The Minuteman Rocket

MINUTEMAN: LAUNCH WITH A MINUTE'S NOTICE

The silo-based, three-stage Minuteman missile became this country's standard ICBM. Unlike the first ICBMs, which used liquid propellants and were time-consuming to prepare for launch, the Minuteman was a solid-propellant missile ready for instant response.

Minuteman I was deployed in missile fields in the western and midwestern United States beginning in 1962. Each missile carried a single nuclear warhead. The original Minuteman was superseded by improved Minuteman II and Minuteman III missiles. Minuteman III could carry three independently targeted nuclear warheads. Some 550 Minuteman IIIs were deployed in the United States beginning in 1970.

120 k jpeg
NARA#: KE 14192

MINUTEMAN III

The Minuteman III missile on display at the Museum was prepared for training or static display. It contains neither propellant nor warheads.

Because the Minuteman is based underground and its lower casing has an ablative layer of cork--an organic material susceptible to fungus and decay--it has been treated with a fungicide, which accounts for the missile's green color.

Transferred from the U.S. Air Force

Length:	18 m (60 ft)
Weight:	34,200 kg (76,000 lb)
Thrust:	758,200 newtons (170,000 lb)
Propellant:	Solid
Manufacturer (prime):	Boeing Co.

Advanced ICBM			The Chip
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