Matagorda TARS Site

The TARS site at Matagorda, Texas, on the coast southwest of Houston, is a former federal radar site, one of several that were constructed for the Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) program, to monitor the southern border of the USA. At each site, a 200-foot long helium blimp, containing radar equipment, was connected to the ground by a two-mile long cord. Three of the sites along the Gulf were closed several years ago. Eight others, spread from Arizona to Florida, still operate.