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Coordinates: 40°22′08″N 112°46′05″W / 40.369°N 112.768°W / 40.369; -112.768
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Tekoi Rocket Test Range, or Tekoi, is a former Hercules Aerospace solid fuel rocket motor test and calibration site near the Utah Test and Training Range in Utah's West Desert, approximately 80 miles (130 km) west of Salt Lake City, Utah. It is located on the Goshute's Skull Valley Indian Reservation.

History

The Wendover Army Air Field was created in 1942 for research and training, with testing of Republic-Ford JB-2 (U.S. copy of the V-1 flying bomb) in 1945-1946, the Matador in the 1950s, and Minuteman motor testing and development in the 1960s. Wendover property was split and transferred to the nearby city, but land for the test range was kept, becoming the Utah Test and Training Range in 1979 under the Air Force Systems Command.[1]

Hercules

The Tekoi rocket testing facility was constructed in 1976 for machining, testing and calibration of solid rocket booster motors by Hercules Aerospace's Utah Aerospace Division; Hercules developed double base propellants. By 1990, Hercules used 35 acres of their 3500 acre lease held through the Bureau of Indian Affairs and employed 17 people on site. Hercules employed approximately 3000 people 75 miles away at their Baccus Works in Magna, Utah for solid fuel motor construction in 1990; by 1992, as the MGM-134 Midgetman contracts closed, the employment was reduced to about 1000. Hercules designed the Nike Ajax M5E1 steel-tubed solid fuel motor, used as the Nike Hercules XM-42 (first stage) package, which contained four of the M5E1 motors; approximately 25,000 Nike Hercules were produced. Hercules also designed the Orion rocket motors,[2] the MK12 (used for the RIM-67A) and MK70 (RIM-67C), and the MK11 Talos.[3][4][5][6][7] the Skull Valley band applied for grants that were funded by 1990 and on. The first round of grants, approximately $100,000, funded the band executive committee's travel to Sacramento, California's Rancho Seco nuclear plant, Washington state's Hanford Site, Florida Power & Light nuclear facilities, and Virginia's Surry Nuclear Power Plant. The second phase of grants, approximately $200,000, sent the committee to Japan's Fugen nuclear plant and Tōkai reprocessing facility, France's La Hague reprocessing facility, UK's Sellafield power/reprocessing/storage facility, and Sweden's Clab storage facility.[8][9]

Hercules designed the Pershing II missile first and second-stage motors, then tested them at Tekoi in 1980. The engines used HTPB in the fuel casting, EPDM insulation, and Kevlar casings to save weight.[10]

Hercules designed and tested the second and third-stage solid fuel motors for the MGM-134 Midgetman at the site in 1986.[11] The program was cancelled but the motor design is still in use as the Graphite-Epoxy Motor. The second and third stages used NEPE; this was previously used on the Peacekeeper Hercules SR120 and is still in use by Thikiol/Hercules in the Trident II submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). Surplus Hercules SR120 motors were repurposed into Orbital Sciences Corporation's Minotaur IV/IV Lite/V expendable space launch systems.

Tekoi was a listed SLBM inspectable site for the START nuclear arms-reduction treaty with Russia, covering the Trident II SLBM.[12][13][14][15][16]

Hercules Aerospace was purchased by Alliant Techsystems in 1995; Alliant tested the Delta III motor at Tekoi in the late 1990s.[17] In 2001 Alliant purchased Thiokol and transferred remaining testing to their Promontory, Utah facility; Alliant became Orbital ATK in 2015, which became Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems in 2018, which became the Northrop Grumman Space Systems Group in 2020. Solid rocket boosters are still tested and calibrated at Promontory.

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), active from 1987 to 2019, required the US to destroy the Pershing IA and II missiles. This was planned to occur at Tekoi by "static burning" the solid fuel motors, leading to objections by environmental groups in Utah. The destruction took place at Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant in Texas instead.[18][19][5]

Hercules employed several Goshute tribal members as of the mid-1990s, and revenue from the Tekoi lease was about 90% of the tribe's income. Around 1995 there were approximately 30 members living on the reservation and 119 enrolled in the tribe. The lease was not renewed in 1995 and the on-reservation tribal population dropped sharply by 1999; no money came from the lease, no tribal members worked there, and only about 15 members lived on the reservation. Tribe members accused their chairman of trying to raise the lease price by a multiple of 4 or 5, which caused the lease to not be renewed.[20][9]

Return

The land has been given back to the Skull Valley Indian Reservation.[21] The Utah Film Commission advertises Tekoi as a film location, stating "visitors can expect dilapidated bunkers, military watchtowers, sprawling barren landscapes, and razor wire fencing along the perimeter - all with a post-apocalyptic feel."[21]

Deseret UAS had a lease to test on the site in 2019, testing and demonstrating hazmat response drones.[22][23]. See also XTI TriFan 600.

