Have you ever seen a rocket launch from the tip of the Keweenaw? Or hiked out to the site where it all happened?
Tucked away at the northernmost point of the Keweenaw Peninsula—accessible for those with the inclination to get out there—lies a memorial plaque where NASA rockets once soared into the sky. The Keweenaw Rocket Range, part of project WEBROC, was active through the 1960s until it was decommissioned in 1971 and the land was transferred to Michigan Tech.
But it wasn’t all high-powered launches, research, and data collection. Life at the rocket range and the Michigan Tech Keweenaw Field Station had its everyday moments too. This photo from the Michigan Tech Archives captures a chilly November day in 1965, with Lenard Williams and Mike Brian taking a brief pause to warm up a cup of coffee before getting back to their research. The image is one of several connected to the Keweenaw Rocket Range and project WEBROC.
Do you remember ever seeing a launch? Have you made the trek to the site? We’d love to hear your stories in the comments!
About the Archives
The Michigan Technological University Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections houses a wide variety of print, graphic and manuscript resources related to the history and culture the Copper Country and Michigan Technological University. If you would like to research in the archives, appointments are available from 1-5 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Appointments may be requested by calling (906) 487-2505 or by filling out the request form on the archives website. If you have any questions regarding archives services, collections, or remote research help, please reach out to (906) 487-2505 or e-mail us at copper@mtu.edu. The Michigan Tech Archives can also be found on Facebook (Michigan Tech Archives), Instagram (@michigantecharchives), and X (@mtuarchives).
I have visited the site several times but never saw a launch.
My dad, Elmer Isaacson, loaned his handmade snowmobile to the team. It was use to pull the rockets on a sled to the site.
I wish we still had the machine, but it was scrapped years ago. I have many memories of him building the machine, doing the first test runs in our field and getting pulled around the field on a toboggan.
We have been to the site several times. The trip is alot better now.
Beginning in 1975, after Isle Royale gave me backpacking fever, I would hitchhike to places like Copper Harbor to spend a long weekend exploring. One time I camped 1st at the beautiful sandy beach of Keystone Bay, then High Rock Bay the next night. Back then, it was almost always empty. I actually stumbled upon the concrete pad and a rusted, radial track that incorporated a linear gear. That’s all there was back then, no plaques, no identifying signs. I remember thinking to myself, you could launch rockets from here. Who knew? Many years later I was floored to learn my “guess” was successful. I missed all the action by only 4 years.
Visited the rocket launching site above Copper Harbor at least 2 to 4 times every year between 1970 & 1974 to camp/explore. Taught SCUBA 1974 thru 1977. Visited the site 4+ times a year to dive the wreck of the Scotia as training dives.