Welcome to A People's Atlas of Nuclear Colorado
To experience the full richness of the Atlas, please view on desktop.
Navigating the Atlas
You may browse the Atlas by following the curated "paths" of information and interpretation provided by the editors. These paths roughly track the movement of radioactive materials from the earth, into weapons or energy sources, and then into unmanageable waste—along with the environmental, social, technical, and ethical ramifications of these processes. In addition to the stages of the production process, you may view in sequence the positivist, technocratic version of this story, or the often hidden or repressed shadow side to the industrial processing of nuclear materials.
Using the buttons on the left, you may also browse the Atlas's artworks and scholarly essays, access geolocated material on a map, and learn more about contributors to the project.
If you would like to contribute materials to the Atlas, please reach out to the editors: Sarah Kanouse (s.kanouse at northeastern.edu) and Shiloh Krupar (srk34 at georgetown.edu).
Cover Image by Shanna Merola, "An Invisible Yet Highly Energetic Form of Light," from Nuclear Winter.
Atlas design by Byse.
Funded by grants from Georgetown University and Northeastern University. Initial release September 2021.
Using the buttons on the left, you may also browse the Atlas's artworks and scholarly essays, access geolocated material on a map, and learn more about contributors to the project.
If you would like to contribute materials to the Atlas, please reach out to the editors: Sarah Kanouse (s.kanouse at northeastern.edu) and Shiloh Krupar (srk34 at georgetown.edu).
Cover Image by Shanna Merola, "An Invisible Yet Highly Energetic Form of Light," from Nuclear Winter.
Atlas design by Byse.
Funded by grants from Georgetown University and Northeastern University. Initial release September 2021.
Pamela Taubman/U.S. Air Force, Satellites at sunrise at Schriever Air Force Base, 2 February 2001, National Archives and Records Administration
Site
Schriever Air Force Base / Schriever Space Force Base (renamed 2021)
The Consolidated Space Operations Center—and later, Falcon Air Force Station and Falcon Air Force Base—was built in 1983 at a site 16km east of Colorado Springs in El Paso, Colorado. The site, renamed Schriever Air Force Base in 1988 after General Bernard Adolph Schriever (who pioneered U.S. ballistic missile development), provides command and control operations for more than 170 Department of Defense satellites, employs 8,100 military personnel, and houses multiple key military units, centers, and garrisons. First, it is home to the Missile Defense Integration and Operations Center, previously known as the National Testing Facility, which since its inception has been the foremost hub of missile defense technology development, testing, and interoperability integration. Second, Schriever is the center of operations for the Space Innovation and Development Center, a $19 million, 52,850 sq.ft. facility built in 2011 to serve as a multi-unit collaboration center of space systems development and operations control. As a last example, the base serves as the main control center of the U.S. Global Positioning Systems (GPS), which works to provide precise global navigation, time transfer, and nuclear detection to civilian and military personnel around the world. Recent speculation surrounding the base's 50th Space Wing indicates that Schriever’s name may change to “space base” in line with the newly implemented prioritization of space operations marshaled by the creation of the Space Force arm of the military in December 2019.
MyBaseGuide. “Schriever AFB Community.” Accessed September 4, 2020.
Christopher Woody. “The U.S. Air Force Finally Has a Space Force, and Now Some of its Bases Could Be Getting New Names.” January 7, 2020. Accessed September 4, 2020.
Sources
Air Force Technology. “Schriever Air Force Base.” Accessed September 4, 2020.MyBaseGuide. “Schriever AFB Community.” Accessed September 4, 2020.
Christopher Woody. “The U.S. Air Force Finally Has a Space Force, and Now Some of its Bases Could Be Getting New Names.” January 7, 2020. Accessed September 4, 2020.
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