Thiokol was an American corporation concerned initially with rubber and related chemicals, and later with rocket and missile propulsion systems. Its name is a portmanteau of the Greek words for sulfur (Greek: θεῖον , romanized: theion ) and glue (Greek: κόλλα , romanized: kolla ), an allusion to the company's initial product, Thiokol polymer .
104-487: STRAT-X , or Strategic-Experimental , was a U.S. government -sponsored study conducted during 1966 and 1967 that comprehensively analyzed the potential future of the U.S. nuclear deterrent force . At the time, the Soviet Union was making significant strides in nuclear weapons delivery , and also constructing anti-ballistic missile defenses to protect strategic facilities. To address a potential technological gap between
208-460: A study to look into ways of improving the survivability of the U.S. nuclear arsenal . According to Graham Spinardi in his book From Polaris to Trident (1994), STRAT-X was a response by the U.S. Department of Defense 's Deputy Director of Defense Research and Engineering, Lloyd Wilson, to the U.S. Air Force ; the service was demanding a large ICBM called the WS-120A . Spinardi suggests that STRAT-X
312-512: A synthetic rubber , which they christened " Thiokol ". In 1929, Bevis Longstreth, an executive at a salt company, founded the Thiokol Corporation in Trenton, New Jersey. He became its president and general manager. Longstreth died in 1944, leaving the position of president and general manager open. William Crosby became general manager. The next year, in 1945, Charles Bartley , working for
416-599: A 15-mile (24 km) maximum range. Because of their limited range, their potential use was heavily constrained (they could not, for example, threaten Moscow with an immediate strike). Development of long-range bombers, such as the B-29 Superfortress during World War II, was continued during the Cold War period. In 1946, the Convair B-36 Peacemaker became the first purpose-built nuclear bomber; it served with
520-448: A Houston-based manufacturer of industrial coatings, marine decking, and subsea insulation products. In 2000, Thiokol merged with two divisions of Alcoa and with Howmet Castings and Huck Fasteners to become AIC Group (Alcoa Industrial Components). In 2001, Alliant Techsystems (ATK) Inc. (a company formed when Honeywell spun off its defense division) spent $ 2.9 billion buying Thiokol and related businesses from AIC/Alcoa. ATK built
624-470: A Minuteman missile from a C-5 Galaxy , demonstrating the credibility of the "Air Launched ICBM" option of STRAT-X. Although the U.S. Navy then had several classes of ballistic missile submarines and submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) in service, the study placed a significant emphasis on the survivability of SLBMs. This resulted in the enormous Ohio -class submarine and the Trident SLBMs which
728-412: A Soviet attack) was a major political controversy in the 1980s (eventually the silo deployment method was chosen). MIRVed systems enabled the U.S. to render Soviet missile defenses economically unfeasible, as each offensive missile would require between three and ten defensive missiles to counter. Additional developments in weapons delivery included cruise missile systems, which allowed a plane to fire
832-481: A coastline 12,000 kilometres (7,500 mi) inland. Additionally, in-flight refueling of long-range bombers and the use of aircraft carriers extends the possible range virtually indefinitely. Command and control procedures in case of nuclear war were given by the Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP) until 2003, when this was superseded by Operations Plan 8044. Since World War II ,
936-671: A contract to build the TU-122 rocket motor for the first stage of the LGM-30 Minuteman ICBM system. In 1959, Thiokol Huntsville began producing CASTOR strap-on booster rocket, used on the Atlas rocket. In 1964, the Woodbine, Georgia plant was constructed to build solid propellant motors for NASA , but the agency changed course and used liquid fuel. In 1969, Thiokol was awarded a U.S. Army contract to manufacture 750,000 Tripflares for use in
1040-454: A dedicated and winding road system in 65,000 square miles (170,000 km) of public land. Of the remaining four, three were sea-based. These were: "Canal-Based"—a systems where missiles would be sailed in canals to confuse Soviet military planners ; "Ship-Based"—a system where ships carrying missile canisters would travel around the world, hiding among other traffic; and "Submarine-Based"—a system where ballistic missile submarines would roam
1144-400: A limited range. After these initial weapons were developed, a considerable amount of money and research was conducted towards the goal of standardizing nuclear warheads so that they did not require highly specialized experts to assemble them before use, as in the case with the idiosyncratic wartime devices, and miniaturization of the warheads for use in more variable delivery systems. Through
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#17328555756401248-661: A long and protracted debate, the Atomic Energy Act of 1946 was passed, creating the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) as a civilian agency that would be in charge of the production of nuclear weapons and research facilities, funded through Congress, with oversight provided by the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy . The AEC was given vast powers of control over secrecy, research, and money, and could seize lands with suspected uranium deposits. Along with its duties towards
1352-453: A long-distance, low-flying nuclear-armed missile towards a target from a relatively comfortable distance. The current delivery systems of the U.S. make virtually any part of the Earth's surface within the reach of its nuclear arsenal. Though its land-based missile systems have a maximum range of 10,000 kilometres (6,200 mi) (less than worldwide), its submarine-based forces extend its reach from
