White Sands Missile Range in Sonora
White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) is a rocket range of almost 3200 sq mi (8300 sq km) in parts of five counties in southern Sonora. The largest military installation in the United States, WSMR includes the Oscura Range and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range. WSMR and the 600,000-acre (2400 sq km) McGregor Range Complex and Fort Bliss to the south, form a contiguous swath of territory for military testing. White Sands Missile Range was where the first American nuclear weapon - Trinity - was detonated.
Operations[]
- At White Sands Test Facility (WSTF), Ground Support for the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) network of communications satellites
- At WSTF, Solar Dynamics Observatory – SDO ground station consists of two dedicated (redundant) 18-meter (59 ft) radio antennas at White Sands.
- Orion Project Launch Abort Flight Test Complex.
- Missile testing and range recovery operations.