Word: titanic
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...newest member of the Air Force missile family was born four years ago. when the nation's hopes for a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile were carried by hard-to-handle, liquid-fueled rockets still in the development stage. Even then, before such giants as Atlas and Titan were ready to go, cold war planners worried that the massive, complex installations demanded by liquid fueling made tempting hot war targets. What was needed was a smaller, mobile missile that could be easily hidden and instantly launched...
...Minuteman, designed to be fired some 6,000 miles from bases in the continental U.S. Like Polaris. Minuteman packs a half-megaton punch (only one-third of the explosive load of the fully developed, liquid-fueled Atlas and only one-fifth of the giant warhead of the liquid Titan). Like Polaris and the Army's tactical Pershing missile, Minuteman is cheaper and far simpler to handle than its liquid-fueled predecessors, requires a much smaller crew. Once built and armed, it can be stored indefinitely, countdown-ready-an ideal weapon for the split-second demands of push button warfare...
...seven: B-52, Titan, Atlas, Minuteman, Polaris, Skybolt (an air-launched ballistic missile), and the A³D, an H-bomb carrier plane...
...particularly to the U.S. Air Force, which is building a network of underground Atlas and Titan rocket-launching sites in the arid inland wastes of New Mexico, South Dakota and Oklahoma. In these areas available water is apt to be brackish, highly contaminated with minerals and salts that make it unpleasant and harmful for men and missiles alike. In addition to satisfying the need of parched humans, the bases must also slake the huge thirst of the rocket complex: thousands of gallons of water are needed to cool intricate machinery and to air-condition control rooms...
...costs a top-level committee of General Bradley, Air Force Controller Lieut. General William D. Eckert and Inspector General Lieut. General Joseph F. Carroll last week launched 70 specialists into the field to survey management practices of Air Force prime contractors. First to be studied is Martin Co., Titan missile prime contractor. Martin was picked because the Titan program is at the stage where catching mistakes might save money. The Atlas missile program is too old, the Minuteman too young...