1456-676: A nuclear payload across vast distances, allowing the U.S. to house nuclear forces capable of hitting the Soviet Union in the American Midwest . Shorter-range weapons, including small tactical weapons, were fielded in Europe as well, including nuclear artillery and man-portable Special Atomic Demolition Munition . The development of submarine-launched ballistic missile systems allowed for hidden nuclear submarines to covertly launch missiles at distant targets as well, making it virtually impossible for
1560-517: A plutonium implosion-design bomb, Fat Man , with the explosion equivalent to about 20 kilotons of TNT, destroying 60% of the city and killing approximately 35,000 people, among them 23,200–28,200 Japanese munitions workers, 2,000 Korean slave laborers, and 150 Japanese combatants. On 1 January 1947, the Atomic Energy Act of 1946 (known as the McMahon Act) took effect, and the Manhattan Project
1664-493: A potentially catastrophic flaw in the O-rings in cold conditions, but neither Morton Thiokol nor NASA assessed or corrected the problem. Shortly before takeoff, several Morton Thiokol engineers recommended delaying the launch until temperatures at Cape Canaveral warmed, but they were overruled by company management. In 1926, two chemists, Joseph C. Patrick and Nathan Mnookin, were trying to invent an inexpensive antifreeze . In
1768-545: A result of the U.S. nuclear weapons program. In 2019, the U.S. and Russia possessed a comparable number of nuclear warheads; together, these two nations possess more than 90% of the world's nuclear weapons stockpile. In 2024, it was estimated that the United States held 1,770 deployed warheads, 1,938 in reserve, and 1,336 retired and awaiting dismantlement, in total 5,044 nuclear warheads. The projected costs for maintaining U.S. nuclear forces are $ 60 billion per year during
1872-431: A sane president. In response to this situation, Ron Rosenbaum wrote that no command and control system is foolproof, and that the sanity of senior nuclear decision makers would always be a weak point in any conceivable command and control protocol. Starting with President Eisenhower , authority to launch a full-scale nuclear attack has been delegated to theater commanders and other specific commanders if they believe it
1976-637: A warhead from its silo but did not release any radiation. The nuclear testing program resulted in a number of cases of fallout dispersion onto populated areas. The most significant of these was the Castle Bravo test, which spread radioactive ash over an area of over 100 square miles (260 km ), including a number of populated islands. The populations of the islands were evacuated but not before suffering radiation burns. They would later suffer long-term effects , such as birth defects and increased cancer risk. There are ongoing concerns around deterioration of
2080-695: Is warranted by circumstances, and are out of communication with the president or the president had been incapacitated. For example, during the Cuban Missile Crisis , on 24 October 1962, General Thomas Power, commander of the Strategic Air Command (SAC), took the country to DEFCON 2 , the very precipice of full-scale nuclear war, launching the SAC bombers of the US with nuclear weapons ready to strike. Moreover, some of these commanders subdelegated to lower commanders
2184-680: The Apollo program , motors for the Pioneer , Surveyor , Viking , Voyager , and Magellan missions, updated CASTOR boosters for the Delta rocket , and the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster . Reaction Motors powerplants propelled the X-1 and X-15 aircraft, and later Thiokol technologies were also used in the private Tier One crewed spaceplane . On March 1, 2006, NASA announced that Thiokol will be
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#17328555756402288-716: The Los Alamos National Laboratory at Los Alamos, New Mexico , under the direction of physicist Robert Oppenheimer , the Hanford plutonium production facility in Washington , and the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee . By investing heavily in breeding plutonium in early nuclear reactors and in the electromagnetic and gaseous diffusion enrichment processes for the production of uranium-235 ,
2392-554: The MGM-134 Midgetman and LGM-118 Peacekeeper missiles, the fall of communism throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s resulted in the Midgetman being canceled while still a prototype, while only 50 out of the original 100 Peacekeeper missiles were ever fielded. Nevertheless, the study did inspire a number of developments in nuclear weapons delivery systems. In October 1974, the U.S. Air Force successfully conducted an air launch of
2496-584: The Manhattan Project ), to the nuclear fallout dispersion of the Castle Bravo shot in 1954, to accidents such as crashes of aircraft carrying nuclear weapons, the dropping of nuclear weapons from aircraft, losses of nuclear submarines, and explosions of nuclear-armed missiles ( broken arrows ). How close any of these accidents came to being major nuclear disasters is a matter of technical and scholarly debate and interpretation. Weapons accidentally dropped by
2600-546: The Morton Salt concern, the Simoniz automotive products brand, and various chemical concerns) with the merged company called Morton Thiokol Incorporated (MTI). In 1986, an O-ring fault in an MTI SRB destroyed Space Shuttle Challenger in flight. The company was found at fault for the destruction of Challenger and deaths of the astronauts, as a direct result of pressure from NASA to launch, based on inconclusive evidence of
