Control
Center
The
Control Center, as implied by it's name, contained the central nervous
system of the Titan I complex. Security, guidance, computing,
launches and myriad other functions were performed at the consoles and
equipment housed in this area.
A
dome-shaped structure 100 feet in diameter and 35' 9" high, the
Control Center was comprised of 2 stories.
The lower floor contained:
-
A
large maintenance area
-
A
mechanical equipment room containing air
handling equipment and monitoring and control apparatus for services
in the Control Center
-
An
electrical equipment room for the power needs of the Control
Center
-
A
dining room and pantry
-
A
latrine (of course)
-
An
"Airmen Ready Room" (not entirely sure what that means -
something along the lines of lounge I believe)
-
An
"Officer's ready room" (like above only a darn sight
better I reckon)
The upper
floor contained:
-
An
operations room containing the consoles, guidance computer and
launch clocks
-
A
communications equipment room
-
The
launch complex office (which we will later see was certainly
superfluous at some bases)
-
A
latrine and maintenance closet
|
Fig.
7 Control Center - Side aspect
|
From
the main tunnel junction the connecting tunnel slopes upward into the
Control Center-- the brain of the Titan complex. This was where the orders were received, the target selected, the countdown
initiated, the trajectory calculated and "The Button" would
ultimately have been pushed.
|
Looking
down the tunnel connecting T.J. #10 to the Control Center. Note
the supports for cable trays at left and the slots through the bulkhead
where they once ran.
The
silver conduit in the foreground is all post-operational. Some
retired Nike missileers, upon seeing this picture noticed it immediately
saying, "What the hell is that?! That lousy workmanship isn't
operational, that's for sure!"
|
|
Peering
into the Control Center's lower level. IG would not approve.
|
The
lower level was all crew quarters and environmental equipment for the
most part, the real "business" of the Titan was conducted
upstairs. We'll get there shortly, but let's see the rest of the
downstairs first.
|
Stepping
into the Control Center and looking to the left we see what was once the
ready maintenance area which held tools and a small depot of supplies
for use in the site: nuts, bolts, light bulbs, wire and other
replacement parts etc.
A
silo gnome kicks disparagingly at some debris at left. Note the absence
of graffiti in this area. Not many sites escaped the spray can so
completely as this one.
|
Looking
around the corner:
|
The
ready maintenance area again. You can see one of the ancillary
consoles which has been dropped from an open hatch in the upper
floor. Closer inspection did not reveal it's purpose but I suspect
it was part of the control monitor group or computer punch card system.
|
|
Further
inside the lower level: The airmen ready room is the door to the right
and the kitchen is straight ahead. To the immediate left is the
stairwell (not visible) to the upper level and on the right (also not
visible) are the electrical and mechanical equipment rooms.
|
The
mechanical equipment room held mostly air-handling and monitoring
equipment. Electrical motors were favorites with the salvage
contractors (or was it the Air Force?) and they yanked every last one from the mechanical
equipment room. That's where we're headed next.
|
Environmental
equipment in the mechanical equipment room.
|
This
area has been ransacked like everywhere else leaving a jumble of
ductwork and ethylene glycol conduit. Hmmm. There's a
curious hole in front of that open access panel. I wonder what it
is?
|
I
don't think I need to tell you, I didn't explore down there. It's
a sewage lift station!. Eww...
|
|
More
junk in the mechanical equipment room. The blue placard in the
center of the picture reads: "Oriad Dryer" at the top.
Best guess as to it's purpose was to remove moisture from the miles upon
miles of copper tubing that connected compressed air controlled relays
used by the HVAC systems and other equipment.
|
Stepping
back into the hall, we head to the next room...
|
These
doors were brought down from the upper level for some reason. They
didn't fare well in the move from the looks of them. Without
exception, every piece of glass like this in the site has been smashed,
sadly. This is in fact the electrical equipment room.
|
Looking
next door in the electrical equipment room, there is a lot of junk
left here by contractors that occupied the site after it was closed.
|
A
silo gnome picks through debris in the electrical equipment room.
Not much equipment left however. There is one of the consoles
setting at the left side of the picture.
|
The
console at left in this picture was once the Launch Control
Console. It has been disassembled and re-utilized by contractors
after decommissioning of the site. Unfortunately the 3 main consoles
were never removed and restored as they would have made excellent additions
to a museum.
|
The
remains of the Launch Control Console. The panel and buttons are
gone and have been replaced with some sort of firing control panel for
ballistics testing, which was conducted in the tunnels by a defense
contractor after the site's closure.
|
|
Water
has begun to infiltrate this room from the upper level. Cable
drops into the site were simply cut off and left open to the elements.
|
There's
lots left to see so click below to continue looking around the Control
Center.
Control
Center Cont.
|
Contact
| Site Map | Links |
Hosted by
InfoBunker
|
