Apollo Lunar Lander Engine Test Stand at LA-98 Magic Mountain

[holiday12345ABC]

No kidding dude those motors were tested at the Santa Susanna test site

[nanobot74]

scuse my ingles , do you try open thats dors seeled , is realy interesting what a hell are there , thanks for the video is very nice , thanks... if you open thats doors and you put here the video you will my hero ....jajajajajajaja

[jcmegabyte]

I wondered what was down there too, but those doors were VERY welded shut. I did get some shots down one of the holes that was open, and I suspect there is similar stuff (pipes and such) down the other ones as well. If I can see in there next time I go I will definitely try to get some video of it! :-)

[tongdude1]

who else saw that dog? was it an alien>>??<<

[jcmegabyte]

I know that dog personally - he's DEFINITELY an alien! XD

[alazz912]

GEAT VID! I have been there many times but i havent been up lately :( Do you know if it is still accessible?

[jcmegabyte]

Last time I tried to go up there (about 6 months ago), the gate at Sand Canyon Rd. was closed to let the area recover from the Station fire. I don't know how much of the area was burned or how long it will remain closed. Normally, you can drive right up to the gate at the base of the peak, and walk the remaining 1/2 mile up to the site (an easy hike). On rare occasion, that gate is open as well and you can drive all the way up to the top. I will try it again in spring (2011). =)

[alazz912]

@jcmegabyte Oh really? Every time i have been up there you can just drive your car right up to the test pad. Also there used to be a side path you could take up there to launch a hang glider from! Please let me know how your trek is next time you make it up there.

[jcmegabyte]

Are you perhaps thinking of LA-94 (Los Pinetos Fire Suppression Camp 9)? Most hang glider pilots launch from there, so far as I know. That site is still open, although there IS a gate and sign at the bottom of the mountain (just past Bear Divide Ranger Station) that says the area is open from dawn 'til dusk. They almost never close that gate though. Either way I'll be heading back up into those areas as soon as spring rolls around, and I'll post what I find :-)

[PrestoWind]

great movie

[jcmegabyte]

Thanks for watching! :-)

[Brantoc]

1-2 good test firings and the trash won't be a problem !!!

[jcmegabyte]

That would make a good incinerator indeed! XD

[jcgmed]

This really looks very different to any of the footages for Apollo's landings at / liftoffs from the moon, also, neither the biggest of vacuum chambers can't hold inside a test stand like the one showing here, which really gives no chance to the claims related with faking the lunar dust while spreading freely by large distances in order to create arcs because of no atmosphere.

Quite nice vid.

[Cooleemee43]

So is this part of the movie set they used to fake the moon landing? Its amazing how real the bushes and sky look, and that backdrop is painted well, ah film makers what can't they do!

[jcmegabyte]

I think they filmed E.T. somewhere around here too ...of course, HE was real. XD

Cheers!  =)

[airdaleva42]

A waste of time.

[linuxrobotdude]

makes me think of fallout 3

[jcmegabyte]

Thanks for checking it out!

[amourdutigre]

This is a fantastic demonstration of the power of music. Footage that would otherwise be rather lacking in emotion is made to be quite chilling simply with the addition of music. Very nice!

ADT

[jcmegabyte]

Thanks for the great comment! I used the "darkest" music I have written, originally intending this to be a scary nuclear missile vid, until I found out that the nuke site was close by but not this exact spot! This might not be the most appropriate music now with this new subject, but it does still seem to work to some degree. :-)

[wabbitt86]

so were defenseless

[jcmegabyte]

I would guess that there are plenty of new defenses... some we know about, and others that we don't! :-]

[Bodegasam]

So, what this is is the remains of the Marquardt Corporation's Magic Mountain Test Facility. In 1964, they tested the reaction and control system for the Apollo Lunar Lander there.

[jcmegabyte]

Hmmm Looks like there is some re-vamping to do on this video footage! Perhaps I'll convert it to a "moon mission" test site vid and make another one about LA-94 (nearby) as the nuclear presence in the area! Thanks for the info! :-)

[Bodegasam]

On closer look at this, it doesn't have the footprint of a Nike IFC. It looks more like a rocket engine test stand. The Nike did not have a water-cooled launch system.