2704-538: The Nevada Test Site , and ten on miscellaneous sites in the United States ( Alaska , Colorado , Mississippi , and New Mexico ). Until November 1962, the vast majority of the U.S. tests were atmospheric (that is, above-ground); after the acceptance of the Partial Test Ban Treaty all testing was relegated underground, in order to prevent the dispersion of nuclear fallout . In 1992 a new testing moratorium
2808-515: The Ohio class carried. The study originally called for dedicated slow-moving missile-carrying submarines (instead of converted attack submarines ) to embark missiles outside their hulls and rely primarily on stealth for survivability. However, Admiral Hyman Rickover , director of the Naval Reactors office, wanted a boat capable of a burst of high speed in order to affect a safe "getaway" after launching
2912-574: The Trident submarine-launched ballistic missiles , among others. Journalists have regarded STRAT-X as a major influence on the course of U.S. nuclear policy. In the mid-1960s, reports received by U.S. intelligence agencies indicated that the Soviets were planning to deploy large numbers of highly accurate and powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Later, the R-36 ICBM entered service. Possessing
3016-426: The U.S. federal government spent at least US$ 11.3 trillion in present-day terms on nuclear weapons, including platforms development (aircraft, rockets and facilities), command and control, maintenance, waste management and administrative costs. It is estimated that the United States produced more than 70,000 nuclear warheads since 1945, more than all other nuclear weapon states combined. Until November 1962,
3120-839: The Vietnam War . In 1971, an explosion in the magnesium flare assembly facility at the Woodbine plant killed 29 and injured 50. In 1974, Thiokol won the contract to build the solid rocket booster (SRB) for the Space Shuttle (Nov 29, 1973). In 1975, Thiokol succeeded Sperry Rand as operator of the large Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant near Minden , Louisiana . In 1978, the company sold its ski lift division to CTEC and its snow equipment division to Logan Manufacturing Company (LMC), owned by John DeLorean . In 1980, Thiokol acquired Carlisle Chemical Company of Cincinnati, Ohio . In 1982, Thiokol merged with Morton-Norwich products (owners of
3224-554: The 1966 Palomares case), the explosive system of the fission weapon discharged, but did not trigger a nuclear chain reaction (safety features prevent this from easily happening), but did disperse hazardous nuclear materials across wide areas, necessitating expensive cleanup endeavors. Several US nuclear weapons, partial weapons, or weapons components are thought to be lost and unrecovered, primarily in aircraft accidents. The 1980 Damascus Titan missile explosion in Damascus, Arkansas , threw
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3328-436: The 1990s have been Superfund sites of cleanup and environmental remediation. Hanford is currently the most contaminated nuclear site in the United States and is the focus of the nation's largest environmental cleanup . Radioactive materials are known to be leaking from Hanford into the environment. The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990 allows for U.S. citizens exposed to radiation or other health risks through
3432-519: The 2021–2030 period. The United States first began developing nuclear weapons during World War II under the order of President Franklin Roosevelt in 1939, motivated by the fear that they were engaged in a race with Nazi Germany to develop such a weapon . After a slow start under the direction of the National Bureau of Standards , at the urging of British scientists and American administrators,
3536-418: The 25 megaton B41 bomb . Between 1940 and 1996, the U.S. spent at least $ 11.3 trillion in present-day terms on nuclear weapons development. Over half was spent on building delivery mechanisms for the weapon. $ 709 billion in present-day terms was spent on nuclear waste management and environmental remediation. Richland, Washington was the first city established to support plutonium production at
3640-520: The American operational series may be found at United States' nuclear test series . The original Little Boy and Fat Man weapons, developed by the United States during the Manhattan Project , were relatively large (Fat Man had a diameter of 5 feet (1.5 m)) and heavy (around 5 tons each) and required specially modified bomber planes to be adapted for their bombing missions against Japan. Each modified bomber could only carry one such weapon and only within
3744-514: The Great Soviet and American Plutonium Disasters (Oxford), Kate Brown explores the health of affected citizens in the United States, and the "slow-motion disasters" that still threaten the environments where the plants are located. According to Brown, the plants at Hanford, over a period of four decades, released millions of curies of radioactive isotopes into the surrounding environment. Brown says that most of this radioactive contamination over
3848-533: The Marshall Islanders in compensation for their exposure to U.S. nuclear testing. Over $ 15 million was paid to the Japanese government following the exposure of its citizens and food supply to nuclear fallout from the 1954 "Bravo" test . In 1998, the country spent an estimated $ 35.1 billion on its nuclear weapons and weapons-related programs. In the 2013 book Plutopia: Nuclear Families, Atomic Cities, and
3952-672: The Nevada Test Site and U.S. military workers at various tests—have sued for compensation and recognition of their exposure, many successfully. The passage of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990 allowed for a systematic filing of compensation claims in relation to testing as well as those employed at nuclear weapons facilities. By June 2009 over $ 1.4 billion total has been given in compensation, with over $ 660 million going to " downwinders ". A few notable U.S. nuclear tests include: A summary table of each of
