CastleBravo
06-17-09, 05:05 PM
This is the missile silo from inside the security fence. It is often referred to as the outer zone.
http://www.captainswoop.com/icbm/topside.jpg
From top left to the right.
The shaft with the hood is part of the air system used by the Launch Facility Equipment Building to supply air for the diesel-electric motor generator. The diesel-electric motor generator exists to support the facility when commercial power is disrupted.
Behind the shaft is a 60 ft light pole used to illuminate the area. Two are pictured.
The small round object which resembles a RADAR dish in front of light pole #2 is just that, a RADAR dish. During the deployment of LGM30B and LGM30F this was the standard four dish emplacement to protect the outer zone. It has been replaced by a single, mono-pole system with LGM30G.
Moving further to the right is the theodolite. A large concrete marker used to measure true north, it was used during the deployment of LGM30B and F. It is no longer used for missile guidance.
The next major feature is the silo door and it’s associated mechanisms. Mainly the tracks and a cogged rail used for non-launch opening. Something called a whole-pusher (a hydraulic jack-screw) is used to slide the 100 ton door aside for insertion/extraction of the missile.
At center picture are the TE Pylons used by the Missile Transporter/Erector http://www.captainswoop.com/icbm/teraise.jpg (http://www.captainswoop.com/icbm/teraise.jpg) when inserting/extracting the LGM30 missile body. The transverse concrete pads are used by the vehicle used for the transfer of the re-entry vehicle. http://www.captainswoop.com/icbm/ptvan.jpg (http://www.captainswoop.com/icbm/ptvan.jpg)
Next are the two doors which allow access to the missile. The smaller of the two is known as the A-Circuit, or Pit. Beyond the special tools needed to open the pit a combination is required to gain access to a jack-screw which allows the opening of the primary Personnel Access Hatch (PAH). The combination is only known to the Security Escort Team(SET) which accompanies all MX personnel entering the Launch Facility. The combination lock and the associated combination is also replaced by the SET prior to leaving the LF.
The 42” PAH http://www.captainswoop.com/icbm/setgrd.jpg weighs in at a whopping five tons, and is opened using a jack screw. Beyond that is what is called the B-Plug. http://www.captainswoop.com/icbm/bplug.jpg The B-Plug is a plug which requires additional combination locks (replaced before exiting) to be exercised and large, 4” bolts to be hand cranked from the concrete and steel side walls of the access shaft. Once all the combinations have been inserted and the bolts retracted a signal is sent to the launch control crew, sitting a minimum of four miles away and they start a timer which will lower the B-Plug in about 10 minutes.
http://www.captainswoop.com/icbm/bplugdown.jpg
You may have noticed the amount of time needed by authorized personnel to gain access to the missile. That is another security point. If it takes the authorized this long those who are un-authorized wouldn’t get far before a Tiger team was all over them.
The square structure center picture is the topside of the Launch Facility Equipment Building. (LFEB). The hatches visible lead to cryogenic, electrical, and telephonic equipment used to maintain the LF.
Now you know .
http://www.captainswoop.com/icbm/topside.jpg
From top left to the right.
The shaft with the hood is part of the air system used by the Launch Facility Equipment Building to supply air for the diesel-electric motor generator. The diesel-electric motor generator exists to support the facility when commercial power is disrupted.
Behind the shaft is a 60 ft light pole used to illuminate the area. Two are pictured.
The small round object which resembles a RADAR dish in front of light pole #2 is just that, a RADAR dish. During the deployment of LGM30B and LGM30F this was the standard four dish emplacement to protect the outer zone. It has been replaced by a single, mono-pole system with LGM30G.
Moving further to the right is the theodolite. A large concrete marker used to measure true north, it was used during the deployment of LGM30B and F. It is no longer used for missile guidance.
The next major feature is the silo door and it’s associated mechanisms. Mainly the tracks and a cogged rail used for non-launch opening. Something called a whole-pusher (a hydraulic jack-screw) is used to slide the 100 ton door aside for insertion/extraction of the missile.
At center picture are the TE Pylons used by the Missile Transporter/Erector http://www.captainswoop.com/icbm/teraise.jpg (http://www.captainswoop.com/icbm/teraise.jpg) when inserting/extracting the LGM30 missile body. The transverse concrete pads are used by the vehicle used for the transfer of the re-entry vehicle. http://www.captainswoop.com/icbm/ptvan.jpg (http://www.captainswoop.com/icbm/ptvan.jpg)
Next are the two doors which allow access to the missile. The smaller of the two is known as the A-Circuit, or Pit. Beyond the special tools needed to open the pit a combination is required to gain access to a jack-screw which allows the opening of the primary Personnel Access Hatch (PAH). The combination is only known to the Security Escort Team(SET) which accompanies all MX personnel entering the Launch Facility. The combination lock and the associated combination is also replaced by the SET prior to leaving the LF.
The 42” PAH http://www.captainswoop.com/icbm/setgrd.jpg weighs in at a whopping five tons, and is opened using a jack screw. Beyond that is what is called the B-Plug. http://www.captainswoop.com/icbm/bplug.jpg The B-Plug is a plug which requires additional combination locks (replaced before exiting) to be exercised and large, 4” bolts to be hand cranked from the concrete and steel side walls of the access shaft. Once all the combinations have been inserted and the bolts retracted a signal is sent to the launch control crew, sitting a minimum of four miles away and they start a timer which will lower the B-Plug in about 10 minutes.
http://www.captainswoop.com/icbm/bplugdown.jpg
You may have noticed the amount of time needed by authorized personnel to gain access to the missile. That is another security point. If it takes the authorized this long those who are un-authorized wouldn’t get far before a Tiger team was all over them.
The square structure center picture is the topside of the Launch Facility Equipment Building. (LFEB). The hatches visible lead to cryogenic, electrical, and telephonic equipment used to maintain the LF.
Now you know .