Another stop on my recent trip to Arizona was at the Titan Missile Museum just outside of Tucson, AZ. The museum is an absolute must visit if you are into aerospace design. I you can look beyond the deadly purpose of the Titan II Missile site, you will see nothing be excellent and awesome engineering.
The building itself is truly amazing, not only does it reach 10 levels into the ground, everything inside is suspended by large springs and coils. I would have loved to spend an entire day just photographing little engineering details.
The missile below, of course, is a dummy ... well, it is the real thing, but it was never in a silo prior to it being moved to the museum. But it still s a great example of Titan II missile design.
One of the coolest things is that they have a first and upper stage rocket motor on display. The engineering that went into the Titan II missile rocket motors alone would be worth spending an entire day at the museum.
These are not space suits ... the are suits used during handling of the rocket fuel.
Click on the image below ... you will see it in much better resolution. This is a panorama picture I took of the Titan II launch control room. Awesome technology ... this is a dream come true for someone like me who has a passion for analog computers and analog electrical design.
The picture below is the cable way between the control center and the missile silo. The pistons on the right and left are suspending the cable way. Think about the amount of clever engineering that went into designing this underground structure. The tour guide explained that every surface in the complex can move 18 inches lateral .... that's amazing!
The door in the image below is a 6000 lb blast door. The engineering that went into the hinges for the door is so exact that the door can be moved with little effort with just one hand.
Here is a view of the Titan II missile in the silo on the the same level as the cable way.
very, very cool!
ReplyDeleteThank You Kimberly!
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