On 2/28/2010 4:49 AM, Me wrote:

I thought we used all of them up on space launches.
With Titan IV being out of service, it's funny they haven't melted them
down yet.
I'm still annoyed that they couldn't find some space use for all the
Titan I's and just scrapped them.

Only 13 of the 54 were used for spacelaunch. It ended up that a Delta
II was cheaper than a refurbed T-II/

As for the Titan I's, there were no launch pads for them. The cape
ones had been converted to T-II and T-IIIA. The VAFB were only silos
with elevators, not very useful for space launch.

I hadn't thought of the pad problem, that really does screw the pooch in
regards to using it for space launches.
What really would have been interesting is if we had gone with the
original big five-engined Atlas ICBM design; that would have made a very
useful space launch vehicle, and I can picture it still being in service
today with a cryogenic upper stage.
I keep wondering what the reaction of the engineers who were working on
the Thor IRBM would have been if you had told them that fifty years in
the future a descendent of their missile was going to be landing rovers
on Mars. They would have probably thought you were clean out of your mind.
It's sad to see the Delta II going out of service; we sure got good
value for our money out of them.

Pat

Pat