Cheyenne Mountain Complex, Military command center in Colorado Springs, United States
The Cheyenne Mountain Complex is a military command center built inside a granite mountain near Colorado Springs, Colorado. The facility contains fifteen separate buildings protected by reinforced concrete walls and massive steel doors weighing several tons that can be completely sealed in an emergency.
The facility opened in 1966 as headquarters for the North American Aerospace Defense Command when Cold War tensions reached their peak. The command center later moved its primary operations to Peterson Space Force Base while the installation continues serving as a training and backup site.
The installation appears regularly in films and television series, making it a symbol of military defense and space operations in popular culture. Many visitors to the region recognize the site immediately from its media portrayals, though access to the actual facility remains highly restricted.
The complex is not open to the public and remains an active military site with access restricted to authorized personnel only. Visitors can view the exterior mountain face and access road from certain public viewpoints around Colorado Springs.
All buildings inside rest on huge steel springs weighing up to 1000 pounds (450 kilograms) designed to absorb shock waves. These suspension systems allow the structures to move independently from the surrounding rock during seismic activity or other disturbances.
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