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In late 08/1954, the Wick Construction Company of Seattle, WA, won a contract to build a launching and control area for a Nike Ajax Missile installation near Lake Young in King County, WA. Their bid of $427,000 was the closest to the United States Air Force's own estimate of $417,666. The Air Force expected construction to be completed in 5 months.

The United States Air Force (USAF) had its first successful test of its Nike Ajax missile in 11/1951, and by 1953, it had erected its first launch facility near Washington, DC, at Fort Meade, MD. (The Armed Forces Security Agency [AFSA], formed in 1949, renamed the National Security Agency [NSA] in 06/1952, was also headquartered at Fort Meade.) Between 1953-1962, the USAF installed 240 launching stations across the US.

PCAD id: 17887