:White Sands Missile Range

• The missile range was originally established in 1941 as the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range.
• On 16 July 1945, the first atomic bomb (code named Trinity) was test detonated at Trinity Site near the northern boundary of the range, seven days after the White Sands Proving Ground was officially established,{{cite web|title=White Sands Missile Range|url=http://www.astronautix.com/w/whitesands.html|access-date=26 November 2022|publisher=Astronautix.com}} near the towns of Carrizozo and San Antonio. ({{Coord|33|40.636|N|106|28.525|W|region:US-NM_type:landmark_scale:60000|display=inline}}).{{cite web |title=Trinity Site |publisher=White Sands Missile Range |url=http://www.wsmr.army.mil/pao/TrinitySite/trinst.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070806045224/http://www.wsmr.army.mil/pao/TrinitySite/Trinst.htm |archive-date=August 6, 2007 |access-date=July 16, 2007 |quote=GPS Coordinates for obelisk (exact GZ) = N33.40.636 W106.28.525}}
• After the conclusion of World War II, 100 long-range German V-2 rockets that were captured by U.S. military troops were brought to WSMR. Of these, 67 were test-fired between 1946 and 1951 from the White Sands V-2 Launching Site. (This was followed by the testing of American rockets, which continues to this day, along with testing other technologies.)
• On 15 May, 1947, a V-2 rocket fired from WSMR veered off course and landed {{convert|4|miles}} northeast of Alamogordo, New Mexico.Jim Eckles [https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/life/2022/05/15/1947-rockets-launched-white-sands-landed-alamogordo-juarez/9740356002/ (15 May 2022) Two crashes in two weeks: In 1947, rockets launched from White Sands landed in Alamogordo, Juárez]
• Exactly two weeks later, on May 29, 1947, a modified V-2 sounding rocket veered off course and crashed on top of a rocky knoll about {{convert|3.5|miles}} south of the Juárez business district, leaving a {{convert|24|feet}} deep by {{convert|50|feet}} wide crater.{{cite web |title=Remember the time we bombed Mexico with German rockets? |url=https://io9.gizmodo.com/remember-the-time-we-bombed-mexico-with-german-rockets-5909476 |website=Gizmodo|date=11 May 2012}}
• On 11 July 1970, the United States Air Force launched an Athena sounding rocket, equipped with re-entry vehicle V-123-D, from the Green River Launch Complex in Utah. While its intended target was inside of WSMR, the rocket instead flew south and impacted {{convert|180|–|200|miles}} south of the Mexican border in the Mapimi Desert in the northeastern corner of the Mexican state of Durango.{{cite news |title=USAF Accidentally Launched Rocket into Mexico's Mapimi Desert 45 Years Ago |url=https://unredacted.com/2015/07/13/usaf-accidentally-launched-rocket-into-mexicos-mapimi-desert-45-years-ago/ |publisher=Unredacted|first=Michael |last=Barclay|date=July 13, 2015|access-date=November 26, 2022}}
• On 30 March 1982 NASA's Space Shuttle Columbia landed on the Northrop Strip at WSMR as the conclusion to mission STS-3.{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/multimedia/imagegallery/Shuttle/EC82-18507.html|title = STS-3 Columbia Lands at the White Sands Missile Range, NM|date =30 March 1982|access-date=26 November 2022|publisher=NASA}} This was the only time that NASA used WSMR as a landing site for the space shuttle.

File:Trinity Test Fireball 16ms.jpg became part of WSMR.]]

{{For|the geography and ecology of the WSMR area|White Sands, New Mexico|Basin and Range Province}}

As the largest military installation in the United States, WSMR encompasses almost {{convert|3200|sqmi|abbr=on}} including parts of Doña Ana, Otero, Socorro, Sierra, and Lincoln counties in southern New Mexico.

Holloman Air Force Base borders WSMR to the east; and WSMR borders the {{convert|600000|acre|km2|adj=on}} McGregor Range Complex at Fort Bliss to the south (southeast Tularosa Basin and on Otero Mesa) making them contiguous areas for military testing.{{r|Rubenson}}{{cite web|title=U.S. Army Fort Bliss Training Center|url=https://wrpinfo.org/media/1191/fort-bliss-training-center-wrp-mal-final-2016.pdf|date=2016|access-date=26 November 2022|publisher=Western Regional Partnership}}

WSMR is located between Las Cruces, New Mexico to the west, Alamogordo, New Mexico 40 miles to the east, and Chaparral, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas to the south.

White Sands National Park and the San Andres National Wildlife Refuge are federally-protected natural areas contained within the borders of WSMR.

