Atlas site

Don Zwonitzer, owner of an Atlas E missile home near Kimball, Neb., stands at the entrance of the main underground portion of his home April 19. The entrance is located at the end of a long, metal and cement walkway. The conversion from a missile site to a home took about five years to complete (Photos by Airman Alex Martinez).

Home sweet home

Published May 9, 2007
By Airman Alex Martinez
90th Space Wing Public Affairs

90th Space Wing Public Affairs -- In today's society, it's all about being prepared for anything. One couple in Nebraska has gone above and beyond just being prepared by converting a decommissioned ICBM site into their very own home sweet home.

Located about 2 miles southwest of Kimball, Neb., an Atlas E missile site, belonging to Don and Charlene Zwonitzer, is outfitted as a place to call home and a place to be when disasters occur such as tornadoes or nuclear explosions.

"We have to do what we can do to be prepared," said Mr. Zwonitzer, a retired electrical engineer. "The key is understanding how to prepare."

The Zwonitzers have enough food and water in the 20,000 square foot site to survive for more than a year. The home's energy sources include two diesel generators, two inverters, two sets of battery banks and a wind generator.

"One of the goals for us is to be self sufficient and self sustained," Mrs. Zwonitzer said.
The Atlas site is built with 139,000 cubic yards of concrete. The old command section of the site, now the living room and kitchen, sits underground with two feet of concrete and about five feet of earth above it. To access the main portion of the house, visitors have to walk down a metal and concrete walkway that descends from the surface.

"My wife loves the fact that she doesn't have to wash windows anymore," Mr. Zwonitzer said.

The strength of the house is remarkable; it can withstand a one megaton blast 1.6 miles away. That would make it a safe place to be, being that the location of the house is in tornado alley. The home is outfitted with remote-controlled cameras on the surface that are linked to a computer system and controlled from inside the living room to alert the Zwonitzers of visitors and other activity outside the home.

"We can watch the tornados roll by in the comfort of our living room on our TV," Mr. Zwonitzer said.

The home's largest feature, besides the main 40-foot missile door made of heavy gauged steel, is the converted flame pit that houses a green house. The steep walls of the pit are draped with 11 metal terraces that house a wide range of plants and vegetables. The top is covered with large glass windows that allow in an abundance of light.

Mr. Zwonitzer said, "We feel fortunate that most of the work at the site was in place, we just had to come in and make it our home."