War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Tour of Peacekeeper Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Silo

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Transcript

WAR AND PEACE IN THE NUCLEAR AGE - TAPE A12001[1]

Design and Functionality of MX Missile

The Peacekeeper Intercontinental Ballistic Missile is emplaced one

stage at a time into the canister which sits in the missile silo. The

exposed portion that you see right now is the fourth stage of the

liquid fuel stage.

Interviewer:

WHAT'S ABOVE US?

The opening that you see now is usually covered by the large launcher

closure that is 110 tons of reinforced steel and concrete. What you see

now is the environmental enclosure for the emplacer vehicle that will

remove and replace the stages.

Interviewer:

HOW MUCH HAVE WE GOT BELOW US HERE?

There is about 50 feet from this field joint to the bottom of the

missile. What remains to be emplaced is the reentry system, which is

another 14 feet tall.

Interviewer:

TELL ME ABOUT HOW THE MISSILE COMES OUT WHEN IT'S FIRED... AND THE FACT

THAT IT FITS PRETTY SNUG WITHIN HERE... EXPLAIN HOW THAT WORKS.

There is approximately a three-inch rattle space around the exterior or

perimeter of the missile that is filled by a series of pads. The bottom

part of the missile has a launch seal, that provides an enclosure for

the steam generator that sits at the bottom of the canister. This uses

a cold launch technique, the steam generator lights, that throws the

missile approximately 100 feet in the air before the first stage

ignites.

Interviewer:

HOW MUCH BIGGER...RELATE THIS TO HOW IT USED TO BE WHEN THERE WAS A

MINUTEMAN IN HERE?

The Minuteman uses a hot launch technique, which means that the first

stage ignites while its in the silo. Because of the increase in size of

the Peacekeeper, there's not enough room for those hot gases to

escape...during the launch sequence.

Interviewer:

TELL ME AGAIN, DESCRIBE FOR ME WHAT'S DOWN BELOW US THAT WE CAN'T SEE?

The portion you cannot see that has already been emplaced in the

canister is the first three stages, the solid fuel stages, and a good

portion of the fourth stage.

Interviewer:

NOW, WERE ONTO A DIFFERENT SHOT... EXPLAIN TO ME THE COLD LAUNCH SYSTEM

AGAIN.

The cold launch system uses a steam generator rather than firing the

stage while it is in the canister. And the steam throws the missile up

into the air prior to the first stage ignition.

Interviewer:

HOW MUCH BIGGER IS THIS MISSILE THAN THE MINUTEMAN?

The Minuteman, when it is entirely assembled, weighs approximately

80,000 pounds, the Peacekeeper weighs approximately 195,000 pounds.

Interviewer:

AND WHAT ABOUT THE DIMENSIONS?

The Peacekeeper is approximately 12 feet longer than the Minuteman and

about three feet, excuse me, two feet difference in diameter.

Interviewer:

WHAT CHANGES NEEDED TO BE MADE TO THE SILO TO REPLACE THE MINUTEMAN

WITH THE PEACEKEEPER?

Primarily all of the changes were in the launch tube itself. Removing

the suspension system that was used with the Minuteman and a

considerable part of the iron works for the launch tube itself. All of

the electronics racks have been updated to the state of the art

equipment. But other than that, there were very few changes.

Interviewer:

AND NOW EXPLAIN TO ME HOW THE RVS WOULD BE PUT ONTO THE STAGING?

The emplacement vehicle that is upstairs will lower the reentry system

through the opening here, and then its electrically and mechanically

mated to the fourth stage.

Interviewer:

THE POINT I WANT YOU TO MAKE...IF YOU COULD START OFF BY SAYING

SOMETHING LIKE: "THIS IS THE ALL-IMPORTANT FOURTH STAGE. ITS IMPORTANT

BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT PROVIDES THE GUIDANCE...THAT SORT OF POINT?

Okay.

Interviewer:

THEN I'LL PROBABLY ASK YOU SOME FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS.

This is the fourth stage of the Peacekeeper, this is what fine-tunes

the trajectory after the three solid stages have been expended and drop

away. This contains the two-

Interviewer:

(DIRECTION).

This is the fourth stage of the Peacekeeper ICBM, it contains the

liquid fuel system, the nine engines that use that fuel system to

propel the guidance set on the reentry vehicles to their individual

targets. These two tanks that you see here contain the fuel and the

oxidizer that are hypergolic, that is they ignite when they are mixed.

And those are mixed in the nozzles of each of these nine engines.

Interviewer:

LET'S START AGAIN. I'D PREFER YOU MAKE THE POINT THAT THIS IS THE STAGE

WHICH DOES THE MANEUVERING THAT ALLOWS EACH OF THE TEN WARHEADS TO BE

SENT TO A DIFFERENT TARGET? AND DON'T START BY SAYING THIS IS THE

FOURTH STAGE OF THE PEACEKEEPER ICBM, BECAUSE WE HAVE ALREADY

ESTABLISHED WHERE WE ARE...JUST SAY THIS IS THE FOURTH STAGE, AND GO

ONTO TO SAY WHY ITS IMPORTANT?