New Mexico State Road 213 enters the range from the south from Chaparral, New Mexico and terminates at U.S. Highway 70, which traverses the southern part of the range in a west-northeast direction and is subject to periodic road closures during test firings at the range. U.S. Highway 380 runs east-west along the northern edge of WSMR between San Antonio and Carrizozo, and is also subject to periodic closures during test firings. New Mexico State Road 525 provides access from U.S. Highway 380 to the north end of WSMR near Stallion Army Airfield.

El Paso International Airport is the nearest airport with regularly scheduled commercial flights. There have been no regularly scheduled commercial passenger flights from Las Cruces International Airport since 25 July 2005, when Westward Airways ceased operations; general aviation, New Mexico Army National Guard (4 UH-72 Lakota Helicopters), private charters and CAP, among others, still use the airport. Regularly scheduled commercial flights are also available at the Albuquerque International Sunport, which is located {{convert|200|mi|km}} north of White Sands Missile Range's main base, but is closer to the northern test ranges than El Paso.

On 21 December 1965, the Trinity Site, selected in November 1944 for the Trinity nuclear test conducted on 16 July 1945{{r|nmsu}}, was designated a National Historic Landmark district,{{cite web |last1=Greenwood |first1=Richard |date=14 January 1975 |title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Trinity Site |url={{NHLS url|id=66000493}} |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=2009-06-21}} and {{NHLS url|id=66000493|title=Accompanying 10 photos, from 1974.|photos=y}} {{small|(3.37 MB)}}{{cite web |title=Trinity Site |url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceID=351&resourceType=District |work=National Historic Landmarks |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=2008-01-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080215133823/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=351&ResourceType=District |archive-date=15 February 2008}} and added to the National Register of Historic Places on 15 October 1966.{{NRISref|2007a|refnum=66000493|name=Trinity Site}}

• The White Sands V-2 Launching Site used for a V-2 static test firing on 15 March 1946, and for the first US V-2 launch on 16 April 1946, received landmark designation on 3 October 1985.{{cite web|title=White Sands Missile Range Fact Sheet|url=https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/449089main_White_Sands_Missile_Range_Fact_Sheet.pdf|publisher=NASA|access-date=November 26, 2022|archive-date=24 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224060917/https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/449089main_White_Sands_Missile_Range_Fact_Sheet.pdf|url-status=dead}}

File:The Night Watchmen (3388916).jpeg mission.]]

The White Sands Test Center, headquartered at the WSMR post area, has branches for tactical systems and electromagnetic radiation, and conducts missile testing and range recovery operations.{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,897960,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203020303/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,897960,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 February 2009|title=Time Magazine, "Recovery at White Sands" | date=29 June 1962}} "WSMR Main Post" includes several smaller areas such as the housing area, golf course, "Navy Area", and "Technical Area"{{cite web |url=http://www.arl.army.mil/www/pages/45/VG_WSMR.PDF |title=Welcome to WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE WSMR |access-date=29 May 2014 |archive-date=9 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130309072935/https://www.arl.army.mil/www/pages/45/VG_WSMR.PDF |url-status=dead }} The WSMR Museum offers tours and exhibits including a V-2 rocket returned in May 2004 after restoration. The White Sands Missile Range Hall of Fame inducts members such as the first range commander, Colonel Harold Turner (1945–1947), in 1980.{{cite web|url=https://wsmrmuseum.com/wsmr-historical-foundation-hall-of-fame/|title=White Sands Missile Range Hall of Fame|date=28 January 2021 |access-date=26 November 2022|publisher=White Sands Missile Range Museum}} A recreational shooting range just inside the "El Paso gate" on the south is outside of the Post Area.

The 1972 DoD Centers for Countermeasures (CCM) evaluates precision guided munitions and other devices in electronic counter- and counter-countermeasures environments.{{cite web |url=http://www.ccm.osd.mil/ |title=Center for Countermeasures |access-date=16 February 2022 |archive-date=6 April 2001 |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20010406000000/http://www.ccm.osd.mil/ |url-status=dead }} Other operations on WSMR land include the Launch Abort Flight Test Complex for the Pad Abort-1, the White Sands Launch Complex 37 built for Nike Hercules tests, the White Sands Launch Complex 38 built for Nike Zeus tests with Launch Control Building now used for Patriot missile firings, the North Oscura Peak facility of the Air Force Research Laboratory Directed Energy Directorate, and the 1963 NASA White Sands Test Facility's ground station for Tracking and Data Relay Satellites, and the SDO ground station with two {{convert|18|m|ft|0|adj=on|sp=us|abbr=on}} antennas.

