Turning the Launch Key Inside a Titan ICBM Missile Silo

The "Escapes" section of the New York Times is a travel and leisure supplement that usually sticks to the familiar; think beach house weekends at or sepia roadtrips down the remnants of Route 66.  But recently the Times dabbled in one of our our favorite pasttimes, Atomic Tourism. As Times writer Henrey Fountain put it:

Atomic tourism is not for everyone. After all, the focal point is a weapon that can, and did, kill on a horrific scale. The technology tends to appeal to those with an interest in science and engineering or the military.

Interest in science? Check. Appreciation for engineering? Affirmative. Intrigued by the military? Roger that.  Indeed, all this does much to explain why we made the journey to Green Valley, Arizona a few years back to wander through an intact ICBM silo at the Titan Missile Museum.

Active from 1963 to 1982, the silo, formally known as missile site 571-7, is a remarkable place. The tour begins as you pass through a three-ton door that was designed to protect the silo occupants from nuclear blast  Once inside, you enter the control room, where the missile could be fired only if two Air Force crew members simultaneously turned the security keys that would send the missile rocketing toward one of three pre-selected (Soviet) targets. If you ask nicely, the museum docents will even let you turn one of the keys yourself. Creepy! Just outside the control room, there's a long corridor that's like something out of a Hollywood movie set. The corridor leads to the missile silo, and inside the silo there's a deactivated missile that still looks ready for launch. Double creepy!

If you're ever in the Tucson area, a trip to the Titan Missile Museum is highly recommended. And if you can't make it to Tucson, feel free to let your fingers do the wandering by exploring the photos below.

The Titan Missile Museum (Flickr photoset by Telstar Logsitics): LINK

Titan Missile Museum (official website): LINK

Strange Love (New York Times article by Henry Fountain): LINK

Bureau of Atomic Tourism (enthusiast website): LINK

(Photos above by Telstar Logsitics)