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Topics: military bases, communities, edwards, space shuttle, Edwards Air Force Base, China Lake, China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station
Posted by admin Thu Jul 24, 2008 12:23:18 PDT
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Edwards Air Force Base

Edwards Air Force Base, possibly more famous than Kern County, or even Bakersfield, is much more than an air base. It boasts a bowling alley, fast-food restaurants, ice cream shops and several dining, recreation and entertainment amenities.

Edwards might be ideal for military personnel who want their families to live with them, but housing on the base is undergoing a continuous improvement plan with demolition and construction expected to continue into 2009. Consequently, wait lists might be longer than normal.

Some military personnel and all but one civilian employee at Edwards live off-base. They can choose from several surrounding communities, including Rosamond, Lancaster, Palmdale, California City and Tehachapi.

The base is 470 square miles and employs around 12,800 people. The on-base population of 2,038 accounts for about 60 percent of the military personnel.

The land the base occupies was once populated by pioneer homesteaders. In 1933, the area was used as a bombing range and later as a bomber training base during World War II, according to the Edwards Web site.

In December 1949, the base was named for Capt. Glen W. Edwards, who was killed a year earlier in a crash of the Northrop YB-49.

Edwards Air Force Base has since been used to develop flight technology and has been the birthplace of more innovations in flight than any other place on Earth, according to the Web site. Edwards is the second largest Air Force base in the United States.

Law enforcement: On-base security, 95th Security Forces Squadron, 277-3340.

Fire protection: Edwards AFB fire department, multiple stations: 277-3340.

Attractions

• Air show: Will resume in 2009 depending on runway construction.

• Tours: Group tours of 15 or more are available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Groups should register at least one month in advance. Tours include the Air Force Flight Test Center Museum and NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center. General public tours are also available on the first and third Friday of each month. To register for either tour, call Public Affairs at 277-3510 or schedule one online by selecting “Request a Tour” at http://www.edwards.af. mil/main/contactus.asp.

• Flight Test Center Museum: 405 S. Rosamond Blvd., 277-8050. Features exhibits, displays and videos depicting the history of Edwards, including aircraft displays and aviation paraphernalia. Registration required.

• Space shuttle landings: Edwards continues to be an alternate emergency landing site for space shuttle flights. There is seldom a chance for public viewing as the decision to land at Edwards is usually made 90 minutes before the estimated landing time.

China Lake

In 1943, Dr. Charles C. Lauritsen of the California Institute of Technology and Navy Cmdr. Jack Renard spotted a small landing strip near what is now Inyokern.

The institute was developing rocket technology for the Navy, which also needed a new testing ground for weapons development. The airstrip, in the middle of the vast Mojave Desert, was ideal for testing rockets and other weapons.

On Nov. 8, 1943, the Naval Ordnance Test Station at China Lake was established.
What started as a dusty landing strip has since grown to encompass the 1.1 million acres that now make up the base at China Lake.

Since those early days, the base has undergone several name changes and chain-of-command realignment. In 1967, it was renamed the Naval Weapons Center China Lake.

In 1992, it became the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, falling under the umbrella of the weapons division of the Naval Air Systems Command. In 2003, the base broke away and fell in line under the Navy Region Southwest.
The base in northeastern Kern County employs more than 4,400 civilian employees and about 700 military personnel.

Some 1,500 contractors also work at the base, which is adjacent to the city of Ridgecrest.

In March 2008, the Navy approved relocating an additional 1,000 armament experts from California, Indiana, Maryland and Virginia to China Lake by Sept. 15, 2011.  

For more than six decades, China Lake projects have included work on the Sidewinder air-to-air missile, the Shrike anti-radiation missile, the Tomahawk cruise missile and the Joint Direct Attack Munitions weapon or “smart bomb.”

The Digital Precision Strike Suite provides strike aircraft with ground coordinates, and the Tactical Dissemination Module links command centers with strike aircraft.
Some scientific breakthroughs at China Lake have been incorporated into everyday life. The electro-mechanical shuttered video camera provides non-smear stop-action images of weapons tests. This technology was subsequently used in stop-action sports broadcasting.

The technology that makes glow sticks, a popular safety light each Halloween, was developed at China Lake to help rescuers locate downed pilots at night.

The research and development at the base is wide-ranging, from basic research in physics and chemistry to applied projects in energetic materials, embedded computers, specialized semiconductor materials and lasers and optics.

The base museum, on Blandy Avenue, presents the history of weapons developed at China Lake. The visitor center is at Highway 178 and China Lake Blvd.

For more information, call the visitor center at 760-939-3160, the public affairs office at 760-939-1683, or visit www.nawcwd.navy.mil.
 

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