• 1930: Robert Goddard began rocket testing in New Mexico.
• 1941-04-13: US World War II preparations established{{r|nmsu}} the Army Air Base, Alamogordo{{cite web|title=A Brief History of White Sands Proving Ground, 1941-1965|url=https://wsmrmuseum.com/2020/09/21/a-brief-history-of-white-sands-proving-ground-1941-1965/2/|date=September 21, 2020|access-date=26 November 2022|publisher=WSMR Museum}}
• 1942: Biggs Army Airfield construction began near El Paso (1947 Biggs AFB, 1973 Biggs AAF)--the region's nearby Deming Army Air Field, Ft Sumner Army Air Field, and South Aux Fid #1 transferred to "Army Div Engrs" in 1946.{{r|Mueller}}
• 1940s: When the range was formed, ranchers' land was leased and eventually condemned by eminent domain
• In the 1970s, more land was taken permanently to expand the area available for testing.{{cite news|last1=Gibbs|first1=Jason|title=WSMR, DOD may take control of range's Northern Extension Area|url=http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_26180573/wsmr-dod-may-take-control-ranges-northern-extension|access-date=30 July 2014|work=Las Cruces Sun-News|publisher=The Las Cruces Sun-News|date=19 July 2014|archive-date=8 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808053149/http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_26180573/wsmr-dod-may-take-control-ranges-northern-extension|url-status=dead}}

• 1941-12: Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range established near the "West Texas Bombardier Triangle".
• 1941-12: Executive Order No. 9029 canceled grazing leases on the newly established Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range.{{r|WSAH4}}{{cite web|title=Executive Order 9029: Withdrawing Public Lands for Use of the War Department as a General Bombing Range; New Mexico|date=15 August 2016 |url=https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/executive-orders/1942.html|publisher=National Archives|access-date=26 November 2022}}
• 1942-07: Goddard's rocket research group moved from Roswell, New Mexico, to Annapolis, Maryland.
• 1944-02: War Department and the Corps of Engineers' Ordnance Department teams looked for a US missile test site.{{cite book |last=Ordway |first=Frederick I III|author-link=Frederick I. Ordway III |author2=Sharpe, Mitchell R |year=1979 |title=The Rocket Team|series= Apogee Books Space Series |number=36 |publisher=Thomas Y. Crowell|location=New York|isbn=1-894959-00-0 |pages=290, 389}}
• 1945-07-13: McDonald Ranch House, Manhattan Project location for the final assembly of the prototype Fat Man plutonium bomb.
• 1945-07-16: Trinity test of the plutonium bomb, the first nuclear weapon tested in the world.

{{For|additional events (e.g., USAF launches) at sites not on WSPG but that later became part of WSMR|Air Force Missile Development Center}}

• 1945-02-20: The Secretary of War approved establishment of WSPG.{{cite book |last=Ley|first=Willy|author-link=Willy Ley|title=Rockets, Missiles and Space Travel|orig-year=1944|year=1958|edition=revised|publisher=The Viking Press|location=New York|pages=246, 253}}{{Rp|246}}{{r|Ordway}}
• 1945-04-01: The first Private F launch{{cite web|url=http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/files/universe/un940715.txt|title=Von Karman, Malina laid the groundwork for the future JPL | first = John | last = Bluth|publisher=JPL}} was at WSPG. (Not Fort Bliss's Antiaircraft and Guided Missile Center, which was established 6 July 1946.){{Cite book |last=Hamilton |first=John A |title=Blazing skies: Air Defense Artillery on Fort Bliss, 1940-2009 |publisher=Government Printing Office |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4Pz7CijIZnAC&q=white+sands&pg=PA85 |format="Google eBook" of Government Printing Office document |access-date=2014-05-29 |quote= Special Orders No. 143, Headquarters, Army Ground Forces, dated 6 July 1946, [established] the Antiaircraft and Guided Missile Center [from] the remnants of the Antiaircraft Artillery School, the Antiaircraft Replacement Training Center, Army Ground Forces Board No. 4,¹³ 1st AAA Guided Missile Battalion, the 1852nd Area Service Unit, and remaining antiaircraft units, including three automatic weapons battalions and one gun battalion placed in the Army General Reserve.|isbn=9780160869495}}
• 1945-06-25: WSPG construction began with drilling of water wells.{{r|nmsu}}
• 1945-07: First of 300 railroad cars of German V-2 components began to arrive at Las Cruces, New Mexico.{{Rp|246}}
• 1945-09: The blockhouse at Army Launch Area 1 (later Launch Complex 33) was completed.{{r|nmsu}}
• 1945-09-16: First WAC Corporal test firing.{{Rp|253}}
• 1945-11: GE contractors began to identify, sort, and reassemble V-2 components in Building 1538 ([https://books.google.com/books?id=4Pz7CijIZnAC&q=white+sands&pg=PA84 Assembly Building 1).]
• 1946: 35 of the Operation Paperclip scientists from Germany were working at WSPG.{{cite web |last=McCleskey |first=C. |author2=D. Christensen |title=Dr. Kurt H. Debus: Launching a Vision |url=http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/history/docs/pdf/debus.pdf |page=35 |access-date=2008-10-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080917103545/http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/history/docs/pdf/debus.pdf |archive-date=17 September 2008}}
• 1946-05-29: The 4th U.S. V-2 launch was tracked by two White Sands based AN/MPQ-2 stations.{{cite report|date=29 May 1946 |title=Upper Air Rocket Summary: V-2 Number 4 |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/b957191.pdf|number=ADA957191 |publisher=Defense Technical Information Center|access-date=26 November 2022|page=332}}
• 1946 summer: New WSPG quarters were completed and the Medical Detachment and 3 batteries moved from Ft Bliss.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4Pz7CijIZnAC&q=white+sands&pg=PA108 |last=Hamilton |first=John A. |title=Blazing skies: Air Defense Artillery on Fort Bliss, 1940-2009 |publisher=Government Printing Office |quote=three officers and fifty-five enlisted men...worked closely with the German rocket scientists who were located in a six-acre ordnance area on the north side of the Fort Bliss cantonment. [The military unit went to WSPG] to provide the manpower to build the [V-2] missiles and erect them on test stands.|isbn=9780160869495 }}
• 1946-09: First static firing of a Nike missile was at WSPG.{{cite report|url=https://srmsc.org/pdf/W006.pdf|title=Fort Bliss Main Post Early Cold War BASOPS Building Inventory and Evaluation, 1951-63|page=37|date=December 2006|publisher=U.S. Army Corps of Engineers|access-date=November 26, 2022}}

