Mar 022011
Today I went to the Titan Missile Museum. It is located near Green Valley about 15 miles south of Tuscon. The museum is located at an actual Titan Missile silo that was active during the cold war between the U.S. and Russia. This inactive Titan Missile site is the last remaining after the other 53 were destroyed when the cold war ended.
There were 18 missile located the Tuscon area, 18 located near Little Rock and 18 located near Wichita. Each missile carried a 9 megaton warhead that was about to completely destroy a 20 mile diameter area. The Titan II missile was also used in the space program to launch the Gemini space capsule.
A one hour tour takes you around ground level where you can see displays of the engines used on the missile, the security system used, communication antennas and then peer through a glass dome into the silo and see the Titan II in place.
Then then take you 3 stories underground to view the control center (yes, it did take 2 people to turn the keys to launch the missile). 4 people manned the silo, 2 officers and 2 enlisted personal. The tour guide, who was someone that actually manned a silo, ran through what the procedure was if there was an actual launch.
We were then able to walk over to the silo and get a close up look at the inside of the silo. Once done were taken top isde and were free to walk around the facilities and ask questions. It was a great tour and you should take the time to visit the Titan Missile Museum if in the area.
There are more pictures in the Photo Gallery.