[jcmegabyte]

I had wondered about that - I had suspected that the water may have been unique to this site to prevent fire in the forest below but details are sketchy at best. Up at the top of the hill are a number of buildings (now used for microwave relay/repeater) which may have been part of the original installation, too. It will be interesting to see what other info turns up as time goes on! It's also intersting to "fly" over this site (and the nearby LA-94) in Google Earth. :-)

[Bodegasam]

This is actually the Integrated Fire Control site for LA 98, not the launch site.

The launch site is located south of State Highway 14 in Soledad Canyon (Lang Station).

The 3d edition of Rings of Supersonic Steel will be available 30 November 2009. Get a copy and locate all of the Nike sites in the Los Angeles Defense.

[jcmegabyte]

This story just keeps getting more interesting! The details are a bit confusing/conflicting. I've seen the Lang Station site (now a commercial sand and gravel operation) which was said to be the LA-98 admin area . At (near) the summit of Magic Mountain are the two pads with water-cooled exhaust ports, where I presume the LA-98 missiles were, at least for part of the operational period. Perhaps things got moved around a bit over time? I'll look into the publication you mentioned. Thanks! :-)

[taofledermaus]

Very cool!  Had I stumbled on that, I would have been completely baffled of what it was.

[jcmegabyte]

I think most anyone would... It's not marked at all and there's really no indication as to what the concrete pad is for - could be an old weather buildting or something boring. The history is what really made it interesting :-)

[taofledermaus]

Did you learn about it through the newspaper or from studying Google Earth? I know I've seen a lot of nuke/military/etc locations on GE.

[jcmegabyte]

I got almost all my info online, by visiting historical sites, news articles and interviews with personnel stationed at those sites at the time. Some of the guys are still around!

I've "flown" over LA-94 and LA-98 numerous times in GE but don't remember seeing anything military-specific. However, I don't have all the accessories and layers turned on so there might be more to find in GE.  =)

[taofledermaus]

I gotta say the music you used is very fitting. The cold war history is both chilling and mysterious.

[jcmegabyte]

I originally wrote music to scare kids which were trick-or-treating at Halloween but since then I've found lots of other uses for it! :-)

[heroineworshipper]

Now it's all done by a truck mounted patriot system. Wonder what the dog was for. Probably a backup in case the radar failed.

[jcmegabyte]

Yup! :-) The dog barks when he smells an incoming bomber, and the ground crew fires the missile in the direction that the dog is facing. The system works fairly well but it can be embarrassing when the dog barks at some small animal by mistake (known as "Jackrabbit Misfires"). Hahaha XD ...OK seriously, I hope someone got a good laugh out of this. :-)

[cauda123]

postapocaliptic chilly, stone cold, brrrrrrrrrrrrrr

[TheHgnxx]

Nike/Ajax missiles are not equipped with nuclear war heads. Missiles with nuclear war heads were never at any of these sites. They are for enemy plane interception. They were used to shoot down soviet aircraft attempting to drop atomic bombs on U.S.A. in the cold war era.

[jcmegabyte]

That's pretty much as I have read it, too. While thereappears to be some conflicting data out there (not surprising after so long), it seems that most (or all)of sites started out with non-nuclear Nike-Ajax missiles, then many (most) were upgraded later to the larger Nike-Hercules missiles, carrying 20-40 kiloton nuclear warheads - this according to "records" and interviews with launch personnel from the time. Of course, further eyewitness accounts would be most interesting to hear! :-)

[TheHgnxx]

Nike

[zeke1312]

An additional note: each Nike site had a "Launcher" area where the missiles were stored/launched and an IFC (Integrated Fire Control) area were the acq and control radars were uitilzed.

[zeke1312]

To clarify a comment made earlier, not all Nike sites began as Ajax equipped. Many began as Herc or improved Herc sites. Some Ajax sites were upgraded to Herc while keeping their Ajax capability. Other Ajax sites were assigned to the National Guard. Some Nike sites did not have underground ("pits") to store the missile. A few sites were above ground only with the missiles being stored quonset hut type "buildings" between berms on the ground.

[jcmegabyte]

Great info! At LA-98, there does not appear to be any underground storage and I was wondering where any "extra" missiles might have been stored. At LA-94, there is apparently an elevator and underground facility, which I have not yet visited/documented in detail.

I have read that both of these sites started as AJAX sites, and were later upgraded with the Hercs.

Thanks again for the info! :-)

[destroyahdes]

Wow cool! It's neat that anyone can walk out there now. I'd love to see something like this first hand.