• 1947 (late): AMC shifted Army Air Force guided missile programs to Alamogordo in March 1947 and established inter-service New Mexico Joint Guided Missile Test Range at the end of the year{{Cite report |last=Mueller |year=1982 |chapter=Holloman Air Force Base |title=Air Force Bases as of 1982 |chapter-url=https://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/21/2001330255/-1/-1/0/AFD-100921-026.pdf|access-date=26 November 2022|page=248|publisher=USAF Office of Air Force History}}
• 1947-11-14: The USAF's Alamogordo Guided Missile Test Base (AGMTB) had its first ramjet-configured GAPA missile launch (39th for GAPA).{{Cite report |last=Bushnell |first=David |date=1986-08-25 |title=GAPA: Holloman's First Missile Program |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/122033495/GAPA-Holloman-s-First-Missile-Program-1947-1950 |format=Scribd.com image |publisher=Air Force Missile Development Center: Historical Branch |id=IRIS 00169113 |access-date=2013-08-11 |quote=[1st ramjet GAPA] "was launched 14 November 1947 and the initial liquid-fuel variety 12 March 1948.⁸... The last of the GAPAs, number 114, was launched 15 August 1950, and the project officially terminated at Holloman the following month.¹¹}}
• 1948–05-13 to 1949-04-21: First six flight attempts for the Project Bumper two-stage V-2 SRBM/WAC Corporal two-stage research vehicles as the world's first "high-speed" multistage rockets to be launched.{{cite web | title = Bumper Project | work = White Sands History – Fact Sheets and Articles | publisher = US Army | url = http://www.wsmr.army.mil/pao/FactSheets/bump.htm | access-date = 2007-12-02| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080110163113/http://www.wsmr.army.mil/pao/FactSheets/bump.htm | archive-date =2008-01-10 }}
• 1948-07: USAF Project MX–774 commenced with the first RTV-A-2 Hiroc launch (from Launch Complex 33){{cite web |url=http://nmsua.edu/tiopete/files/2008/12/wspgcoldbook.pdf |title=A Brief History of White Sands Proving Grounds 1941-1965 |access-date=2010-08-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028154222/http://nmsua.edu/tiopete/files/2008/12/wspgcoldbook.pdf |archive-date=28 October 2014}}
• 1949-03: Holloman's 2754th Air Force Base unit gained "control of [the WSPG] support airfield, Condron Field…from Biggs Army Air Field at Fort Bliss."{{r|nmsu}}
• 1949: German scientists transferred from New Mexico to Alabama (Ernst Steinhoff transferred [http://www.wsmr-history.org/HallOfFame39.htm from WSPG to Holloman's Air Development Center.)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222192458/http://wsmr-history.org/HallOfFame39.htm |date=22 December 2010 }}
• 1949-07: The range's Four Bits Peak Instrumentation Annex was assigned to the air force base (disposed on 30 September 1960).{{r|Mueller}}
• 1951-07: The AGMTB became a sub-base of Florida's Air Force Missile Test Center until 31 August 1952. {{cite web |url=http://spacemedicineassociation.org/timeline/1941-1948/History%20of%20Holloman%20AFB%20Space%20Biology%20.pdf |title=History of Holloman Air Force Base Space Biology |access-date=2014-05-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518205113/http://spacemedicineassociation.org/timeline/1941-1948/History%20of%20Holloman%20AFB%20Space%20Biology%20.pdf |archive-date=18 May 2014}} test installation
• 1951-08-22: Broomstick Scientists in a unit of the 9393 Technical Service Unit conducted their first launch: the "TF-1" V-2 rocket.{{cite book |last=Kennedy|first= Gregory P.|title=Vengeance Weapon 2: The V-2 Guided Missile|year=1983 |publisher= Smithsonian Institution Press|location= Washington DC|page=62}}{{Cite journal |last1=Egermeier |first1=Robert P. |date=September 2001 |title=Former "Broomstick Scientist" |journal=Aerospace America |page=7 }} (Broomstick Sweepings publication ended after a 22 January 1952 general order transferred "1st Ord. GMS Bn." soldiers to Detachment No. 1, Station Complement.){{cite news |last=Koppenshaver |first=James T. |date=30 January 1951 |title=Broomstick Sweepings |url=http://www.wsmrhistoric.com/files/1952%20Wind%20and%20Sand%20V2%20Issue%2028.pdf |newspaper=Wind and Sand |pages=1, 6|access-date=2014-05-27 |quote=late 1950…Fort White Sands…early in 1951}}
• 1952-05-27: An aggregated 2,394,384 acres (4,680 sq miles) was set aside for the "Alamogordo bombing range, White Sands proving ground, and the Fort Bliss antiaircraft range".{{cite report|title=Federal Register|chapter=Public Land Order 833|date=May 27, 1952|chapter-url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-1952-05-27/pdf/FR-1952-05-27.pdf#page=1|page=4822|access-date=November 26, 2022}}
• 1952-09-01: Merger of Holloman bombing range and smaller White Sands Proving Grounds (WSPG) into WSPGIntegration of the Holloman-White Sands Ranges, 1947-1952 (2nd Edition, 1957)
• 1952-11: The range's Red Butte Instrumentation Annex was assigned to Holloman AFB (disposed on 22 November 1963).{{r|Mueller}}
• 1953-06: USS Desert Ship (LLS-1) (Launch Complex 35) was built to test the Navy RIM-8 Talos missile.{{r|nmsu}}
• 1957-02: The 9393rd Technical Unit, Ordnance, became the U.S. Army Garrison.{{cite news|url=http://www.wsmrhistoric.com/files/1957%20Wind%20and%20Sand%20V7%20Issue%2044.pdf#search=9393rd|title=W S P G Military Units Have New Designations|newspaper=Wind and Sand|date=8 February 1957|via=www.wsmrhistoric.com|access-date=27 January 2022}}
• 1957-03-13: Nike Hercules satisfactory launch from White Sands{{cite web|title=Nike Hercules|url=http://www.astronautix.com/n/nikehercules.html|access-date=26 November 2022|publisher=Astronautix.com}}{{Cite book |last=Leonard |first=Barry |year=c. 1986 |title=History of Strategic and Ballistic Missile Defense: Volume II: 1956-1972 |url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/bmd/BMDV2.pdf |access-date=2012-09-01 |page=308|archive-date=16 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216135402/https://history.army.mil/html/books/bmd/BMDV2.pdf |url-status=dead }}