Nuclear disposal

The Goshute tribe had planned on allowing the Private Fuel Storage consortium to store 44,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste from over 100 nuclear reactors on the site in above-ground storage. The license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, submitted in 1997, was approved in 2006. The tribe had received widespread opposition to the efforts, which were finally canceled in 2012.[24]

A 1999 report from Private Fuel Storage calculated the impact of an explosion from the largest solid fuel rocket motor tested at Tekoi, being "1.2 million pounds of Class 1.1 explosive". It would create a 1 psi overpressure to 4782 feet and a 0.5 psi overpressure to 7970 feet. PFS also evaluated the risk of a rocket motor escaping the test stand, which was considered improbable given the design of the facility.[25][6]

Balefill trash disposal

In 2003, while the nuclear storage was still under consideration, the Goshutes began a balefill trash site (landfill). It was operated by CR Group, which was a cooperation of Ace Disposal and Metro Waste. It was in full operation by 2005.[26][27][28][29][30]

Waste Management of Utah purchased the site from Metro Waste in 2008. Waste Management disclosed an EPA violation of a missing initial capacity report and permit application in March 2008; no penalty was assessed, given the circumstances.[31]

References

  1. ^ Lonnquest, John C.; Winkler, David F. (November 1996). To Defend and Deter (PDF) (Report). Rock Island, IL: Defense Publishing Service. p. 429. 97/01. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016.
  2. ^ "HERCULES 3-STAGE ORION MOTOR HAS KEY ROLE IN LAUNCH OF THE 4-STAGE TAURUS EXPENDABLE SATELLITE CARRIER". Deseret News. 18 March 1994. Retrieved 29 July 2020. The four-stage Taurus expendable launch vehicle uses three Orion solid rocket motors manufactured at the Hercules Bacchus facility in Magna. Orion motors originally were developed in a joint venture between Hercules and Orbital Sciences Corp., Dallas
  3. ^ "NASA Sounding Rockets User Handbook" (PDF). sites.wff.nasa.gov. July 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  4. ^ Jenner, Lynn (2015-03-06). "Sounding Rockets Overview". NASA. Retrieved 2019-12-08.
  5. ^ a b "Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Elimination of Intermediate Range..." US Army. February 1988. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  6. ^ a b "DECLARATION OF BRUCE BRUNSDON" (PDF). nrc.gov. 1999. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  7. ^ "Hercules To Lay Off 400 Due To SICBM Cuts". AP NEWS. 2 March 1992. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  8. ^ "KUED Skull Valley script pg 3". PBSUtah.org. Archived from the original on 13 February 2005. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  9. ^ a b Jesse T. Weiss (May 2004). "The Skull Valley Goshute and Nuclear Waste: Rhetorical Analysis of Claims-Making of Opponents and Proponents". digitalcommons.usu.edu. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  10. ^ "Pershing II Motors Successfully Fired". Chemical Propulsion Information Agency bulletin. August 1980. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  11. ^ "Small ICBM Tests For Motors Nearing Completion". Chemical Propulsion Information Agency bulletin. April 1986. p. 5. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  12. ^ "ANNEX B. SLBMS AND SLBM LAUNCHERS". 1997-2001.state.gov. 1 July 1998. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  13. ^ "START I Treaty analysis". acq.osd.mil. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  14. ^ "START Aggregate Memorandum of Understanding Exchange" (PDF). fas.org. 1 July 2009. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  15. ^ "START Inspectable Sites in the US". fas.org. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  16. ^ "RUSSIANS TO CHECK OUT N-SITES, INCLUDING UTAH". Deseret News. 22 February 1995. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  17. ^ Joe Bauman (22 October 1997). "Test-firing of rocket motor launches new era of space vehicles". Deseret News. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  18. ^ "LAWSUIT THREATENED OVER PERSHING BURNS<BR> 5 UTAH GROUPS SAY ARMY'S ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT CONCLUSIONS ARE `FLAWED'". deseret.com. 4 June 1988. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  19. ^ "Federal Register". Google Books. 14 June 1988. p. 22207. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  20. ^ "PFS ASLBP 97-732-02" (PDF). nrc.gov. 17 May 2001. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  21. ^ a b "Utah Film Commission Newsletter - August 2018". film.utah.gov. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  22. ^ Steve Howe (27 June 2019). "Deseret UAS breaks in new test site with a hazmat workshop". Tooele Transcript Bulletin. Retrieved 5 August 2020. deseretuas.org.
  23. ^ "Events > HazMat & Drones Workshop with Utah Fire Marshals". deseretuas.org. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  24. ^ Judy Fahys (21 December 2012). "Utah N-waste site backers call it quits". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  25. ^ "Nuclear Regulatory Commission Issuances - Google Books". google.com. July 1999. pp. 184–186. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  26. ^ "Intermountain Regional Landfill: Class V Landfill Permit Application" (PDF). documents.deq.utah.gov. February 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  27. ^ Deborah Bulkeley (30 July 2004). "Landfill project OK'd for Goshutes". Deseret News. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  28. ^ Donna Kemp Spangler (19 February 2004). "Latest Skull Valley venture: trash dump". Deseret News. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  29. ^ "Utah Solid Waste Plan Update Through 2006" (PDF). documents.deq.utah.gov. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  30. ^ "Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Skull Valley Goshute Tekoi Balefield Landfill Project, Tooele County, UT". Federal Register. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  31. ^ "EPA vs Waste Management of Utah, Docker number CAA-08-2010-0003" (PDF). yosemite.epa.gov. 17 November 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2020.

40°22′08″N 112°46′05″W / 40.369°N 112.768°W / 40.369; -112.768

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