Oscar-Zero Launch Control Facility (Cooperstown, ND)

Oscar-Zero is a decommissioned Minuteman I launch control facility located near Cooperstown, North Dakota, that now operates as a museum. It is preserved as the Ronald Reagan Minuteman Missile State Historic Site for public tours.

The historic site allows visitors to descend in an elevator to the launch control center, which sits buried dozens of feet below the surface. This heavily reinforced underground capsule was built to survive nearby nuclear detonations.

The facility was deactivated in the late 1990s following the deactivation of the 321st Missile Group. It was subsequently turned over to the state of North Dakota to educate the public about Cold War history.

While on active duty, Oscar-Zero controlled ten Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles spread out across the North Dakota plains. The tour explains the rigid two-officer turn-key launch procedures required for these weapons.