A Titan II intercontinental ballistic missile in silo |
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| Function | ICBM/Launch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Martin |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Cost per launch (1969) | $3.16m (USD) |
| Size | |
| Height | 31.394 metres (103.00 ft)(ICBM config) |
| Diameter | 3.05 metres (10.0 ft) |
| Mass | 154,000 kilograms (340,000 lb) |
| Stages | 2 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO | 3,600 kilograms (7,900 lb) |
| Payload to 10,000 kilometres (6,200 mi) sub-orbital trajectory |
3,700 kilograms (8,200 lb) |
| Payload to Polar LEO |
2,177 kilograms (4,800 lb) |
| Payload to Escape |
227 kilograms (500 lb) |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Retired |
| Launch sites | Cape Canaveral LC-15, LC-16 & LC-19 Vandenberg AFB LC-395 & SLC-4W |
| Total launches | 106 ICBM: 81 GLV: 12 23G: 13 |
| Successes | 101 ICBM: 77 GLV: 12 23G: 12 |
| Failures | 5 (ICBM: 4, 23G: 1) |
| Maiden flight | 12 March 1962 |
| Last flight | 18 October 2003 |
| Notable payloads | Gemini (manned) Clementine |
| First stage | |
| Engines | 2 LR-87 |
| Thrust | 1,900 kN (430,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 258 s |
| Burn time | 156 s |
| Fuel | A-50 Hydrazine/dinitrogen tetroxide |
| Second stage | |
| Engines | 1 LR-91 |
| Thrust | 445 kN (100,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 316 s |
| Burn time | 180 s |
| Fuel | A-50 Hydrazine/dinitrogen tetroxide |
The Titan II was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and space launcher developed by the Glenn L. Martin Company from the earlier Titan I missile. Titan II was originally used as an ICBM. It was later used as a medium-lift space launch vehicle to carry payloads for the Air Force, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). These payloads include the USAF Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), the NOAA weather satellites, and NASA's Gemini manned space capsules. The modified Titan II SLVs (Space Launch Vehicles) were launched from Vandenberg AFB, California up until 2003.
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The Titan II ICBM was the successor to the Titan I, and carried a payload twice as heavy. It also used storable propellants, which reduced the time to launch and permitted it to be launched from its silo. Titan II carried the largest single warhead of any American ICBM.
The missile consists of a two-stage, rocket engine powered vehicle and a Re-entry vehicle (RV). Provisions are included for in-flight separation of Stage II from Stage I, and separation of the RV from Stage II. Stage I and Stage II vehicles each contain propellant and pressurization, rocket engine, hydraulic and electrical systems, and explosive components. In addition, Stage II contains the flight control system and missile guidance set.
The airframe is a two-stage, aerodynamically stable structure that houses and protects the airborne missile equipment during powered flight. The missile guidance set enables the shutdown and staging enable relay to initiate Stage I separation. Each stage is 10 feet in diameter and has fuel and oxidiser tanks in tandem, with the walls of the tanks forming the skin of the missile in those areas. External conduits are attached to the outside surface of the tanks to provide passage for the wire bundles and tubing. Access doors are provided on the missile forward, aft and between-tanks structure for inspection and maintenance. A man-hole cover for tank entry is located on the forward dome of each tank.
The Stage I airframe consists of an interstage structure, oxidiser tank forward skirt, oxidiser tank, between-tanks structure, and fuel tank. The interstage structure, oxidiser tank forward skirt, and between-tanks structure are all fabricated assemblies utilizing riveted skin, stringers and frame. The oxidiser tank is a welded structure consisting of a forward dome, tank barrel, an aft dome and a feedline. The fuel tank, also a welded structure, consists of a forward dome, tank barrel an aft cone, and internal conduit.
The Stage II airframe consists of a transition section, oxidiser tank, between-tanks structure, fuel tank and aft skirt. The transition section, between-tanks structure and aft skirt are all fabricated assemblies utilizing riveted skin, stringers and frame. The oxidiser tank and fuel tank are welded structures consisting of a forward and aft domes.