4056-641: The OSRD retained responsibility for scientific research. This was the beginning of the Manhattan Project , run as the Manhattan Engineering District (MED), an agency under military control that was in charge of developing the first atomic weapons. After World War II , the MED maintained control over the U.S. arsenal and production facilities and coordinated the Operation Crossroads tests. In 1946 after
4160-715: The President has been killed, command authority follows the presidential line of succession . Changes to this policy have been proposed, but currently the only way to countermand such an order before the strike was launched would be for the Vice President and the majority of the Cabinet to relieve the President under Section 4 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution . Regardless of whether
4264-426: The President of the United States has had sole authority to launch U.S. nuclear weapons, whether as a first strike or nuclear retaliation . This arrangement was seen as necessary during the Cold War to present a credible nuclear deterrent ; if an attack was detected, the United States would have only minutes to launch a counterstrike before its nuclear capability was severely damaged, or national leaders killed. If
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4368-505: The Soviet Union and its allies. The term "mutual assured destruction" was coined in 1962 by American strategist Donald Brennan. MAD was implemented by deploying nuclear weapons simultaneously on three different types of weapons platforms. After the 1989 end of the Cold War and the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union , the U.S. nuclear program was heavily curtailed; halting its program of nuclear testing, ceasing its production of new nuclear weapons, and reducing its stockpile by half by
4472-529: The Soviet Union to successfully launch a first strike attack against the United States without receiving a deadly response. Improvements in warhead miniaturization in the 1970s and 1980s allowed for the development of MIRVs—missiles which could carry multiple warheads, each of which could be separately targeted. The question of whether these missiles should be based on constantly rotating train tracks (to avoid being easily targeted by opposing Soviet missiles) or based in heavily fortified silos (to possibly withstand
4576-563: The Trident I and Trident II missiles. Thiokol produces powerplants for numerous U.S. military missile systems, including AIM-9 Sidewinder , AGM-88 HARM , AGM-65 Maverick , AGM-69 SRAM , and AIR-2 Genie . Thiokol also produced a variety of liquid and solid rocket motors for the US space program , including deorbit motors for the Mercury and Gemini programs, rocket stages and separation rocket motors for
4680-484: The U.S. detonated a uranium- gun design bomb, Little Boy , over the Japanese city of Hiroshima with an energy of about 15 kilotons of TNT, killing approximately 70,000 people, among them 20,000 Japanese combatants and 20,000 Korean slave laborers , and destroying nearly 50,000 buildings (including the 2nd General Army and Fifth Division headquarters ). Three days later, on 9 August, the U.S. attacked Nagasaki using
4784-462: The U.S. nuclear program to file for compensation and damages. In 1972, three hijackers took control of a domestic passenger flight along the east coast of the U.S. and threatened to crash the plane into a U.S. nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The plane got as close as 8,000 feet above the site before the hijackers' demands were met. Various acts of civil disobedience since 1980 by
4888-411: The U.S. was considering designing new nuclear weapons ( "bunker-busting nukes" ) and resuming nuclear testing for reasons of stockpile stewardship. Republicans argued that small nuclear weapons appear more likely to be used than large nuclear weapons, and thus small nuclear weapons pose a more credible threat that has more of a deterrent effect against hostile behavior. Democrats counterargued that allowing
4992-700: The USAF in Alaska and other northern regions, and are now popular with private owners as dependable snowcats and for all-terrain transport. Thiokol pioneered the short-burn rocket motors used in aircraft ejection seats . The company also produced a number of the earliest practical airbag systems, building the high-speed sodium azide exothermic gas generators used to inflate the bags. Thiokol bags were first used in U.S. military aircraft, before being adapted to space exploration ( Mars Pathfinder bounced down on Mars on Thiokol airbags) and automotive airbags. Thiokol's generators form
5096-411: The USAF until 1959. The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress was able by the mid-1950s to carry a wide arsenal of nuclear bombs, each with different capabilities and potential use situations. Starting in 1946, the U.S. based its initial deterrence force on the Strategic Air Command , which, by the late 1950s, maintained a number of nuclear-armed bombers in the sky at all times, prepared to receive orders to attack
5200-533: The USSR whenever needed. This system was, however, tremendously expensive, both in terms of natural and human resources, and raised the possibility of an accidental nuclear war. During the 1950s and 1960s, elaborate computerized early warning systems such as Defense Support Program were developed to detect incoming Soviet attacks and to coordinate response strategies. During this same period, intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) systems were developed that could deliver
5304-507: The United States include incidents off the coast of British Columbia (1950) (see 1950 British Columbia B-36 crash ), near Atlantic City, New Jersey (1957); Savannah, Georgia (1958) (see Tybee Bomb ); Goldsboro, North Carolina (1961) (see 1961 Goldsboro B-52 crash ); off the coast of Okinawa (1965); in the sea near Palomares , Spain (1966, see 1966 Palomares B-52 crash ); and near Thule Air Base , Greenland (1968) (see 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash ). In some of these cases (such as
