68th Strategic Missile Squadron

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The 68th Strategic Missile Squadron (SMS) was located just north of the Black Hills, South Dakota. During March 1965 this SMS was responsible for the missile that was launched from N-1 10 miles north of Newell, South Dakota. The program was called "Project Longlife" and was the only successful launch of a LGM-30 Minuteman missile from an operational site. The "Project Longlife" purpose was to test the launch capabilities from an operational site and to see how much damage the missile caused to the launch silo. The missile contained only enough fuel to burn for 7 seconds with a total flight time of 43 seconds. Many Minuteman missiles have been launched successfully from Vandenberg Air Force Base.