Topic: - on September 20, 2002 at 9:24:02 PM CEST
Minuteman III Air Force Test Missile Out West
The colorful contrail was seen soon after the unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile blasted off at 7:36 p.m. from an underground silo at the Vandenberg military base north of Santa Barbara. "The smoke went up in spirals as the sun was setting and turned into an orange, amber color. It was like a flower going into bloom pretty quickly," said Simon Cox, who saw it from a restaurant terrace in Santa Barbara.
¬><a href="story.news.yahoo.com"target="_blank"> AP
Primary function: Intercontinental ballistic missile
Contractor: Boeing Co.
Power plant: Three solid-propellant rocket motors;
first stage, Thiokol;
second stage, Aerojet-General;
third stage, United Technologies Chemical Systems Division
Thrust: First stage, 202,600 pounds (91,170 kilograms)
Length: 59.9 feet (18 meters)
Weight: 79,432 pounds (32,158 kilograms)
Diameter: 5.5 feet (1.67 meters)
Range: 6,000-plus miles (5,218 nautical miles)
Speed: Approximately 15,000 mph (Mach 23 or 24,000 kph) at burnout
Ceiling: 700 miles (1,120 kilometers)
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