The following data is from publication T.O. 21M-LGM25C-1 (Dash 1)
| Component | Dimension |
|---|---|
| Stage I length | 67 feet |
| Stage II length | 29 feet |
| RV length (including spacer) | 14 feet |
| Stage I diameter | 10 feet |
| Stage II diameter | 10 feet |
| RV diameter (at missile interface) | 8.3 feet |
| Stage I weight (dry) | 9,522 pounds |
| Stage I weight (full) | 267,300 pounds |
| Stage II weight (dry) | 5,073 pounds |
| Stage II weight (full) | 62,700 pounds |
| Stage I engine thrust | 430,000 pounds (sea level) |
| Stage II engine thrust | 100,000 pounds (250,000 feet) |
| Vernier thrust (silo) | 950 pounds |
The first Titan II guidance system was built by AC Spark Plug. It used an IMU (inertial measurement unit, a gyroscopic sensor) made by AC Spark Plug derived from original designs from MIT Draper Labs. The missile guidance computer (MGC) was the IBM ASC-15. When spares for this system became hard to obtain, it was replaced by a more modern guidance system, the Delco Universal Space Guidance System (USGS). The USGS used a Carousel IV IMU and a Magic 352 computer.[1]
The Titan rocket family was established in October 1955, when the Air Force awarded the Glenn L. Martin Company a contract to build an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). It became known as the Titan I, the nation's first two-stage ICBM and first underground silo-based ICBM. The Martin Company recognized that the Titan I could be further improved and presented a proposal to the U.S. Air Force for an improved version. It would carry a larger warhead over a greater range with more accuracy and could be fired more quickly. The Martin company received a contract for the new missile, designated SM-68B Titan II, in June 1960. The Titan II was 50% heavier than the Titan I, with a longer first stage and a larger diameter second stage. The Titan II also used storable propellants, Aerozine 50 and dinitrogen tetroxide. The Titan I, whose liquid oxygen oxidizer must be loaded immediately before launching, had to be raised from its silo and fueled before launch. The use of storable propellants enabled the Titan II to be launched within 60 seconds directly from within its silo. Their hypergolic nature made them dangerous to handle; a leak could (and did) lead to explosions, and the fuel was highly toxic.
The first flight of the Titan II was in December 1961 and the missile, now designated LGM-25C, reached initial operating capability in October 1963. The Titan II contained one W-53 nuclear warhead in a Mark 6 re-entry vehicle with a range of 9,325 miles (15,000 kilometres (9,300 mi)). The W-53 had a yield of 9 megatons. This warhead was guided to its target using an inertial guidance unit. The 54 deployed Titan IIs formed the backbone of America's strategic deterrent force until the LGM-30 Minuteman ICBM was deployed en masse during the early-to-mid 1960s. Twelve Titan IIs were flown in NASA's Gemini manned space program in the mid-1960s. It was also supposed to be used for a nuclear weapon that the United States claimed had a 35 megaton capability. This would have made this warhead one of the most powerful ever, and in terms of power-to-weight ratio, advantageous over the B-41 nuclear bomb by almost double.[2]
The Titan II was in service from 1963 to 1987. The original 63 Strategic Air Command missiles were distributed at the Vandenberg AFB training base (nine) plus three rings of 18 missiles each surrounding Davis-Monthan Air Force Base near Tucson, Arizona, at Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas, and McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kansas.[3]
In August, 1965 a fire and resultant loss of oxygen when a high pressure hydraulic line was cut with a torch in a missile silo (373-4) near Searcy, Arkansas killed 53 people, mostly civilian repairmen.[4] One airman, SSgt Robert Thomas, was killed at a site outside Rock, Kansas, on August 24, 1978 when a missile in its silo leaked propellant. Another airman, A1C Erby Hepstall, later died from lung injuries sustained in the spill.[5][6] A leak after a socket rolled off a platform and punctured the Stage I fuel tank subsequently caused the entire silo to explode, killing an Air Force airman (SrA David Livingston) and destroying the silo (374-7, near Damascus, Arkansas) on September 19, 1980.[7] A "B" grade movie portrays this event, "Disaster at Silo Seven".
It is a common misconception that the Titan IIs were decommissioned because of a weapons reduction treaty, but in fact were simply aging victims of a weapons modernization program. Because of the volatility of the liquid fuel, and the problem with aging seals, the Titan II missiles had been scheduled to be retired beginning in 1971. After two accidents, deactivation of the Titan II ICBM system finally began in July 1982. The last Titan II missile, located at Silo 373-8 near Judsonia, Arkansas, was deactivated on May 5, 1987. The deactivated missiles were in storage at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona but were broken up for salvage in 2006.
A single Titan II complex escaped destruction after decommissioning and is open to the public as the Titan Missile Museum at Sahuarita, Arizona. The missile resting in the silo is a real Titan II, but was a training missile and never contained fuel, oxidizer or a warhead.
