SM-68 Titan
Encyclopedia
The SM-68 Titan was the designation for two American
intercontinental ballistic missile
s, which were members of the Titan family of rockets
. These consisted of the Titan I
and Titan II missiles, which were operational between 1962 and 1987, and were a major component of the United States fleet of missiles during the Cold War
.
Titan was originally built as a backup to the SM-65 Atlas. The Titan I used RP-1
and liquid oxygen
propellant, resulting in a response time of around fifteen minutes, required to fuel the rocket and raise it to a launch position. It was replaced by the more powerful Titan II, which used nitrogen tetroxide and hydrazine
, allowing it to be stored with propellant loaded, giving it a much shorter response time.
The Titan I
was the first version of the Titan family of rockets. It began as a backup ICBM
project in case the Atlas
was delayed. It was a two-stage rocket propelled by RP-1
and liquid oxygen
. Using RP-1 and LOX meant that the Titan I did not have a quick launch sequence. It took about fifteen minutes to load LOX on the first missile at a complex, raise it topside and launch it, with the other two missiles following at about eight minute intervals. Titan I was operational from early 1962 to mid-1965.
Several US Air Force units operated the Titan I:
Most Titan rockets were the Titan II, which could carry a W-53 nuclear warhead with a nine megaton yield
, making it the most powerful ICBM on-standby in the US nuclear arsenal. These were deployed in three squadrons of 18 missiles each, in Arizona
, Kansas
, and Arkansas
. All of the ICBM Titan II missile sites have been decommissioned since the retirement of the Titan II as an ICBM in 1987, but the Titan Missile Museum
on Interstate 19
south of Tucson, Arizona
, has preserved one deactivated launch site. The Titan II was a two-stage ICBM that was used by the US Air Force from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s. The Titan II used a hypergolic combination of nitrogen tetroxide and hydrazine
for propellant. In addition to its use as an ICBM, twelve Titan II missiles were converted to launch Gemini spacecraft for NASA
, ten of which were manned. Following retirement, a further thirteen were converted to the Titan 23G configuration, and used to launch satellites, and the Clementine Lunar probe
. The last Titan II launch occurred in 2003.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
intercontinental ballistic missile
Intercontinental ballistic missile
An intercontinental ballistic missile is a ballistic missile with a long range typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery...
s, which were members of the Titan family of rockets
Titan (rocket family)
Titan was a family of U.S. expendable rockets used between 1959 and 2005. A total of 368 rockets of this family were launched, including all the Project Gemini manned flights of the mid-1960s...
. These consisted of the Titan I
Titan I
The Martin Marietta SM-68A/HGM-25A Titan I was the United States' first multistage ICBM . Incorporating the latest design technology when designed and manufactured, the Titan I provided an additional nuclear deterrent to complement the U.S. Air Force's SM-65 Atlas missile...
and Titan II missiles, which were operational between 1962 and 1987, and were a major component of the United States fleet of missiles during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
.
Titan was originally built as a backup to the SM-65 Atlas. The Titan I used RP-1
RP-1
RP-1 is a highly refined form of kerosene outwardly similar to jet fuel, used as a rocket fuel. Although having a lower specific impulse than liquid hydrogen , RP-1 is cheaper, can be stored at room temperature, is far less of an explosive hazard and is far denser...
and liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen — abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries — is one of the physical forms of elemental oxygen.-Physical properties:...
propellant, resulting in a response time of around fifteen minutes, required to fuel the rocket and raise it to a launch position. It was replaced by the more powerful Titan II, which used nitrogen tetroxide and hydrazine
Hydrazine
Hydrazine is an inorganic compound with the formula N2H4. It is a colourless flammable liquid with an ammonia-like odor. Hydrazine is highly toxic and dangerously unstable unless handled in solution. Approximately 260,000 tons are manufactured annually...
, allowing it to be stored with propellant loaded, giving it a much shorter response time.
Titan I
The Titan I
Titan I
The Martin Marietta SM-68A/HGM-25A Titan I was the United States' first multistage ICBM . Incorporating the latest design technology when designed and manufactured, the Titan I provided an additional nuclear deterrent to complement the U.S. Air Force's SM-65 Atlas missile...
was the first version of the Titan family of rockets. It began as a backup ICBM
Intercontinental ballistic missile
An intercontinental ballistic missile is a ballistic missile with a long range typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery...
project in case the Atlas
Atlas (missile)
The SM-65 Atlas was the first intercontinental ballistic missile developed and deployed by the United States. It was built for the U.S. Air Force by Convair Division of General Dynamics at the Kearny Mesa assembly plant north of San Diego, California...
was delayed. It was a two-stage rocket propelled by RP-1
RP-1
RP-1 is a highly refined form of kerosene outwardly similar to jet fuel, used as a rocket fuel. Although having a lower specific impulse than liquid hydrogen , RP-1 is cheaper, can be stored at room temperature, is far less of an explosive hazard and is far denser...
and liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen — abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries — is one of the physical forms of elemental oxygen.-Physical properties:...