{{External media|image1=[https://books.google.com/books?id=4Pz7CijIZnAC&q=white+sands&pg=PA83 1945 WSPG] |video1=[https://archive.org/details/gov.archives.arc.2569727 196x Big Picture: Tularosa Frontier] |video2=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-jJjvHd6jM Short Notice Annual Practice (minute 16:50)]|video3=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcCTkIiLJxs Countdown at White Sands]}}

File:STS-3 landing.jpg landing at Northrop Strip]]

• 1958-05-01: The test range was designated "White Sands Missile Range".{{r|nmsu}}
• 1958-09-02: The Gold Hill Instrumentation Annex was assigned to Holloman Air Force Base (disposed on 30 September 1960).{{r|Mueller}}
• 1958-10: Zeus Acquisition Radar site construction at the planned Launch Complex 38 began{{cite news |last=Piland |first=Doyle |title=Way Back When..... |url=http://www.radomes.org/museum/documents/WSMR-ZAR-WayBackWhen.pdf |newspaper=WSMR newsletter |access-date=2014-04-11 |quote=Launch Complex 38...Site preparation for the TTR [Target Tracking Radar] began in July 1959.... Site preparation for the Discrimination Radar was started in January 1961.}} near an airstrip.{{Cite map |publisher=Federal Government of the United States |title=Site Plan: Nike Zeus Facilities ALA 5 |number=G-720653 |location=reproduced in WSMR newsletter}}
• {{circa|lk=no|1959}}: The long-range GE AN/FPS-17 Fixed Ground Radar at the Laredo Test Site tracked its first WSMR rocket.
• 1959: Shavetail rocket tested.{{Where|date=May 2014}}
• 1959: An Iconorama large screen display as used for Pentagon C² was installed at WSMR.{{cite news |title=New Device Will Plot All Planes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/1159495/ |newspaper= Alton Evening Telegraph |date= 20 August 1959 |page=29 |quote=Iconorama shows almost instantly the positions of aircraft thousands of miles away… Traces made by the planes being tracked are scribed on a coated slide by a moving stylus. … The slide plot measures only one inch square, yet overall error of the projected display is said to be about one part in 1,000. … Iconorama units already have been installed and operated at the Pacific Missile Range, Point Mugu Calififornia; the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico; the Atlantic Missile Range at Cape Canaveral, Florida, and the Naval Research Laboratory}}
• 1962-03: Annual Service Practice was being conducted for Redstone missile crews.{{Citation |title=Conduct of Redstone Annual Service Practice at White Sands Missile Range New Mexico |publisher=Fort Sill: Headquarters, United States Army Artillery And Missile Center}} (the Artillery and Missile Center at Ft Sill [https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/pdf/go6906.pdf was redesignated the Field Artillery Center in 1969.)]
• 1963-03: Site preparation began for the Multi-function Array Radar.{{cite web|url=https://nikemissile.org/ResearchAndDevelopment/pg16.shtml|title=Nike R&D at White Sands, Multi-Function Array Radar, 1954-1970 (page 16)|publisher=Nike Historical Society|access-date=26 November 2022}}
• 1963-06-05: President John F. Kennedy visited for the MEWS (Missile Exercise White Sands).{{cite web|title=Remarks Upon Arrival at the Missile Range, White Sands, New Mexico.|url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-upon-arrival-the-missile-range-white-sands-new-mexico|date=June 5, 1963|publisher=The American Presidency Project|access-date=November 26, 2022}}
• 1963-08-28: Apollo program Launch Escape System tests with the Little Joe II began at White Sands Launch Complex 36 (ended 1966).{{cite report|title=Apollo Experience Report - Launch Escape Propulsion Subsystem|first=Neil A|last=Townsend |chapter=Little Joe Test Program|chapter-url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19730010175/downloads/19730010175.pdf|page=14|date=March 1973|access-date=26 November 2022|publisher=NASA}}
• 1963-11: The Loma (assigned December 1952), Rose Park (5 February 1950), and Twin Buttes (December 1949) instrumentation annexes transferred from Holloman Air Force Base to the Army.{{Cite report |last=Mueller |year=1982 |chapter=Holloman Air Force Base |title=Air Force Bases as of 1982 }}
