White Sands to open Trinity Site for public open house in October

WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, New Mexico (KVIA) -- Members of the public will get the chance to visit the site of the start of the atomic age next month.

White Sands Missile Range will be hosting the annual Trinity site open house on Saturday, October 17. Admission is free to visit the memorial obelisk that marks the exact location of the world's first atomic test.

According to a release, Visitors should enter White Sands Missile Range through the Stallion Range Gate, located 5 miles south of U.S. Highway 380. The turnoff is 12 miles east of San Antonio, New Mexico. The Stallion Gate will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The site will close promptly at 3:30 p.m.

The result of the work of scientist with the Manhattan Project during World War II, the test nuclear bomb known as the 'Gadget' was detonated on July 16, 1945, at 5:29:45 a.m. Mountain War Time.

Visitors can walk a quarter of a mile to the detonation site obelisk. The ranch house where scientists assembled the bomb’s plutonium core may also be open pending weather conditions.

For more details, visit the White Sands Missile Range event website.