. Using RP-1 and LOX meant that the Titan I did not have a quick launch sequence. It took about fifteen minutes to load LOX on the first missile at a complex, raise it topside and launch it, with the other two missiles following at about eight minute intervals. Titan I was operational from early 1962 to mid-1965.
Several US Air Force units operated the Titan I:
- 568th Strategic Missile Squadron568th Strategic Missile SquadronThe 568th Strategic Missile Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 462d Strategic Aerospace Wing, stationed at Larson Air Force Base, Washington. It was inactivated on 25 March 1965.-History:...
, Larson AFB, Moses Lake, Washington - 569th Strategic Missile Squadron569th Strategic Missile SquadronThe 569th Strategic Missile Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 9th Strategic Aerospace Wing, stationed at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. It was inactivated on 1 April 1965.-History:...
, Mountain Home AFBMountain Home Air Force BaseMountain Home Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation located in southwestern Idaho, United States. The base is in Elmore County, 12 miles southwest of the city of Mountain Home, which is 40 miles southeast of Boise, via Interstate 84.The host unit at Mountain Home since 1972...
, Mt Home, IdahoIdahoIdaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state.... - 851st Strategic Missile Squadron851st Strategic Missile SquadronThe 851st Strategic Missile Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 456th Strategic Missile Wing, based at Beale Air Force Base, California...
, Beale AFB, Marysville, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... - 850th Strategic Missile Squadron850th Strategic Missile SquadronThe 850th Strategic Missile Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 44th Missile Wing, based at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota. It was inactivated on 25 March 1965.-History:...
, Ellsworth AFB, Rapid City, South DakotaSouth DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over... - 451st Strategic Missile Wing (formerly 703rd) Lowry AFB, Denver, ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
Titan II
Most Titan rockets were the Titan II, which could carry a W-53 nuclear warhead with a nine megaton yield
Nuclear weapon yield
The explosive yield of a nuclear weapon is the amount of energy discharged when a nuclear weapon is detonated, expressed usually in the equivalent mass of trinitrotoluene , either in kilotons or megatons , but sometimes also in terajoules...
, making it the most powerful ICBM on-standby in the US nuclear arsenal. These were deployed in three squadrons of 18 missiles each, in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, and Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
. All of the ICBM Titan II missile sites have been decommissioned since the retirement of the Titan II as an ICBM in 1987, but the Titan Missile Museum
Titan Missile Museum
The Titan Missile Museum, also known as Air Force Facility Missile Site 8 or as Titan II ICBM Site 571-7, is a former ICBM missile site located at 1580 West Duval Mine Road, Sahuarita, Arizona. It is located about 15 miles south of Tucson...
on Interstate 19
Interstate 19
Interstate 19 is an intrastate Interstate Highway located entirely within the state of Arizona. I-19 runs from Nogales, roughly 1,500 feet from the Mexican border, to Tucson, at Interstate 10...
south of Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
, has preserved one deactivated launch site. The Titan II was a two-stage ICBM that was used by the US Air Force from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s. The Titan II used a hypergolic combination of nitrogen tetroxide and hydrazine
Hydrazine
Hydrazine is an inorganic compound with the formula N2H4. It is a colourless flammable liquid with an ammonia-like odor. Hydrazine is highly toxic and dangerously unstable unless handled in solution. Approximately 260,000 tons are manufactured annually...
for propellant. In addition to its use as an ICBM, twelve Titan II missiles were converted to launch Gemini spacecraft for NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
, ten of which were manned. Following retirement, a further thirteen were converted to the Titan 23G configuration, and used to launch satellites, and the Clementine Lunar probe
Exploration of the Moon
The physical exploration of the Moon began when Luna 2, a space probe launched by the Soviet Union, made an impact on the surface of the Moon on September 14, 1959. Prior to that the only available means of exploration had been observation. The invention of the optical telescope brought about the...
. The last Titan II launch occurred in 2003.
See also
- Titan IIITitan IIIThe Titan IIIC was a space booster used by the United States Air Force. It was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL., and Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA. It was planned to be used as a launch vehicle in the cancelled Dyna-Soar and Manned Orbiting Laboratory programs...
- Titan IIIB
- Titan 34DTitan 34DThe Titan 34D was an American rocket, used to launch a number of satellites for mostly military applications. After its retirement from military service, a small number were converted to the Commercial Titan III configuration, which included a stretched second stage, and a larger fairing...
- Titan IVTitan IVThe Titan IV family of space boosters were used by the U.S. Air Force. They were launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. At the time of its introduction, the Titan IV was the "largest unmanned space booster used by the Air Force."The...