was renamed the Eastern Test Range (ETR)[9] and the Air Force Missile Test Center was redesignated the Air Force Eastern Test Range (AFETR)[4][9][5] in 1964, then control of the range was transferred to Detachment 1 of the Space and Missile Test Center located at Vandenberg Air Force Base when AFTER was deactivated on February 1, 1977, which put both the Eastern and Western ranges under the same leadership.[4][9] On 1979-10-01, control of the range passed to the newly activated Eastern Space and Missile Center (ESMC).[4][9] The ESMC was trasfered from Air Force Systems Command to Air Force Space Command on October 1, 1990. 1380 launches
Eastern Range (1990-Present)
editOn November 12, 1991 the 45th Space Wing was activated and assumed operational control for the range from ESMC;[4][9] on the same day the Eastern Test Range became the Eastern Range.[1]: pg 5 The transition on the west coast occurred one week later on November 19, 1991 when the Western Space and Missile Center became the 30th Space Wing and the Western Test Range became the Western Range.[10][11] 472 launches thru 2008
The current Range Contractor is Computer Sciences Raytheon.[12]
Current Operations
editThe Eastern Range is defined as either a geographic area of responsibility for launches extending from the east coast of the United States eastward over the Atlantic Ocean to 90 degrees East longitude[13]: pg 10 in the Indian Ocean where it meet the Western Range,[13]: pg 10 [1]: pg 5 or the Bases, tracking stations and other assets used during operations.
Patrick Air Force Base
editCape Canaveral Air Force Station
editKennedy Space Center
editJonathan Dickinson Missile Tracking Annex
editAntigua Air Station
editAscension Auxiliary Airfield
editArgentia, Newfoundland
editThe range starts at the launch pads at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and John F. Kennedy Space Center and extends eastward over the Atlantic Ocean to 90 degrees East longitude[13]: pg 10 in the Indian Ocean, where it meet the Western Range.[13]: pg 10 [1]: pg 5
The range consists of a chain of shore and sea based tracking sites. "By January 1960, the Eastern Range included 13 major stations, approximately 91 outlying sites, a fleet of ships and three marine support stations. By September 1963, the Eastern Range extended around the tip of South Africa to the island of Mahé in the Indian Ocean.[8]" Much the sea based tracking and many of the land based stations have been replaced by space based tracking, including the present TDRS. Ground stations associated with the range are located at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, John F. Kennedy Space Center, Jonathan Dickinson Missile Tracking Annex (JDMTA) in Jonathan Dickinson State Park, Antigua Air Station on the island of Antigua in the eastern Caribbean, Ascension Auxiliary Airfield on Ascension Island in the south Atlantic ocean and Argentia, Newfoundland on the grounds of the decommissioned Argentia US Navy Facility (NAVFAC) which is manned on an "as needed" basis for northerly launches.[1]: pp 12-13
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h Research Triangle Institute Center for Aerospace Technology (CAST) Florida Office (March 1999). "LAUNCH SITE SAFETY ASSESSMENT, SECTION 1.0 EASTERN RANGE GENERAL RANGE CAPABILITIES" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved 23 August 2008.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ "Eastern Range (U)" (html). Retrieved 2008-02-10.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Lethbridge, Keith. "THE MISSILE RANGE TAKES SHAPE (1949-1958)". Retrieved 2008-02-24.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Fact Sheets : EVOLUTION OF THE 45TH SPACE WING". Retrieved 2008-06-02.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Chronology of work stoppages and related events, KSC NASA and AFETR through July 1965" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-08-23.
- ^ "Historic Milestones". Retrieved 2009-06-14.
- ^ a b c d Fisher, Allan C., Jr. (October 1959). "Cape Canaveral's 6,000-mile Shooting Gallery". The National Geographic Magazine. CXVI (4): 421–471.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "Fact Sheets : Development of the 45SW Eastern Range". Retrieved 2008-01-12.
- ^ a b c d e Lethbridge, Keith. "THE HISTORY OF CAPE CANAVERAL CHAPTER 3 NASA ARRIVES (1959-PRESENT)". Retrieved 2009-08-23.
- ^ 30th SW Public Affairs. "Space Vehicles : History Office : History Office". Retrieved 2008-08-24.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "VAFB". Retrieved 2008-08-24.
- ^ http://computersciencesraytheon.com/home.html CSR homepage
- ^ a b c d Mr. Loyd C. Parker (1989). "BASELINE ASSESSMENT WESTERN SPACE AND MISSILE CENTER" (PDF). RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE CENTER FOR SYSTEMS ENGINEERING FLORIDA OFFICE for U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION OFFICE OF COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
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