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20-673: North Oscura Peak , is a summit in the Oscura Mountains in Socorro County , New Mexico is the location of an Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) site in the northern portion of the White Sands Missile Range . It rises to an elevation of 7,976 feet (2,431 meters). North Oscura Peak was a former Army missile tracking site. Designed to withstand rocket strikes, the walls at the site are 4 feet (1.2 m) thick, with 1,200 tons of concrete embedded six feet in bedrock. In 1972

40-501: A spacecraft in orbit, and depth is used for points below the surface. Elevation is not to be confused with the distance from the center of the Earth. Due to the equatorial bulge , the summits of Mount Everest and Chimborazo have, respectively, the largest elevation and the largest geocentric distance. In aviation, the term elevation or aerodrome elevation is defined by the ICAO as

60-399: A big, massive rock next to the main summit of a mountain is not considered a summit. Summits near a higher peak, with some prominence or isolation , but not reaching a certain cutoff value for the quantities, are often considered subsummits (or subpeaks ) of the higher peak, and are considered part of the same mountain. A pyramidal peak is an exaggerated form produced by ice erosion of

80-449: A fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid , a mathematical model of the Earth 's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vertical datum ). The term elevation is mainly used when referring to points on the Earth's surface, while altitude or geopotential height is used for points above the surface, such as an aircraft in flight or

100-684: A large concrete pad was built with associated power to operate the LAD (Laser Acquisition and Direction) system. It was named the Laser Airborne Simulation and Test (LAST) Site. This was a test program by the Air Force Weapons Laboratory Laser Division at Kirtland AFB. It was during the Vietnam War, and was to examine the potential of detecting optically directed antiaircraft systems using airborne laser scanning. The program

120-405: A mountain top. Summit may also refer to the highest point along a line, trail, or route. The highest summit in the world is Mount Everest with a height of 8,848.86 m (29,031.7 ft) above sea level . The first official ascent was made by Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary . They reached the mountain's peak in 1953. Whether a highest point is classified as a summit, a sub peak or

140-525: A road, highway, or railroad, more commonly referred to as a pass . For example, the highest point along Interstate 80 in California is referred to as Donner Summit and the highest point on Interstate 5 is Siskiyou Mountain Summit . This can lead to confusion as to whether a labeled "summit" is a pass or a peak. Elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below

160-475: A separate mountain is subjective. The International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation 's definition of a 4,000 m peak is that it has a prominence of 30 metres (98 ft) or more; it is a mountain summit if it has a prominence of at least 300 metres (980 ft). Otherwise, it is a subpeak. In many parts of the Western United States , the term summit can also be used for the highest point along

180-458: A surrogate for the high energy weapons laser. Atop 8,000-foot (2,400 m) high North Oscura Peak, a 30-inch (760 mm) telescope is used to send and receive laser light to and from Salinas Peak , another site approximately 35 miles (56 km) away. Sophisticated instrumentation is used to measure the extent that Earth's atmosphere distorts the laser light. Then, deformable optics are used: mirrors that can change their shape to compensate for

200-448: A variety of missiles being launched at White Sands Missile Range. Although three to four missile launches may take place each year, Laboratory scientists will be getting better data from a different “target” — a single engine propeller driven Cessna Caravan airplane. This test aircraft will carry a scoring board comprising a range of detectors that will be able to gather greater amounts and more complete information than will be available from

220-688: Is designed to assemble and evaluate advanced sensor, tracking and atmospheric compensation systems. In 2002 the goal was to improve the ability of the United States Air Force to track missiles and then efficiently transmit laser energy through the atmosphere to destroy them. The site is managed by the AFRL−Air Force Research Laboratory Directed Energy Directorate, headquartered at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque , about 140 miles (230 km) to

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240-492: The collected data and scale it to the higher altitudes and longer ranges envisioned for the Airborne Laser. Research at this site may be applied on the first three Airborne Laser production aircraft or as advanced weaponry on tactical aircraft. During a test, North Oscura and Salinas Peaks are in constant communications, and a laser cannot propagate unless several failsafe measures are in force at both locations. These are among

260-591: The distortions. The information gained from these tests will benefit any follow on efforts to the Airborne Laser — a large cargo aircraft, equipped with a high energy laser that can destroy theater ballistic missiles hundreds of miles away. In contrast to the Airborne Laser, which is designed to operate at altitudes around 40,000 feet (12,000 m), these tests are taking place on peaks that are between 8,000 and 9,000 feet (2,700 m) in elevation. The denser air at these lower test elevations makes it possible to take

280-421: The highest point of the landing area. It is often measured in feet and can be found in approach charts of the aerodrome. It is not to be confused with terms such as the altitude or height. GIS or geographic information system is a computer system that allows for visualizing, manipulating, capturing, and storage of data with associated attributes. GIS offers better understanding of patterns and relationships of

300-579: The landscape at different scales. Tools inside the GIS allow for manipulation of data for spatial analysis or cartography. A topographical map is the main type of map used to depict elevation, often through contour lines . In a Geographic Information System (GIS), digital elevation models (DEM) are commonly used to represent the surface (topography) of a place, through a raster (grid) dataset of elevations. Digital terrain models are another way to represent terrain in GIS. USGS (United States Geologic Survey)

320-413: The missiles. Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme , apex , peak ( mountain peak ), and zenith are synonymous . The term top ( mountain top ) is generally used only for a mountain peak that is located at some distance from the nearest point of higher elevation. For example,

340-498: The north. Overall, 40 people are working on the project, most of whom reside in offices at the Directed Energy Directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base, about 140 miles (230 km) away. Six to eight people work at the site with four of them there full-time. Three lasers are typically used at the site: a 30 watt tracking laser, a 30 watt adaptive optics beacon laser, and a 3 watt scoring laser. The scoring laser acts as

360-515: The safety precautions in place to ensure eye-safe operations. A 30-inch (760 mm) telescope was initially used, one of the largest refractor telescopes in the world. However, in late January 1999, it was replaced with a $ 2.5 million, 1 metre (39 inches) telescope built for the Research Laboratory by Contraves Brasher Systems in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Unlike the initial telescope, which

380-515: Was stationary, the new telescope was designed to be used with a moveable mount. Capable of moving down 5 degrees and revolving 360 degrees, it can be used with moving targets to simulate more realistic wartime conditions. In order to properly house the new telescope, an isolation free structural steel tower was built in December. By June 1999, the Air Force will be able to fire its nondestructive lasers at

400-555: Was terminated with the conclusion of the Vietnam War. The Laser Division became the Directed Energy Directorate, which refurbished the site in June 1997, spending approximately $ 700,000 to repair the buildings, bring in the telescope, build a clean room, and install lasers, advanced optics, computers and test instrumentation. The budget also included improvements to the receiver station at Salinas Peak, where three portable shelters, an electronics room and an optics room were installed. The facility

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