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#17328555756405408-660: The United States is actually under attack by a nuclear-capable adversary, the President alone has the authority to order nuclear strikes. The President and the Secretary of Defense form the National Command Authority , but the Secretary of Defense has no authority to refuse or disobey such an order. The President's decision must be transmitted to the National Military Command Center , which will then issue
5512-408: The United States was able to develop three usable weapons by mid-1945. The Trinity test was a plutonium implosion-design weapon tested on 16 July 1945, with around a 20 kiloton yield. Faced with a planned invasion of the Japanese home islands scheduled to begin on 1 November 1945 and with Japan not surrendering, President Harry S. Truman ordered the atomic raids on Japan. On 6 August 1945,
5616-408: The United States' ability to retaliate with nuclear weapons if attacked . At the same time, the Soviets were designing and constructing increasingly sophisticated anti-ballistic missile defense systems to protect strategically important facilities around Moscow, reducing the threat posed by American ICBMs. These developments compelled the U.S. Secretary of Defense , Robert McNamara , to commission
5720-494: The United States, and 100 tactical bombs at air bases in Europe. Between 16 July 1945 and 23 September 1992, the United States maintained a program of vigorous nuclear testing , with the exception of a moratorium between November 1958 and September 1961. By official count, a total of 1,054 nuclear tests and two nuclear attacks were conducted, with over 100 of them taking place at sites in the Pacific Ocean , over 900 of them at
5824-454: The aid of brainpower acquired through Operation Paperclip at the tail end of the European theater of World War II , the United States was able to embark on an ambitious program in rocketry . One of the first products of this was the development of rockets capable of holding nuclear warheads. The MGR-1 Honest John was the first such weapon, developed in 1953 as a surface-to-surface missile with
5928-676: The arsenal to around 5,500 total warheads by 2012. Much of that reduction was already accomplished by January 2008. According to the Pentagon's June 2019 Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations , "Integration of nuclear weapons employment with conventional and special operations forces is essential to the success of any mission or operation." In 2024 it was estimated that the United States possessed 1,770 deployed nuclear warheads, 1,938 in reserve, and 1,336 retired and awaiting dismantlement (a total of 5,044). 1,370 strategic warheads were deployed on ballistic missiles , 300 at strategic bomber bases in
6032-507: The authority to launch nuclear weapons under similar circumstance. In fact, the nuclear weapons were not placed under locks (i.e., permissive action links ) until decades later, and so pilots or individual submarine commanders had the power to launch nuclear weapons entirely on their own, without higher authority. The United States nuclear program since its inception has experienced accidents of varying forms, ranging from single-casualty research experiments (such as that of Louis Slotin during
6136-410: The boat's payload. As a result, the Ohio class was designed to accommodate enormous nuclear reactors to produce the required speed. Ohio -class submarines carry their missiles inside of their hulls, despite STRAT-X's recommendation. Ohio -class submarines and Trident missiles are still in service as of 2016. STRAT-X had far-reaching effects on the development and deployment of U.S. nuclear forces. It
6240-507: The coded orders to nuclear-capable forces. The President can give a nuclear launch order using their nuclear briefcase (nicknamed the nuclear football ), or can use command centers such as the White House Situation Room . The command would be carried out by a Nuclear and Missile Operations Officer (a member of a missile combat crew , also called a "missileer") at a missile launch control center . A two-man rule applies to
6344-699: The company restructured itself to concentrate on its rocket products and related technologies. John Z. DeLorean purchased the Thiokol snowcat operation and renamed it DMC. DMC continued to manufacture snowcats until 1988, when the company was renamed LMC . LMC continued making snowcats for 12 more years but ceased operations in 2000. Thiokol produced snow vehicles with a wide range of capabilities and duties. The company also produced several utility based vehicles based on their snowcat tracked vehicle, in addition to larger snow grooming machines suitable for use on steep ski-slopes. Thiokol machines were used in ski resorts, operated by
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#17328555756406448-400: The course of an experiment involving ethylene dichloride and sodium polysulfide , they created a gum whose outstanding characteristic was a terrible odor. The substance clogged a sink in the laboratory, and none of the solvents used to remove it were successful. The frustrated chemists realized that the resistance of the material to any kind of solvent was a useful property. They had invented
6552-641: The explosion was heard for 50 miles (80 km) around. Georgia law prevented the employees from suing their employer because they were covered by workers' compensation insurance. On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds into its flight , killing all seven crew members. An investigation found the cause to be two failed O-ring seals in the Space Shuttle's right solid rocket booster , which had been manufactured by Morton Thiokol. Test data from as early as 1977 had revealed
