Hawk Studios heads to New Mexico for Episode 2 filming at former ICBM AFB..

It’s the Cold War-era missile silo that once housed an intercontinental ballistic missile under the Atlas F project beginning in 1962. More shocking, there were once 12 of these missile silos surrounding Roswell when Walker Air Force Base once stood. Each silo cost $22 million to build and throughout the whole U.S., there were 72 constructed for this project.

The 579th SMS was based at Walker Air Force Base in Roswell, New Mexico from 1962 thru 1965. There were 12 sites built in a ring around Roswell. These sites were manned 24 hours a day, 365 days a year during the time the Squadron was active. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, all operational 579th sites were at a high level of alert and were ready to launch the Atlas missile should it have become necessary. The squadron was armed with the SM-65 weapon system, more commonly know as the Atlas. The 579th was an Atlas F unit which meant the missile was housed in a “silo launcher” style complex. The missile was kept in a vertical position at all times. In order to launch, two 75-ton overhead doors were opened and the “bird” was lifted out of the silo. The Atlas ICBM required RP1 and Liquid Oxygen for powering the rocket engines.