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Grand Central Rocket/Lockheed Propulsion Company Test Site (Beaumont, California)

USA / California / Beaumont / Beaumont, California / Highland Springs Road
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In the 1960s and early 1970s, the Grand Central Rocket Company, and later the Lockheed Propulsion Company (which purchased Grand Central Rocket) used this site in Potrero Canyon to test solid rocket propellant and motors, weapons, and ballistics. The site is now closed and in the process of being cleaned.
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Coordinates:   33°53'12"N   116°56'5"W

Comments

  • Walt Owen
    The highlighted area on the map shows only a small portion of the total area. This testing facility covered over 9.000 acres. The highlighted area covers only the truck parking/storage safety berms. There are many more areas that had active testing going on.
  • TommyBoy (guest)
    Walt is correct, the huge berms called revetments were used to store explosive materials for making rocket propellent. Highland Springs Ave can be seen on the east side of the area. I lived around there in when the site was active and there was a 2 story guard tower at the gate at the north end of the highlighted area. The Lockheed land continued about 2 more miles to the south and 2 more miles to the east. It was criss crossed with paved roads, electric and telephone lines and research structures large and small. Some are still there today, I know, I legally visited the place in 2014. The State of California Department of Fish and Game runs the place and they will site you if they catch you there without their permission. They are trying to protect the nocturnal Stephens Kangaroo Rat.
  • TommyBoy (guest)
    If you want to see a few close up photos of this place go to https://www.flickr.com/photos/129259403@N02/
  • captavgas (guest)
    The bunkers that are highlighted were for the project code named "Avante". The then highly classified project was a solid rocket booster for the D-21 drone. About 44 feet long, producing 27K pounds of thrust and burning for 90 seconds it was attached to the D-21 and launched from a B-52
This article was last modified 12 years ago