It was the second generation of the Minuteman ICBM family, following the Minuteman I. The Minuteman III has a fast launch time, nearly 100 percent testing reliability, and backup airborne launch controllers to preserve retaliatory capabilities. Air Force would deploy, the Minuteman could stand dormant and unmanned for days, weeks, months and decades on end, needing only limited maintenance and upkeep. The Minuteman III is the sole land-based component of the U.S. The first solid fuelled Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) the U.S. No public transportation systems serve the park. The LGM-30F Minuteman II was an intercontinental-range, silo-based, solid-fueled ballistic missile. The LGM-30G Minuteman III is a three-stage, solid-fueled, intercontinental-range ballistic missile. Narrated by veterans who served in the Air Force at these sites, the tours explain the history, impact, and importance of. A Mobile Phone guided tour of Delta-09 and Delta-01 is available for visitors to learn the history of Minuteman Missile on the Great Plains and how it was operated for thirty years. The two historic sites which make up the park are four miles (Launch Control Facility Delta-01) and 15 miles (Launch Facility Delta-09) from the Visitor Center. Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. The Visitor Center is located immediately north of I-90, exit 131. Minuteman Missile National Historic Site is located at three sites along a fifteen mile stretch of Interstate 90 in western South Dakota. It is also possible to view the missile site independently, visitors can call a number from their phones to access a recorded tour. The silo was built of heavily reinforced concrete, and was 147 feet deep and 55 feet in diameter. The missile silo was a reinforced concrete structure with inside dimensions of approximately 146 feet in depth and 55 feet in diameter. Visitors should start their journey from the contact station where guided tours are available (note: it is advisable to book in advance as space is limited). All of the launch facilities were underground. The tours then move on to the missile silo itself where visitors can view a Minuteman II missile through a glass roof. Visitors can tour both the control center and missile site, and can see the original living quarters and underground control facilities that would have been used by the original personnel. Minuteman silosthey used to be called launch tubesare 80 feet deep with a diameter of 12 feet. The original missile site was vast and today the main attractions are spread out over a wide area. Eventually, these sites were decommissioned after the signing of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in 1991.

The Minuteman Missile Silo site was one of many such sites which operated for over 30 years during the Cold War. It holds the power to destroy civilization, but is meant as a nuclear deterrent to maintain peace and prevent war. The Minuteman Missile remains an iconic weapon in the American nuclear arsenal. Hidden in plain sight, for thirty years 1,000 missiles were kept on constant alert hundreds remain today. Minuteman Missile Silo historyĭuring the Cold War, a vast arsenal of nuclear missiles were placed in the Great Plains.

The Minuteman Missile Silo is a US National Historic Site which contains a Cold War missile launch site and control center.

Minuteman missile silo diagram