Minuteman III plan

[AlphaSigOU]

Here is a drawing I created of the Minuteman III ICBM based on known, open-source dimensions. (External dimensions of the MMIII are not classified; I checked the security classification guide for ICBMs to be sure...) Early MMIIIs had an ogive nose shroud, later replaced by a biconic Peacekeeper-style shroud.

I once worked at the Huntsville (Alabama) mission control center at Redstone Arsenal, tracking the missile during test 'Glory Trip' missions launched from Vandenberg AFB to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, where the world's most powerful space-tracking radars and various sensors and optics followed the missile as it emerged over the horizon until impact in one of the uninhabited islets on the atoll or in the 'broad ocean area' where depths regularly exceed more than 5000 feet. For operational security (OPSEC) reasons I cannot go into specific mission details. The light show as the reentry vehicles plunged into the atmosphere was spectacular, yet sobering: had the RVs been armed with a nuke it would be the last thing anyone would see before being vaporized in the nuclear fireball.

 

[Steve Shannon]

Very nice!


Steve Shannon

 

[PeterAlway]

Didn't spot this drawing until today, and I've downloaded it. Some of the colors are unspecified. I assume that the Fungicidal cork is that lightish green shade--but there's no indication of the third stage motor or nose fairing color. But I guess I could find photos online.

Also, was there a version with an ogive nose fairing?

 

[AlphaSigOU]

Didn't spot this drawing until today, and I've downloaded it. Some of the colors are unspecified. I assume that the Fungicidal cork is that lightish green shade--but there's no indication of the third stage motor or nose fairing color. But I guess I could find photos online.

Also, was there a version with an ogive nose fairing?

The early MMIIIs had an ogive warhead shroud; later versions had the conical shrouds.

 

[PeterAlway]

I confess I like the ogive better, simply because it has fewer dimensions to specify! With the multiple cones, I'd need the angle and the length of each conical section.

Peter Alway