... an illustration from the National Archives; selling 1980's 'Star Wars' concepts.
I'm diggin' the ink on parchment, notebooks of DaVinci treatment!
all images - Right Click - Open in New Window or Tab = super size!
Showing posts with label ABM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ABM. Show all posts
1967 ... last chance!
... here we see a Sprint anti-missile-missile [ABM] being loaded into a silo launcher for a test at White Sands, NM. Sprint was the third phase, low level, interceptor of the 'Safeguard' system. If incoming warheads made it past the other missiles designed for outer-space or high altitude interception, Sprint would go screaming out and zap them with an enhanced radiation small nuke at lower altitudes. How low? From around 20 miles down to the last mile. Wow- better make sure you've got your Ray-bans on!
This is truly an "Oh-shit!" defense system. This cocaine snorter went from a standing start to 7,600 mph in just 5 seconds! In this video you can clearly see the second stage as it becomes white hot from atmospheric friction.
... sort of like it won the race and is in the next county before your big brother's GTO has even moved off the starting line!
ABM site- Grand Forks- 1975
Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) systems have always been controversial. Expensive, prone to technical glitches. They seemed to motivate the opposing cold-war side to just build more missiles. Early systems relied on atomic warheads to zap the incoming missiles and only had to get close for a kill. Later and present day technology pushes for a 'hit and kill' non-nuclear defense. The defensive missile must hit or get very close to the incoming warhead.
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