[jcmegabyte]

There are 16 of these around L.A. alone, and many more scattered around the country... You may have one in your neck of the woods that you can visit. :-)

[zeke1312]

A couple of comments are incorrect here but that's not as important than a poster stating the Nike Missile Defense program was a waste of money. Interesting that "hindsight warriors", mainly those who have never served in the US armed forces,and with a "stroke" of their keyboard, dismiss the subject at hand to irrelevance. I myself being stationed on a Nike site during the Cuban Missile Crisis see the whole thing in a different light.

[jcmegabyte]

I'd be curious to know if any of the info *I* posted isn't accurate - I got most of it from online historical sources. Please do correct anything you know first-hand to be "off".

Where Gov waste is concerned, sometimes, hindsight isn't always 20-20 - the NIKE program may have been far more successful BECAUSE it was never used, its function as a deterrent working perfectly. I, for one, am glad the bombers never came and nukes never flew! ...and if NIKE is the reason, money well spent :-)

[giulianopietra]

excellent report on the Cold War, the great choice of music

the presence of the nice dog who is the current life

Bravo

Giuliano

[jcmegabyte]

Thanks so much for watching and commenting! =D

[runesick]

Seems like there's nothing but a launch pad there, but the views are beautiful!

[jcmegabyte]

Yes, it's not much of a "base" any more, but the view are indeed spectacular! Also left over from the missile base days are those large water tanks at the very summit, and a number of microwave relay towers with old buildings, which now serve as "radio shacks" to house microwave/telecommunication equipment. The old buildings may or may not have been part of the original radar tracking installation. Info and original photos are fairly scarce.  =D

[lentak8]

looks scary :) interesting plot, video and amazing music :) thanx for posting this.

[jcmegabyte]

Glad you enjoyed - thanks for stopping by and the nice comment! :-)

[lentak8]

:) you're welcome.. thank you for your respond .. btw. as I saw the video, i was thinking - these NIKE bases - what a waste of the money .. never used for their purpose .. fortunately.

[jcmegabyte]

No kidding! If we could only go back and retrieve all the time, effort and money the government has wasted in the past, and put it to better use in the present, what a better world we could have now! Hmmm... Maybe I'll start designing that time machine as soon as I'm done with my laundry... XD

Have a greeat week! =D

[lentak8]

True :))

You too :)

[ualue]

Back in the day girlfriend and I used to go up there in the car on Saturday nights and "see the view". Good times. Thanks for posting this.

[jcmegabyte]

Did you go to this one (LA-98/Magic Mountain) or LA-94 (Los Pinitos/Bear Divide?) You get a much better view of the San Fernando Valley from the south side of ridge above Bear Divide Ranger Station, and I think that's where most people who went up to the "Nike Base" lookout used to go... I haven't spent much time up at that site yet, but it's more accessible than this one. I'll have to go shoot some video up there too! :-) Thanks for watching/commenting!

[vurpune]

thanks for show

[jcmegabyte]

My pleasure - thanks for watching! :-)

[davidsquall351]

I am glad nothing was ever launched from there.......cool video!

[jcmegabyte]

No kidding! Thanks for stopping by! :-)

[Fonettik]

this reminds me of the game fallout nicely done good choice of music and a very interesting subject matter

[jcmegabyte]

I haven't seen that one one, but I've played Atari's original "Missile Command", and another PC-based "tongue-in-cheek-style" game called "Nuclear War". Interesting how video games parallel reality like that.

Thanks for watching and commenting! :-)

[GeraldBoyClassical]

Well, that was creepy. Music suited it perfectly, nicely done.

[jcmegabyte]

Just visiting the site and contemplating the reality of it was both interesting and a bit un-nerving at the same time. Thanks for checking it out!

[yunushassen]

How did you see inside the exhaust hole? I thought it was sealed up.

[jcmegabyte]

There's a short story to this... I have visited the site a number of times over the years and have a few still photos of the hole from back when vandals had partially ripped-up the steel plate covering the hole! I wish I had taken more/better back shots then when it was open, but that was all I got.

Anyway, repairs have been done since then, well before the video footage I shot just last week. The gate is now locked at the bottom of the hill, too, so you have to walk to the summit. :-/

[64mung]

Very interesting footage here! My father was a Nike missile operator from 1954 to 56 in Cleveland, Ohio, he worked with the 'Ajax' surface to air missile system (non nuclear)..in his two years of being in the program, he shot a lot of photographs around the base, I hope to make a slide show some time soon.

