From: Bruce Dunn <bruce_dunn@mindlink.bc.ca>
Newsgroups: sci.space.science
Subject: Re: space places in the southwest - recommendations please
Date: Wed, 23 Apr 1997 17:30:31 -0700

Michael Peters wrote:
>
> I'll be visiting the southwest in May/June and would appreciate
> recommendations for space related places to visit.

About half an hour south of Tuscon Arizona is a complete underground
Titan missile complex from the cold war, preserved as a visitable museum
piece.  It is fascinating to see this ancestor of the current Titan
launch vehicle in its original habitat.  A tour takes you through the
underground launch complex and missile silo. The door to the silo is
permanently blocked open with concrete, and the warhead area of the
Titan in the silo has a hole in it to demonstrate that the missile is
truly deactivated.

At the surface, they have the handling equipment for the two toxic
propellants, nitrogen tetroxide (oxidizer) and a hydrazine blend
(fuel).  There is a refrigerated nitrogen tetroxide tank on a trailer,
designed to contain the oxidizer whenever it was necessary to remove
propellant from the missile. Coupled with the handling equipment is a
large array of equipment designed to cope with spills.

An added bonus is a a pair of completely accessible first and second
stage Titan engines, positioned horizontally on ground level stands for
viewing.  I was not hassled when I walked right up to the engines and
looked at them - a friend of mine did the same, and took high resolution
stereo-pair photos of the engines to boot.  Obviously, these engines,
which once must have represented secret military technology, are no
longer considered so.

--
Dr. Bruce Dunn
General Astronautics Canada, Vancouver B.C.
http://www.genastro.com/  | 800-577-1117  | 604-876-7640
Reliable, low-cost transportation to low Earth orbit and beyond