Fort Churchill (rocket launch site)

58.734166666667 - 93.820277777778Koordinaten: 58 ° 44 '3 " N, 93 ° 49' 13 " W

Fort Churchill is a now inactive rocket launch site in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. The former rocket launch site Fort Churchill is located near the maximum of auroral activity and played especially in the 1950s a major role in studies of the upper atmosphere.

History

The complex was built by the Canadian Army in 1954 and served as a research facility to explore the effects of auroras and the influence on long communication paths. The research program in 1955 declared over and temporarily shut down the site. In 1956, the complex was reopened and greatly expanded for the International Geophysical Year. 1957 launched several missiles with experiments for the International Geophysical Year. As well as this program has been declared over, the plant was temporarily shut down again. In August 1959, the facility of the U.S. Army was commissioned again for sounding rockets. End of 1960, large parts of the plants were destroyed by fire. From the 1970s, the plants were used for Canadian -altitude research programs. Since 1989, the plants are barely used.

Presence

The Canadian Space Agency CSA announced in early 2010 that she was currently in search of starting places for smaller rockets. One thinks of two locations. According to current plans should one of them be Fort Churchill, from where one has already launched hundreds of missiles in the past. The other new facility to be built in Cape Brenton, Nova Scotia.