There is also a surviving silo complex at VAFB which is now a museum, one of three test silos used operationally.
Number of Titan II missiles in service, by year:
Each Titan II ICBM wing was equipped with eighteen missiles; nine per squadron with one each at dispersed launch silos in the general area of the assigned base. See squadron article for geographic locations and other information about the assigned launch sites.
Note: In 1959 a fifth Base at Griffiss AFB in New York was projected but not utilised.
33 Titan-II Research Test (N-type) missiles were built all but one were launched either at KSC or Vandenberg from March, 1962 through April, 1964. The surviving N-10 61-2738/60-6817 resides at the Titan Missile Museum (ICBM Site 571-7), Green Valley, Tucson, Arizona (in the silo).
12 Titan-II Gemini Launch Vehicles (GLVs) were produced. All were launched from Cape Kennedy from April, 1964 through November, 1966. The top half of GLV-5 62-12560 was recovered offshore following its launch and is on display at the Alabama Space & Rocket Center, Alabama.
108 Titan-II ICBM (B-Types) were produced. 49 were launched for testing at Vandenberg AFB from July, 1964 through June, 1976. 2 were lost in accidents within silos. One B-2 61-2756 was given to the Alabama S&R Center, Huntsville in the 1970s.
The 56 surviving missiles were pulled from silos and individual base stores and all transferred to Norton AFB during the 1980s. They were stored under plastic coverings and had helium pumped into their engine components to keep them from rusting away. Two buildings at Norton AFB held the missiles, Building 942 and 945. Building 945 held 30 missiles, Building 942 held 11 plus a single stage 1. The buildings also held extra stage engines and the interstages. 14 full missiles and one extra second stage had been transferred from Norton AFB to Martin for refurbishment by the end of the decade.[8] 13 of the 14 were launched as 23Gs. One missile B-108 66-4319 (23G-10 the spare for the 23G program) went to the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. Finally, B-34 Stage 2 was delivered from Norton to Martin on 4/28/86 but was not modified to a G, nor was it listed as arriving or being destroyed at AMARC, it is therefor unaccounted for.
42 B-series missiles remained, 41 full and one first stage at Norton AFB, and the second stage at Martin. Of these 38 and one second stage were stored outside at the Aircraft Maintenance And Regeneration Center (AMARC) adjacent to Davis-Monthan AFB (now known as the Aerospace Maintenance And Regeneration Group (AMARG)) to await final destruction in 2004 thru 2008. Four of the 42 were saved and sent to museums (below).
Air Force Base Silo Deactivation date ranges:
Titan-II Movement Dates:
Official Count: 108 Titan-2 'B' Series Vehicles were delivered to USAF: 49 Test launches, 2 Silo losses, 13 Space launches, 6 in museums, 37.5 destroyed at AMARG, +.5 (one second stage missing B-34) = 108.
Titan-II surviving missiles / Museum locations within the United States:
Note: B-34 Stage 2 was delivered from Norton to Martin on 4/28/86 but was not modified to a G, nor was it listed as arriving or being destroyed at AMARC, it is therefor unaccounted for.
The Titan II space-launch vehicles were purpose-built as space launchers or are decommissioned ICBMs that have been refurbished and equipped with hardware required for use as space launch vehicles. All twelve Gemini capsules, ten of which were manned, were launched by Titan II launchers. The Titan 23B was a Titan II with an Agena third stage that was used to launch reconnaissance satellites.
The Titan II space launch vehicle is a two-stage liquid fueled booster, designed to provide a small-to-medium weight class capability. It is able to lift approximately 1,900 kilograms (4,200 lb) into a polar low-Earth circular orbit. The first stage consists of two ground ignited Aerojet LR87 liquid propellant rocket engines, while the second stage consists of an Aerojet LR91 liquid propellant rocket engine.
The Martin Marietta Astronautics Group was awarded a contract in January 1986 to refurbish, integrate, and launch fourteen Titan II ICBMs for government space launch requirements. These were designated Titan 23G. The Air Force successfully launched the first Titan 23G space launch vehicle from Vandenberg AFB September 5, 1988. NASA's Clementine spacecraft was launched aboard a Titan 23G in January 1994. All Titan 23G missions were launched from Space Launch Complex 4 West (SLC-4W) on Vandenberg AFB, under the operational command of the 6595th Aerospace Test Group and its follow-on organizations of the 4th Space Launch Squadron and 2nd Space Launch Squadron.
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