On Nov 2nd we visited the Titan Missile Museum and took the tour of the Titan II missile. During the Cold War, 54 Titan II missiles stood alert in their underground silos all across the country, protecting the US. The Titan II missile was the largest and most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) built by the US. It stood 103 feet tall and 10 feet in diameter. This silo became operational in 1963 and was deactivated in 1982. In 1987, the last Titan II site was deactivated. Only one Titan II site remains. The tour took us below ground into the silo, to the launch control room, where we experienced a simulated launch, the long cableways or tunnels and the warhead stage at top. The missile’s huge 9-megaton warhead could be delivered to targets more than 6000 miles away in about 35 minutes to any one of three predetermined targets that were unknown to the launch crew, and was capable of devastating an area of about 900 square miles. The missile’s stop speed was about 16,000 mph, more than 20 times the speed of sound.
