THE MICKELSEN SAFEGUARD COMPLEX COST BILLIONS TO BUILD AND CLOSED AFTER ONLY 1 DAY? LINKS BELOW.

The site achieved initial operating capability on 1 April 1975, and full operational capability on 1 October 1975 costing $6 billion. However, on 2 October 1975, the House of Representatives voted to decommission the project, after they deemed it ineffective.

The Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex (SRMSC) was a cluster of military facilities near Langdon, North Dakota, that supported the United States Army's Safeguard anti-ballistic missile program. The complex provided launch and control for 30 LIM-49 Spartan anti-ballistic missiles, and 70 shorter-range Sprint anti-ballistic missiles.

The deployment area of the complex covered the Minuteman launchers of the 321st Strategic Missile Wing, based at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota. Under the terms of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, the US was permitted to deploy a single ABM system protecting an area containing ICBM launchers. The total of 100 launchers and 100 missiles was the maximum permitted under the treaty.