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

New info on this footage (and more coming) - it turns out that these concrete pads are actually rocket engine test stands built at the LA-98 Nike (radar) site at Magic Mountain. The stands were used around 1964 to test Reaction and Control Rocket Motor designs, destined for use in the Apollo Moon Missions! Even though the Nike site is listed as in use until the late 60's, the missile support equipment and personnel had been removed much earlier, and the LA-98 Magic Mountain summit area re-tasked for private aerospace contractor use.

Thanks to YoutTuber viewer Bodegasam for providing some great background on this site! More information on the Nike Missile Program can be found here:
http://www.nikeordnance.com/

Original video text [some corrections in brackets]:
This quick docmentary shows the remains of the LA-98 (Magic Mountain/Lang Station Nike Missile Site in the San Gabriel Mountians of southern California. It is one of 16 such sites which surrounded the Los Angeles area in the 1950s and 1960s and provided part of a layered nuclear [and non-nuclear] missile defense system during the cold war - primarily intended to shoot down bomber aircraft before they could deliver their nuclear payload on the city.

Built by the US Army in the 1950s, the sites have long since been decomissioned and many have been converted to civilian use, such as fire stations, and microwave relay / telecommunications facilities.

This particular facility [LA-98] was originally made to launch non-nuclear AJAX defense missiles, and was [not] later upgraded to support newer, more powerful 20-40 kiloton nuclear-tipped Hercules missiles [however, the nearby LA-94 site at Los Pinitos/Bear Divide was]. NIKE sites also maintained radar facilities and missile battery crews, ready to defend the city at a moment's notice.

Fortunately, the bombers never came and none of the mssiles were ever fired. The radioactive fallout from such a detonation over the city would likely have been harmful or fatal to many, although probably not nearly as destructive as the much larger weapon dropped and successfully detonated from a bomber aircraft.

Like many cold war weapons, these defenses served as a deterrent more than anything. They were well known to potential "enemies" of the time, but probably not so well known by the poeple in the nearby cities they were made to protect.

Much more information on these sites is available online - you can easily locate it with a Google search for "LA-98 nike missile site".

Here's a great article by the local paper online: http://www.the-signal.com/news/archive/10205/

The mountain peak on which this site resides is visible from all over Santa Clarita. As the story goes, the few locals in the valley at the time named it "Magic Mountain" because of the strange lights and activity that went on during the site's construction and term of service. It is not related to the amusement park "Six Flags Magic Mountain", which is 10+ miles to the west.

P.S. The dog is shown for scale! [grinn] =)

The music is "Monster Music" from the "Halloween 2000" CD by Technician (yours truly). Full artist discography, MP3 downloads and CDs are available at the Technician website: HTTP://technician.jcmdi.com

Note: This is copyrighted material, however, you may download this footage directly from YouTube and use it free of charge in your own non-profit/non-commercial YouTube videos. The full free usage policy, and copyright notice/claim and partner ad info can be found here:
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Category:

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[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

[holiday12345ABC]

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

[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 :-)

[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]

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]

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

[jcmegabyte]

Thanks for watching! :-)