6656-419: The failure of O-rings on the solid rocket boosters when subject to freezing temperatures. (See Space Shuttle Challenger disaster ). In 1989, Morton Thiokol split, with most of the chemical concern going with Morton but the propulsion systems division became Thiokol Inc. Then in 1998, Thiokol changed its name to Cordant Technologies. Also in 1998, Thiokol branded polymer products purchased by PolySpec L.P.,
6760-409: The far more powerful hydrogen bomb , which the United States had decided to move forward with after an intense debate during 1949–50. as well as much smaller tactical atomic weapons for battlefield use. By 1990, the United States had produced more than 70,000 nuclear warheads, in over 65 different varieties, ranging in yield from around .01 kilotons (such as the man-portable Davy Crockett shell ) to
6864-555: The force of the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945) were permitted to be developed. The Bush administration was unsuccessful in its goal to develop a guided low-yield nuclear weapon, however, in 2010 President Barack Obama began funding and development for what would become the B61-12, a smart guided low-yield nuclear bomb developed off of the B61 “dumb bomb”. Statements by the U.S. government in 2004 indicated that they planned to decrease
6968-576: The future of U.S. weapons that shaped the nuclear triad for decades, and remains a model for such efforts today". In 2006, the Defense Science Board (DFS) noted STRAT-X's introduction of ideas and concepts that resulted in the Ohio -class submarines and small and mobile ICBMs. The DFS also attributed the use of air-launched cruise missiles , particularly those carried by the B-52 Stratofortress , to STRAT-X despite their lack of references in
7072-560: The government's most dangerous military material". Nuclear weapons materials on the black market are a global concern, and there is concern about the possible detonation of a small, crude nuclear weapon by a militant group in a major city, with significant loss of life and property. Stuxnet is a computer worm discovered in June 2010 that is believed to have been created by the United States and Israel to attack Iran 's nuclear fuel enrichment facilities. The initial U.S. nuclear program
7176-470: The greatest throw weight of any ICBM ever at 8.8 tonnes (19,000 lb), the R-36 was larger than the most modern ICBMs in the U.S. arsenal at the time. Due to its size, it was able to carry high-yield warheads capable of destroying Minuteman hardened silos (see Counterforce ). This was considered a significant risk to American ICBMs and, as a result, to the United States' nuclear defense strategy by reducing
7280-726: The independent and non-profit Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), which had conducted a study in early 1966 titled "Pen-X", upon which STRAT-X was based. STRAT-X was chaired by President of the IDA, General Maxwell D. Taylor , while the institution's Fred Payne presided over STRAT-X's "working" panel. The panel also included executives from major independent corporations and defense contractors such as Boeing , Booz Allen Hamilton , Thiokol and TRW . The Advisory Committee members were mostly military officers , including U.S. Navy Rear Admirals George H. Miller and Levering Smith. "The systems to be analyzed need not be limited to those recommended by
7384-482: The launch of missiles, meaning that two officers must turn keys simultaneously (far enough apart that this cannot be done by one person). When President Reagan was shot in 1981, there was confusion about where the "nuclear football" was, and who was in charge. In 1975, a launch crew member, Harold Hering , was dismissed from the Air Force for asking how he could know whether the order to launch his missiles came from
7488-566: The mid-1950s the company bought extensive lands in Utah for its rocket test range. Thiokol was involved in two major accidents with loss of life. On February 3, 1971, at a Thiokol chemical plant southeast of Woodbine, Georgia , a fire entered a storage facility holding nearly five tons of ignition pellets, flares, and other highly flammable materials. The facility exploded , killing 29 people and severely wounding more than 50 others, many with severed limbs. Windows were shattered 11 miles (18 km) away and
7592-419: The mid-1990s under President Bill Clinton . Many former nuclear facilities were closed, and their sites became targets of extensive environmental remediation. Efforts were redirected from weapons production to stockpile stewardship ; attempting to predict the behavior of aging weapons without using full-scale nuclear testing. Increased funding was directed to anti- nuclear proliferation programs, such as helping
7696-714: The nascent Jet Propulsion Laboratory , discovered the use of thiokol as a stabilizer in solid-fuel rockets . In 1948, a plant in Elkton, Maryland was opened, producing solid rocket motors. In 1949, Thiokol produced the TX-18 Falcon missile, the world's first solid-fueled missile system. In 1957, anticipating the forthcoming Minuteman contract, the company built its plant at Brigham City, Utah, and Thiokol Huntsville began building XM33 Pollux missiles. In 1958, Thiokol merged with Reaction Motors Inc. (RMI), makers of liquid propellant rocket motor systems. Also in 1958, Thiokol received
7800-531: The nearby Hanford nuclear site , to power the American nuclear weapons arsenals. It produced plutonium for use in cold war atomic bombs . Throughout the Cold War, the U.S. and USSR threatened with all-out nuclear attack in case of war, regardless of whether it was a conventional or a nuclear clash. U.S. nuclear doctrine called for mutually assured destruction (MAD), which entailed a massive nuclear attack against strategic targets and major populations centers of
