Socorro Weekender! Chip, N5LTZ, and I headed for Socorro, New Mexico April 1, 2005, to visit the Trinity Site and Very Large Array. The following photos will take a while to load if you are on a dial-up connection, so make yourself a big sandwich or write a new will-- while they are loading.
Our first point of interest was this rather unusual rest area north of Socorro...
On Saturday, April 2, we drove unescorted into White Sands Missile Range, but were required to show "a photo ID" before entering the Stallion Range Center gate, located 17 miles from the actual Trinity Site. We were also asked if we had any weapons. After being assigned a parking place, our first stop was an exhibit showing different levels of radiation in common things...
A Geiger counter was recording very little 'background radiation' but came alive when placed near a saucer, ashtrays, table salt, luminous dial watches, smoke alarms and even a banana...
Nearby was a large section of "Jumbo" a massive container which was originally built to house the plutonium bomb. It weighed 214 tons. The scientists planned to suspend the bomb in the center of this huge steel jug because it could contain the TNT explosion (required to start the chain reaction), preventing the plutonium from being lost, in case the reaction did not occur. When it was decided that the test could proceed without the container, it was placed on a tower 800 yards from Ground Zero...
The explosion, at 5:29:45 on the morning of July 16, 1945-- vaporized the tower which supported the bomb and also destroyed the tower were Jumbo was mounted. The container was later used for other explosive tests...
This sign greeted all who entered the final gate. Trinitite is the green glassy substance which was created when the blast melted the desert sand...
Then there was the last walk to Ground Zero...
Here is the marker which was 'the' big photo opportunity-- One had to wait quite a while to pose someone with it; and even then the sun was on the wrong side for good photographs. This, we were told, marks the exact center of the 1945 explosion...
The next photo, taken from the opposite direction, shows the marker's position within the larger area...
This is all that remains from one of the base structures which supported the 100-foot tower...
Signs posted along the fence explained the many steps of construction and testing. Here is what the bomb itself looked like as it was assembled atop the 100-foot tower...
The explosion looked like this at .053 seconds...
Here is a display inside a small opening of a large shelter which was constructed to protect a portion of the original crater floor. Displayed are some small shards of Trinitite...
"Little Boy", the uranium 235 bomb, was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. It was a simple design, and the scientists were confident that it would work without testing. The plutonium bomb was more complex and worked by compressing the plutonium into a critical mass. "Fatman", the plutonium bomb, was dropped August 9 on Nagasaki. An identical casing was displayed at the site...
From Trinity Site, we drove the 29 miles back to San Antonio. There we enjoyed the Owl Bar & Cafe's Green Chile Cheeseburgers. (The 'Owl' was a popular 'watering hole' for those who worked at Trinity Site.)
The Very Large Array is located about 42 miles west of Socorro. It consists of 27 radio antennas, each 82 feet in diameter and each weighing about 230 tons. Construction was begun in April of 1973, and the $78.6 million project was dedicated in 1980. Upon entering the area signs advised us to turn off all radio transmitters and cellular phones. In the next photo we were walking out to one of the dishes...
Our tour guide (in the red cap) explained the rail equipment (background) which is used to move the giant dishes into four different configurations...
Data from each antenna is combined electronically so that the array effectively functions as one antenna. This photo will give you a good idea as to the structures' sizes...
Each dish detects wind speed. When wind reaches 40 m.p.h. the dishes will lock themselves up and can't be moved. The dish's cooling system for its electronics could be easily heard from ground level...
Inside the control building, we were shown the many panels of equipment. These racks managed data going to and from the dishes and also included their own 'atomic clock'...
We were told that the computers which store data from the system are now 18 years old and that it is becoming very difficult to obtain the reel-to-reel storage tapes. Smaller computers used in the control room are much younger...
Jodie Foster, star of the 153 minute 1997 movie "Contact", is featured on bulletin boards in the Visitor Center and in the control building. She obviously made quite an impression while portions of the movie were filmed at the VLA...
Some of the dishes extending out on one 'arm' from the control building could be seen from this second floor window...
The guided tour concluded in their cafeteria where we were served coffee or tea. Our guide remained with us there to answer questions. We were also able to visit with others who had been in our group. We next returned to the Visitor Center and watched a short video presentation in their small theater. Both the Trinity Site and the Very Large Array were free and very educational.
Thanks for visiting.