Can't wait to show him this video!

*****

64m >:-)

Btw..Love the soundtrack too :)

[jcmegabyte]

Now THAT would be cool to see! It seems that photos of that time are pretty scarce, at least of our sites around LA.

Be sure you post it as a video response if you make a slidewhow/vid.

I think that all the sites had the same AJAX missiles at first, then only SOME sites were upgraded the Hercules Nuclear-tipped variety later in the program. LA-98 is said/documented to be one such site. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[vradiohd]

The US media is mum on the issue of the internment camps on US soil.

The potential use of these internment facilities to detain American citizens under a martial law situation are not an object of media debate or discussion.

Combat Units Assigned to the Homeland

DOD ordered the recall of the 3rd Infantrys 1st Brigade Combat Team from Iraq~to the Homeland~'case of civil unrest'~martial law CoMeTh...

[bagwhanbill]

pro vid 5*****

[jcmegabyte]

Thanks for view and stars :-) Cheers!

[cycyg]

I hope no overeager prosecutor thinks the nations security depends on this scrap heap and accuses you for betrayal of state secrets. Oo

[jcmegabyte]

Fortunately, this stuff is really old news. It's little known, but definitely not secret or restricted in any way, and hasn't been in operation for 30+ years.

Existence of this stuff was made publicly known at the time- even to our cold war adversaries, but was never used and has long since been forgotten by most - just relics of a by gone age. Thanks for checking it out :-)

[HENEWA]

You did it again JC :D

Very good video

[jcmegabyte]

Thanks for the view and great comment! :-)

[londonpenda]

Sounds and visuals marry perfectly ; )

Nice one JC..

[jcmegabyte]

Thanks, Ray! :-) It was looking pretty scary and ominous, too, until the dog wandered into the shot! hahahaha XD

[fuzzycabin]

That place seems really creepy and unnerving. Judging by the graffiti on the walls at 2:54, the local kids are aware of the sites existence. I wonder if they have tried to break into the building or the missle hatches.

[jcmegabyte]

It's amazing how far and wide the grafiti artists will go to find virgin canvas! This site is WAY up in the mountains on a long, winding forest road. It's gated about a mile below the summit now, so you have to walk to the top. In the past the gate was open and I'm sure the site has taken a lot of abuse from vandals over the years. The pics I took down inside the exhaust tube were through a hole torn-open in the steel plate! Dunno how they did THAT but it's since been welded closed again. :-)

[iloveallecchianime]

I really see no reason to have those water tanks to prevent a forest fire cause EVERYTHING ON EARTH WOULD BE DESTROYED AND ON FIRE IN A NUCLEAR WAR!!! Geez

[jcmegabyte]

I know! Isn't that ironic? I think they may have been trying to preserve the launch facility more than anything, so they could launch more missiles if needed... Not that it would help much in a nuclear war either, like you said. It's like throwing more fire into the fire!

[GreatGig1]

I was raised and lived most of my life around the area...I had NO IDEA that was there! Thanks for the info! The music was perfect to create the "creepy" feeling...especially the creepy feeling of, I had NO IDEA and what if they would have used it!!!! Wonderful footage as always! :-)

[jcmegabyte]

What's even more surprising is that there were 16 of these puppies all around LA! There were many more near other coastal cities around the country.

I was also surprised how many of our local forestry roads were originally cut by the US Army to make these sites accessible. I had always wondered who made them. Thanks for checking it out :-)

[no2hate]

VERY interesting! I used to live in L.A. in the very early 1970's. peace2u! eric

[jcmegabyte]

It's fascinating to discover what kind of virtually unknown projects went on right under our noses (so to speak)! This was pretty serious stuff, especially at the time. Thanks for checking it out :-)

[Austenmad24]

Awesome video dude! :)

[jcmegabyte]

Thanks! :-)

[ChineseCitrus]

no "watch in hd" button? :(

[jcmegabyte]

Not yet - just finished processing. HD in probably 30 minutes or so :-)

[rifleman0007]

hey is this a company thats making these vids or ur just a dude? :)

[jcmegabyte]

Dude first, and company second! "JCM Digital Imaging" is my company, but I do all the work - music, video, editing, production, etc.! :-)

[rifleman0007]

is it (c) ? :)

[jcmegabyte]

Yes, all of my material is copyrighted. However, I do allow use of my material in other YT vids so long as credit and link are given in the video details. :-)