7904-674: The nine prospective weapons systems, five were land-based. These were: "Rock Silo"—a system where missiles would be stored in hardened silos of granite bedrock in the Western and Northern United States ; "Soft Silo"—a similar system but with easily and cheaply constructed silos; "Rock Tunnel"—a system where missiles would be transported around in deep underground networks before emerging at launch points; "Soft Tunnel"—a similar tunnel but built more cheaply and easily; and "Land Mobile"—a truck-based system where road-transporters traveled at speeds up to 35 miles per hour (56 km/h) constantly around
8008-485: The nuclear waste site on Runit Island and a potential radioactive spill . There were also instances during the nuclear testing program in which soldiers were exposed to overly high levels of radiation, which grew into a major scandal in the 1970s and 1980s, as many soldiers later suffered from what were claimed to be diseases caused by their exposures. Many of the former nuclear facilities produced significant environmental damages during their years of activity, and since
8112-450: The oceans while carrying missile canisters outside their pressure hulls . The single air-based consideration was the "Air Launched ICBM", which required large aircraft carrying standoff ballistic missiles to launch their payloads at the Soviet Union. Despite the numerous options investigated during the study, none were fully implemented. Although the STRAT-X "Land Mobile" option resulted in
8216-463: The peace group Plowshares have shown how nuclear weapons facilities can be penetrated, and the group's actions represent extraordinary breaches of security at nuclear weapons plants in the United States. The National Nuclear Security Administration has acknowledged the seriousness of the 2012 Plowshares action. Non-proliferation policy experts have questioned "the use of private contractors to provide security at facilities that manufacture and store
8320-579: The prime contractor for the new Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV), to be known as the Ares I , which will put the Orion spacecraft (formerly known as the "Crew Exploration Vehicle") into low Earth orbit , along with the five-segment SRBs for the heavy-lift Cargo Launch Vehicle (CaLV), known as the Ares V . In addition to ski lifts, Thiokol produced a range of equipment for ski resorts including snowcats and snow grooming vehicles. These businesses were spun off in 1978 when
8424-495: The production and regulation of nuclear weapons, it was also in charge of stimulating development and regulating civilian nuclear power. The full transference of activities was finalized in January 1947. In 1975, following the "energy crisis" of the early 1970s and public and congressional discontent with the AEC (in part because of the impossibility to be both a producer and a regulator), it
8528-559: The program was put under the Office of Scientific Research and Development , and in 1942 it was officially transferred under the auspices of the United States Army and became known as the Manhattan Project , an American, British and Canadian joint venture. Under the direction of General Leslie Groves , over thirty different sites were constructed for the research, production, and testing of components related to bomb-making. These included
8632-547: The semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration . Some functions were taken over or shared by the Department of Homeland Security in 2002. The already-built weapons themselves are in the control of the Strategic Command , which is part of the Department of Defense . Thiokol The Thiokol Chemical Company was founded in 1929. Its initial business was a range of synthetic rubber and polymer sealants. Thiokol
8736-502: The services, and the STRAT-X study group is encouraged to examine system concepts unrestrained by considerations of potential management problems or political influences." Extract from a memo from the Director of Defense Research and Engineering to the IDA On 1 November 1966, McNamara signed an order authorizing STRAT-X, officially initiating the study. During STRAT-X, the working panel
8840-501: The states of the former Soviet Union to eliminate their former nuclear sites and to assist Russia in their efforts to inventory and secure their inherited nuclear stockpile. By February 2006, over $ 1.2 billion had been paid under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990 to U.S. citizens exposed to nuclear hazards as a result of the U.S. nuclear weapons program, and by 1998 at least $ 759 million had been paid to
8944-568: The stockpile. Some of these were international in origin and focused on the increasing tensions of the Cold War , including the loss of China , the Soviet Union becoming an atomic power , and the onset of the Korean War . And some of the forces were domestic – both the Truman administration and the Eisenhower administration wanted to rein in military spending and avoid budget deficits and inflation. It
9048-602: The study. Notes References Bibliography Nuclear weapons and the United States The United States was the first country to manufacture nuclear weapons and is the only country to have used them in combat , with the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II against Japan . Before and during the Cold War , it conducted 1,054 nuclear tests , and tested many long-range nuclear weapons delivery systems. Between 1940 and 1996,
9152-428: The third stage of the Trident missile and had earlier bought Hercules Aerospace Co., builder of the second stage. With the purchase of Thiokol, makers of the missile's first stage, ATK controlled the lion's share of the US solid rocket-fuel market. In 2005, ATK-Thiokol won the contract to produce the Ares I launch vehicle first stage for NASA 's Project Constellation . In 2006, Alliant Techsystems (ATK) Inc.
