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To: greg s who wrote (143692)	9/18/2001 12:56:55 PM
From: Elmer	Respond to of 186894

The Titan II was a liquid fueled ICBM. Fuel was unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine. Oxidizer was nitrogen tetroxide. Fuel and oxidizer combust on contact. Both are very toxic. In the event of leaks, self contained breathing apparatus were required. Even skin contact can lead to injury and death. I toured a TitanII missile base south of Tucson a couple of weeks ago, long since decommissioned of course. I know of another out in the desert nearby. EP

To: greg s who wrote (143692)	9/18/2001 1:11:31 PM
From: fingolfen	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 186894

Fuel was unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine. Oxidizer was nitrogen tetroxide. By nitrogen tetraoxide, you mean dinitrogen tetraoxide (N2O4), yes? Those are both seriously nasty chemicals. I've inhaled NO2 / N2O4... coughed for 3 days.

To: greg s who wrote (143692)	9/18/2001 1:14:16 PM
From: Win Smith	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 186894

I'm glad there are no longer any military personnel exposed to this system. It was quite dangerous. Especially if somebody dropped a wrench into the silo, as I recall. Even in peacetime, many military personnel have very dangerous jobs. Of course, the US military is in general extremely competent too, and does its best to take care of its personnel. Think how much worse it would be to have the equivalent job in Russia, then or now. Whatever is left of the Russia ICBM arsenal is probably less sophisticated and considerably more dangerous than the old Titans ever were. But that's probably a wonderful and cushy assignment compared to being a Russian submariner. Is the Titan III with the strap on solid boosters still used as a satellite launch vehicle? Or Titan IV? I think there were some problems there too, with a string of failed launches. Wasn't the Titan II was also used for the Gemini launches? I also recall recycling the military ICBM Titan II's as satellite launchers was considered, but found to be impractical.