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The discussion of the Army's effort covers only the Jupiter IRBM program and its pioneering work on ablation. Detailing the earliest efforts of the Army, Navy and Air Force reentry vehicle approaches puts the development of the Minuteman Mark 5 and Mark 11 reentry vehicles into the proper historical perspective. This article discusses the evolution of reentry vehicle design and fabrication leading up to and including the Minuteman Mark 5 and Mark 11 reentry vehicles.
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Even the second generation Titan II with its storable liquid propellants and comparable response time was cumbersome in comparison.ĭevelopment of the business end of all the ICBMs, the reentry vehicles, likewise went from the first generation heatsink thermal protection system to the second generation ablative reentry vehicles enabling larger payloads (the reentry vehicle was lighter) to be carried as well as improving accuracy. The solid propellant propulsion system provided for a nearly instantaneous response while reducing maintenance efforts and costs significantly below those of the first generation cryogenic oxidizer Atlas and Titan I. As one of two second generation ICBMs, Minuteman represented the ultimate solution to the concept of land-based offensive strategic weapons.
The Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) has been deployed for over fifty years.