The Keweenaw Rocket Range 1962-1971
In the Copper Country of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
Background
In the fall of 1996, a friend (Bill Higgins) told me via e-mail that he had found out from one Glen E. Swanson that there had been a rocket base not far from my home in the Keweenaw Peninisula of Michigan's U.P. Bill sent me a detailed and technically accurate story written by Glen E. Swanson about the establishment, life, and demise of the rocket range in the years 1962-1971. This contained some clues as to the location of the site so, feeling adventurous, I set out to find it; sometimes with friends (the Eiseles) and more often than not, alone. After bumbling around for awhile in the summer of 1997, I finally asked the logical person, the postmaster of the nearest town (Copper Harbor). I was then able to find my way in from the north end of Highway 41 to the correct junction (about 5 1/2 miles on the left), cycle about 3 miles to another left junction and a mile further to the rocket base site. It was close to the Lake Superior shore line and High Rock Point, and while not much was left to see, it was exciting to have finally found it. The rest of the story follows...
NASA Historian Glen Swanson's story of Spaceport Michigan
Letter (1997) from Glen Swanson to Dr. Harold Allen, retired Keweenaw Range director
Map* of Keweenaw County showing old rocket base site
*Approximate GPS coordinates: From the end of US 41 to a dirt road at the left at:
N47 degrees, 25.959' W87 degrees, 45.822' elev. 855 feet.
Turn left to a fork at: N47 degrees, 25.772' W87 degrees, 43.433' elev. 734 feet
Turn left and go to the base at: N47 degrees, 25.816' W87 degrees, 42.887' elev. 626 feet.
Old Newspaper Articles (Courtesy of the Daily Mining Gazette, Houghton, Michigan)
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
Old Newspaper pictures (Courtesy of the Daily Mining Gazette, Houghton, Michigan)
1, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e, 3f, 3g, 4, 5a, 5b, 5c, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, 7e, 7f.
Old pictures by Guy Snyder
Arcas launchings (winter, 1967)
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, 11 and 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17
Arcas launchings (winter, 1968)
18, 19, 20, 21 and 22
Other sources- Nike-Apache (site preparation and launchings 1970-1971)
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
First Nike-Apache Missile Launch- photography by Roland Bruce Burgan, January 29, 1971.
Captions and links
Site pictures (1997) by Glen E. Swanson
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
Site pictures (1998) by Dale E. Yeo
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
Rocket Diagrams
Sizes
Technical (large)
GUY SNYDER
In 1967 at the Keweenaw Range------------and------------In 1999 at home at Gratiot Lake
(Shown holding Arcas rocket parts, left and right. The center picture is an Arcas payload.)
This is a living page. It started to die, but was resusitated on 12/13/04, and again in Jan 2018. If you have more
information about the Keweenaw Rocket Range or comments or questions, please send e-mail to Dale E. Yeo at y.dale43@gmail.com