This fourth stage provides the ah, boost, ah, whatever... sorry.

Interviewer:

(DIRECTION).

This fourth stage is what carries the reentry vehicles to their

individual target points and provides the final guidance through the

guidance set and the engines to get each individual warhead to its

target.

Interviewer:

AND TELL ME ABOUT WHAT WE ARE SEEING IN FRONT OF US?

The three large tanks you can see, contain the fuel and the oxidizer,

and a helium tank to pressurize the two other tanks. This all takes

place out of the atmosphere so you don't really have a gravity feed for

the engines.

Interviewer:

AND WHAT ABOUT THE INDIVIDUAL... COULD YOU POINT OUT TO ME THE

INDIVIDUAL...

The large rocket motor in the center is the axial engine, it provides

the thrust to gain altitude and to get down-range far enough. The

engines that you see around the perimeter of the stage, provide the

pitch and roll for the final maneuvering prior to reentry vehicle

release.

Interviewer:

(DIRECTION). TELL ME AGAIN ABOUT THOSE ENGINES ON THE SIDE?

These engines, that are around the perimeter of the stage, provide the

fine tuning, the pitch and roll of the stage, in order to align the

reentry vehicle to its target.

Interviewer:

(DIRECTION). TELL ME AGAIN ABOUT THE ENGINES AND HOW THEY WORK? AND

WHERE THEY ARE?

The engines around the perimeter of the stage and the axial engine in

the center use these two hypergolic fuels to do the final course

alignment for the stage, prior to warhead release.

Interviewer:

AND SHOW ME WHERE THEY ARE AGAIN?

The large axial engine in the center of the stage provides the thrust

for the whole stage. And these small attitude control engines around

the perimeter provide the fine-tuning of the attitude.

Interviewer:

HOW LONG DOES THIS STAGE FLY FOR? DO YOU KNOW?

Its approximately ten to fifteen minutes depending on the range of the

target.

Interviewer:

(DIRECTION).

Okay.

Interviewer:

AND GO AHEAD.

-two on the opposite side and there is a, an engine down here that you

can see on either side. That's a pair of engines in opposite

directions... canted 90 degrees...so that's 2, 4, 6, 8, 9 and one in

the center.

Interviewer:

(DIRECTION). SO WHAT YOU SHOULD START BY SAYING IS THERE ARE ALSO

ENGINES WHICH COULD ONCE BECOME...JUST SHOW WE WHERE THEY ARE, THE

OTHER SETS OF ENGINES...

Ok.

Interviewer:

GO AHEAD.

What you can't see right now is another set of four engines that are in

the lower portion of the stage that also provide attitude control for

the stage.

Interviewer:

(DIRECTION). START OFF BY TELLING ME THAT THERE ARE NINE ENGINES

ALTOGETHER AND THEN DESCRIBE TO ME WHERE THEY ALL ARE?

There's nine engines in the fourth stage that provide thrust and

attitude control for the fourth stage and the reentry systems. The

large engine in the center provides the initial thrust for the fourth

stage-

Interviewer:

I'M SORRY...GO AHEAD.

There's nine engines in the fourth stage of the Peacekeeper that

provide the attitude control and the thrust for the stage and the

reentry system. The large axial engine in the center provides the

thrust for the stage, these attitude control engines around the outside

perimeter of the stage, provide the fine course alignment and the roll

to the stage and the reentry system. And the engines you cannot see in

the lower portion of the stage also provide the pitch movements for the

stage, for target alignment.

[END OF TAPE A12001 AND TRANSCRIPT]

Transcript

Transcript

Series: War and Peace in the Nuclear Age

Raw Footage: Tour of Peacekeeper Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Silo

Contributing Organization: WGBH (Boston, Massachusetts)

AAPB ID: cpb-aacip/15-f47gq6r67c

If you have more information about this item than what is given here, or if you have concerns about this record, we want to know! Contact us, indicating the AAPB ID (cpb-aacip/15-f47gq6r67c).

Description

Credits: Publisher: WGBH Educational Foundation
Writer: Banta, Charles

AAPB Contributor Holdings: WGBH
Identifier: a8bfe7948aa9f38f57ffd8333476676f72db2c4e (ArtesiaDAM UOI_ID)
Format: video/quicktime
Color: Color
Duration: 00:00:00

Citations: Chicago: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Tour of Peacekeeper Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Silo,” 1987-06-29, WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed October 17, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-f47gq6r67c.; MLA: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Tour of Peacekeeper Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Silo.” 1987-06-29. WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. October 17, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-f47gq6r67c>.; APA: War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Tour of Peacekeeper Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Silo. Boston, MA: WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-f47gq6r67c