• 1963-11: Cincinnati Ohio area civic leaders visit White Sands Nike Zeus site as part of Operation Understanding{{cite news|title=Local Men Visit Zeus at White Sands|date=27 Nov 1963|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/23241419/nike-missile-operation-understanding/|access-date=26 November 2022|publisher=Wilmington News-Journal}}
• 1964-07-08: The first "successful Athena/ABRES test missile [was] fired from Utah into WSMR".{{cite web |title=Part I. History of ABM Development |url=http://www.alternatewars.com/WW3/WW3_Documents/ABM_Bell/ABM_Pt1.htm |format=transcript at AlternateWars.com |access-date=2014-04-11 |archive-date=16 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416183154/http://www.alternatewars.com/WW3/WW3_Documents/ABM_Bell/ABM_Pt1.htm |url-status=dead }}
• 1965-11: first Sprint missile launch {{cite web|author=Mark Paine |url=http://www.nuclearabms.info/Sprint.html |title=Sprint |publisher=Nuclearabms.info |date= |accessdate=2022-08-28}}
• 1967-10-21: Public Law 90-110 authorized $4,781,000 for WSMR construction.{{cite web|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-81/pdf/STATUTE-81-Pg279.pdf|title=Public Law 90-110-October 21, 1967|publisher=U.S. Congressional Record|access-date=November 26, 2022}}
• 1972: WSMR had 3 RCA AN/FPS-16 Instrumentation Radars{{Cite report |last=Hoihjelle |first=Donald L. |date=February 1972 |title=AN/FPS-16(AX) Radar Modeling and Computer Simulation|url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/AD0738167|number=AD0738167 |publisher=WSMR Instrumentation Directorate|access-date=26 November 2022}}
• 1983 thru 30 September 1993 - WSMR hosted the Simtel collection, the largest collection of free software and freeware available to the public on the ARPANET and Internet. It began as a copy of an MIT collection of CP/M software, and expanded to collect free software for other operating systems as well.{{cite web|url=http://www.cni.org/docs/farnet/story149.NM.html |title=The Story of SIMTEL20 |access-date=2014-10-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110111164513/http://www.cni.org/docs/farnet/story149.NM.html |archive-date=11 January 2011 }}
• 1991 (late): Convair QF-106 Delta Dart drones based at Holloman Air Force Base began operating as Full-Scale Aerial Targets over WSMR.{{cite web|title=82nd Aerial Target Squadron QF-106 Drone Pacer Six|url=https://www.f-106deltadart.com/drones.htm|publisher=F-106 Delta Dart Association|access-date=November 26, 2022}}
• 1993-08-18: The first McDonnell Douglas DC-X flight was from the White Sands Space Harbor
• 2005: AIAA named the WSPG a Historic Aerospace Site.{{cite web|title=White Sands Missile Range AIAA Historic Aerospace Site|url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=140621|publisher=the Historical Marker Database|date=6 October 2019|access-date=26 November 2022}}
• 2007-11-14: Launch Complex 32 groundbreaking for the Orion Abort Test Booster.{{cite web |title=NASA Building Test Pad at White Sands for New Spacecraft |url=http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1240532/nasa_building_test_pad_at_white_sands_for_new_spacecraft/index.html |publisher=RedOrbit |date=3 February 2008 |access-date=26 November 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/main/constellation_workforce.html |title=NASA Constellation Mission Project, Research, and Test Sites Overview|publisher=NASA|access-date=26 November 2022}}
• 2010-05-06: Successful test of Orion Pad Abort System at Launch Complex 32{{cite news|title=Orion Pad Abort 1 Test a Spectacular Success|date=May 6, 2010|url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/status_reports/orion_pa-1_status_05_06_10.html|publisher=NASA|access-date=November 26, 2022|archive-date=10 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200310144319/https://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/status_reports/orion_pa-1_status_05_06_10.html|url-status=dead}}
• 2022-05-25: CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, traveling from the International Space Station, landed successfully at White Sands Space Harbor toward the northern portion of White Sands Missile Range{{cite news|title=Starliner lands on 'bull's-eye' at White Sands Missile Range|first=Leah |last=Romero|date=May 25, 2022|url=https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/community/2022/05/25/starliner-spacecrafts-lands-bulls-eye-white-sands-missile-range-wsmr-new-mexico-sonic-boom-space/9933864002/|publisher=Las Cruces Sun News}}

