Edwards PAO Re Minuteman accleration claim

I got this note from a cooperative PAO, and I wrote back, 'Fire the
historian'.

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Dear Jim,

Thank you for contacting the Edwards Air Force Base Public Affairs Office
about your questions. According to our base historian, "a Minuteman III ICBM
is powered by a solid-fuel rocket motor. These have very high acceleration.
Liquid-fuel missiles rise majestically off the launch pad--solid fuels
rocket off like a gunshot, leaving lots of smoke. When a Minuteman is
launched, it accelerates so fast that it passes through Mach 1.0 after it
has travelled its own length off the pad (more or less)." That would mean
high acceleration. Specific statistics are not available for release at this
time.

Sincerely,

Hien Q. Vu, 2nd Lt, USAF
Community Relations Deputy Chief
AFFTC/PA

"James Oberg" writes:

I got this note from a cooperative PAO[...]
-------------------
According to our base historian,[...]
When a Minuteman is
launched, it accelerates so fast that it passes through Mach 1.0 after it
has travelled its own length off the pad (more or less)." That would mean
high acceleration. Specific statistics are not available for release at this
time.

Clearly, credible "statistics" or anything faintly numerical are not
going to be available from this historian at ANY time. I like that
"(more or less)" -- what's that saying, "I don't know what the hell the
true answer is, but it's not THIS".

Sheesh. I'm trying to emulate Elvis Costello ("I used to get disgusted,
now I try to be amused") but some days it's awfully hard...