White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, is the main missile testing site of the United States Army. The range covers about 2 million acres (800,000 hectares) in south-central New Mexico. This area is almost as large as the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined. The range extends about 100 miles (161 kilometers) from north to south, and 40 miles (64 kilometers) from east to west. The headquarters of the range are located 27 miles (43 kilometers) east of Las Cruces.
The Army established the White Sands Proving Ground in 1945 and renamed it in 1958. The United States tested its first missiles there in 1945, shortly before the end of World War II. They were V-2 missiles captured from the Germans. The first atomic bomb was exploded in July 1945 at Trinity Site, on the eastern side of the range.