• White Sands LC32 - Used for Storm-2 and Hera.{{Cite web |title=White Sands LC32 |url=http://astronautix.com/w/whitesandslc32.html |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=astronautix.com}}
• White Sands LC33 - Originally Army Launch Area 1. Used to launch WAC Corporal, Viking, V-2, Nike, Javelin, Hermes, Corporal, Atlas and Apache.{{Cite web |title=White Sands LC33 |url=http://astronautix.com/w/whitesandslc33.html |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=astronautix.com}}
• White Sands LC35 - Used to launch Standard-ER, Black Brant and Aerobee.{{Cite web |title=White Sands LC35 |url=http://astronautix.com/w/whitesandslc35.html |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=astronautix.com}}
• White Sands LC36 - Originally Army Launch Area 3, later becoming a NASA facility. Used to launch Terrier, Redstone, Nike, Little Joe II, Honest John, Black Brant, Storm, Aries, and to test the Apollo LES.{{Cite web |title=White Sands LC36 |url=http://astronautix.com/w/whitesandslc36.html |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=astronautix.com}}
• White Sands LC37 - Originally Army Launch Area 3. Used for Nike Ajax, Nike Hercules, HIBEX and HEDI KITE.{{Cite web |title=White Sands LC37 |url=http://astronautix.com/w/whitesandslc37.html |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=astronautix.com}}
• White Sands LC38 - Originally Army Launch Area 5. Used for Nike Zeus and Patriot.{{Cite web |title=White Sands LC38 |url=http://astronautix.com/w/whitesandslc38.html |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=astronautix.com}}
• White Sands LC39{{Cite web |title=White Sands LC39 |url=http://astronautix.com/w/whitesandslc39.html |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=astronautix.com}}
• White Sands LC50 - Used for Sprint and HIBEX.{{Cite web |title=White Sands LC50 |url=http://astronautix.com/w/whitesandslc50.html |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=astronautix.com}}
• White Sands LC94 - Used to launch Nike Zeus and Hera.{{Cite web |title=White Sands LC94 |url=http://astronautix.com/w/whitesandslc94.html |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=astronautix.com}}
• White Sands SULF (Speedball Uprange Launch Facility) - Used for Storm.{{Cite web |title=White Sands SULF |url=http://astronautix.com/w/whitesandssulf.html |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=astronautix.com}}
• White Sands WSSH (White Sands Space Harbor){{Cite web |title=White Sands WSSH |url=http://astronautix.com/w/whitesandswssh.html |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=astronautix.com}}