9256-522: The two superpowers , U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara entrusted the classified STRAT-X study to the Institute for Defense Analyses , which compiled a twenty-volume report in nine months. The report looked into more than one hundred different weapons systems, ultimately resulting in the MGM-134 Midgetman and LGM-118 Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missiles , the Ohio -class submarines , and
9360-603: The vast majority of U.S. nuclear tests were above ground. After the acceptance of the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty , all testing was relegated underground, in order to prevent the dispersion of nuclear fallout . By 1998, at least US$ 759 million had been paid to the Marshall Islanders in compensation for their exposure to U.S. nuclear testing. By March 2021 over US$ 2.5 billion in compensation had been paid to U.S. citizens exposed to nuclear hazards as
9464-477: The weapons could trigger an arms race. In 2003, the Senate Armed Services Committee voted to repeal the 1993 Spratt - Furse ban on the development of small nuclear weapons. This change was part of the 2004 fiscal year defense authorization. The Bush administration wanted the repeal so that they could develop weapons to address the threat from North Korea. "Low-yield weapons" (those with one-third
9568-470: The years at Hanford were part of normal operations, but unforeseen accidents did occur and plant management kept this secret, as the pollution continued unabated. Even today, as pollution threats to health and the environment persist, the government keeps knowledge about the associated risks from the public. During the presidency of George W. Bush , and especially after the 11 September terrorist attacks of 2001, rumors circulated in major news sources that
9672-457: Was "encouraged to examine system concepts unrestrained by considerations of potential management problems or political influences." The Secretary wanted new ideas about "path-breaking" weapons systems that were either offensive or defensive in nature, unhindered by defense bureaucracy, which had the potential to stifle innovation. Sea-, land- and air-based missile systems were investigated, but crewed bombers and orbital systems were not. The group
9776-651: Was a major supplier of liquid polymer sealants during World War II . When scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory discovered that Thiokol's polymers made ideal binders for solid rocket fuels, Thiokol moved into the new field, opening laboratories at Elkton, Maryland , and later production facilities at Elkton and at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama . Huntsville produced the XM33 Pollux, TX-18 Falcon, and TX-135 Nike-Zeus systems. It closed in 1996. In
9880-513: Was allowed to proceed so it could terminate the study for such a missile. Funding for the WS-120A would not be released by Secretary McNamara, and plans for such a missile were canceled in 1967. The study was named "STRAT-X" in order not to reveal its intentions, and also to eliminate partiality towards sea-, air- or land-based systems . It was conducted by the Research and Engineering Support Division of
9984-564: Was also asked to consider the cost effectiveness of all systems, as well to predict possible Soviet responses . To meet this requirement, a series of documents were written from the perspective of the Soviet Minister of Defense General Andrei Grechko , complete with anti-capitalistic statements and a prediction of the eventual triumph of socialism . In the end, a twenty-volume report covered no fewer than 125 different ideas for missile systems, nine of which were reviewed in great detail. Of
10088-584: Was disassembled into component parts as the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA), which assumed most of the AEC's former production, coordination, and research roles, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission , which assumed its civilian regulation activities. ERDA was short-lived, however, and in 1977 the U.S. nuclear weapons activities were reorganized under the Department of Energy , which maintains such responsibilities through
10192-620: Was established, with the NDRC as one of its subordinate agencies, which enlarged and renamed the Uranium Committee as the Section on Uranium . In 1941, NDRC research was placed under direct control of Vannevar Bush as the OSRD S-1 Section, which attempted to increase the pace of weapons research. In June 1942, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers took over the project to develop atomic weapons, while
10296-503: Was initiated, which has been maintained through 2024. The U.S. program of atmospheric nuclear testing exposed a number of the population to the hazards of fallout. Estimating exact numbers, and the exact consequences, of people exposed has been medically very difficult, with the exception of the high exposures of Marshall Islanders and Japanese fishers in the case of the Castle Bravo incident in 1954. A number of groups of U.S. citizens—especially farmers and inhabitants of cities downwind of
10400-481: Was officially turned over to the United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). On 15 August 1947, the Manhattan Project was abolished. The American atomic stockpile was small and grew slowly in the immediate aftermath of World War II, and the size of that stockpile was a closely guarded secret. However, there were forces that pushed the United States towards greatly increasing the size of
10504-568: Was renamed ATK-Thiokol to ATK Launch Systems Group. In 2014, Orbital ATK was formed from the merger of Orbital Sciences Corporation and parts of Alliant Techsystems. In 2018, Orbital ATK was purchased by Northrop Grumman . Products made by the aerospace divisions of RMI and Thiokol include motors used in Subroc , the Pershing missile , the Peacekeeper missile , Poseidon missile , Minuteman missile , and
10608-604: Was run by the National Bureau of Standards starting in 1939 under the edict of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt . Its primary purpose was to delegate research and dispense funds. In 1940 the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) was established, coordinating work under the Committee on Uranium among its other wartime efforts. In June 1941, the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD)
10712-468: Was the first time that the strategic requirements of the U.S. Armed Forces were addressed in a detailed and analytical manner. In a 2002 report by the RAND Corporation , STRAT-X was described as "one of the most influential analyses ever conducted" for the U.S. Department of Defense . Journalist Peter Grier, in his Air Force magazine article "STRAT-X", described the study as "a wide-ranging look at
10816-454: Was the perception that nuclear weapons gave more " bang for the buck " and thus were the most cost-efficient way to respond to the security threat the Soviet Union represented. As a result, beginning in 1950 the AEC embarked on a massive expansion of its production facilities, an effort that would eventually be one of the largest U.S. government construction projects ever to take place outside of wartime. And this production would soon include
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