'MegaStructures' takes a look at how NORAD was built

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Nov 8, 2005 | by ANDREW WINEKE THE GAZETTE

The National Geographic cable channel's "MegaStructures" goes inside Cheyenne Mountain today for an in-depth look at NORAD.

Laurie Brian, who produced the episode for National Geographic, spent several days at the facility last year and got to see some things they never showed to tour groups.

"The things that we got to see were amazing," Brian said. "There's nothing like it in the world."

Brian said the episode will focus on NORAD's history and the innovative construction techniques used to blast the massive space out of solid rock. Seven hundred thousand tons of rock were removed to create the space.

"That was our biggest challenge: To show the structure when it's inside the mountain," she said.

Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, getting access to the inside of NORAD's Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center has become much more challenging. Still, the elaborate facility, at once Cold War retro and Space Age futuristic, has often been a tempting location for television. Most recently, CNN kicked off its afternoon news show "The Situation Room" in August with a series of reports from inside NORAD.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0275 or awineke@gazette.com

TO VIEW

National Geographic's "MegaStructures" airs at 6 p.m. today on Adelphia channel 120.