Las Cruces Public Schools operates White Sands School on the missile range property.{{cite web|url=https://wss.lcps.net/o/wss|title=White Sands School Homepage|publisher=White Sands School|quote=#1 Viking St White Sands Missile Range, NM 88002|access-date=26 November 2022}}

• McDonald Ranch House, location of the final assembly of the world's first nuclear weapon
• Kapustin Yar, the Soviet analog of WSMR
• Peenemunde Army Research Center, WWII German rocket center
• Jornada del Muerto, desert where White Sands Missile Range is located

{{Reflist |2|refs=

{{cite web |date=April 1961 |title=Development of the Corporal: the embryo of the army missile program |url=http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/pdf/corporal/corp2.pdf |volume=2 |publisher=Army Ballistic Missile Agency |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327161808/http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/pdf/corporal/corp2.pdf |archive-date=27 March 2009}}

{{cite web |title=A Brief History of White Sands Proving Ground 1941–1965 |url=http://nmsua.edu/tiopete/files/2008/12/wspgcoldbook.pdf |publisher=New Mexico State University |access-date=19 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028154222/http://nmsua.edu/tiopete/files/2008/12/wspgcoldbook.pdf |archive-date=28 October 2014}}

{{cite web |title=Chapter Four: Global War at White Sands 1940–1945 |url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/whsa/adhi/adhi4.htm |work=White Sands Administrative History |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=26 November 2022 |quote=Executive Order No. 9029}}

{{cite book |last=Rubenson |first=David |year=1998 |author2=Robert Everson |author3=Jorge Munoz |author4=Robert Weissler |title=McGregor Renewal and the Current Air Defense Mission |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VSNSAQAAIAAJ&q=largest |page=77 |access-date=26 November 2022 |isbn=978-0-8330-2669-9}}

}}

{{Commons category}}

• [http://www.wsmr-history.org/ White Sands Missile Range Museum] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509074304/http://www.wsmr-history.org/ |date=9 May 2008 }}
• {{HAER |survey=NM-1 |id=nm0138 |title=White Sands Missile Range, White Sands, Dona Ana County, NM |data=128}}
• {{HAER |survey=NM-1-A |id=nm0139 |title=White Sands Missile Range, Trinity Site |photos=106 |dwgs=11 |data=116 |cap=8 |link=no}}
• {{HAER |survey=NM-1-B |id=nm0140 |title=White Sands Missile Range, V-2 Rocket Facilities |photos=72 |dwgs=6 |data=117 |cap=5 |link=no}}

{{United States Space Force}}

{{US Proving Grounds}}

{{Geographic location

|Northwest=NASA White Sands Test Facility |North =White Sands National Park |Northeast=Holloman Air Force Base (25 mi)

|West=Organ Mountain National Recreation Area |Centre=Main Post, WSMR |East=Spaceport America

|Southwest=Organ Peak |South =Dona Ana Base Camp[https://maps.google.com/maps?q=32.14643,-106.504084&hl=en&ll=32.145803,-106.500328&spn=0.000018,0.013078&num=1&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=32.145894,-106.500351&panoid=OBYPIMcuKOqAV4RNuRpmrQ&cbp=12,323.54,,0,-6.35]
Fort Bliss (60 mi) |Southeast=Condron Army Airfield }}

{{NMMilitary}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1948 establishments in New Mexico

Category:Buildings and structures in Doña Ana County, New Mexico

Category:Historic American Engineering Record in New Mexico

Category:Military installations in New Mexico

Category:Research installations of the United States Army

Category:Tularosa Basin

Category:Weapons test sites

Category:Military in New Mexico