ICBMIn 1959, the United States successfully test-fired for the first time a Titan intercontinental ballistic missile from Cape Canaveral. Eighteen Titan I launch complexes (for 54 missiles, each carrying a 4.5 megaton warhead) were built in California, Colorado, Idaho, South Dakota, and Washington state at an average cost of $44.4 million apiece (in constant 1996 dollars). The first silo launching of an ICBM, a USAF Titan at Vandenberg Air Force Base occurred on 3 May 1961. Titan I missiles were only on alert from 1962 to 1965. |