Which surface-to-surface Soviet ICBM was tested in 1957 and declared operational?
SS-6 Sapwood ICBM
100
When exactly is the period for the Geophysical year (IGY) and what did the UN Special Committee challenge the world?
July 1957 - December 1958
Challenged the world to place a satellite on orbit
100
What is Project Score?
Signal Communication by Orbiting Relay Equipment that transmitted President Eisenhower's Christmas message from space
100
Because spy satellites were determined to be a national asset, what was established to manage them in 1960?
The NRO (National Reconnaissance Office)
100
When the phased array radar was "destroyed" in 1965, what replaced it?
The Eglin Prototype radar became the proving ground for phased array radar development
200
Because of the increasing evidence tests of the Soviets, who was assigned the task to develop an ICBM by the end of the decade?
General Bernard Schriever
200
Which project did President Eisenhower select to place a scientific payload on orbit and why?
Project Vanguard - because it was a civilian and not military project
200
What was established as a bilateral command (US and Canadian) because the Killian Panel identified the lack of surprise attack warning and what did they recommend? What were the three missions of this command?
NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense) was established
Recommended the Distant Early Warning (DEW) radar line but it could only monitor aircraft and now ICBM's
1) Ballistic missile attack warning
2) Manned bomber attack defense
3) Space surveillance
200
What system did the DoD develop to track missiles and space objects and provide early warning capability?
Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS)
200
What year did the Atlas ICBM's become operational and placed on alert at Vandenberg AFB?
1959
300
Following this time frame, which three programs began concurrently and what did President Eisenhower do to guarantee funding?
Thor, Atlas, and Titan.
President Eisenhower placed the highest priority to IRBM/ICBM development to guarantee funding.
300
In response to the Vanguard failure, what did the Soviets do?
They offered to provide "Technological Assistance to Primitive Nations" through the UN
300
What committee in 1957 determined that the US was EXTREMELY vulnerable to surprise attack due to inability to detect incoming missiles?
Gaither Committee
300
What three sites were the BMEWS constructed?
1) Thule AB
2) Clear AFS
3) Royal Air Force
300
What ICBM was the first two stage liquid fueled ICBM and first to be housed in an underground silo?
Titan I
400
In 1955, who identified that the US was vulnerable to Soviet surprise attack and what did they recommend?
The Killian Panel - they recommended the construction of the Thor IRBM as an interim solution before the Atlas ICBM reached operational capability
400
The effects of the Vanguard disaster led to the use of what for civilian programs? This period also led to the formation of what administration?
Led to the use of military booster technology for civilian programs and created NASA in 1958 to oversee the civilian space program
400
What were the original sole providers of overhead imagery and what led to the termination of this method?
U-2 spy planes
Terminated when Gary Powers was shot down over the USSR
400
How did BMEWS steer their beams and what were it's primary and secondary missions?
Used mechanical radars to steer the beam
Primary: Missile Warning
Secondary: Space Surveillance
400
Which Titan's were the first to use Hypergolic Fuel and another to be used a strictly a SLV?
Titan II - Hypergolic Fuel
Titan III - SLV
500
What was the first nuclear tipped missile capable of delivering a nuclear strike against the USSR? Where was the first operation squadron handling the missile?
THOR IRBM - 1,750 mile range
RAF Feltwell, UK 1958
500
What equipment was equipped on the Explorer I and what did it discover in 1958?
Equipped with gamma ray detectors and discovered the Van Allen Radiation Belts
500
What was the first US spy satellite under the Discoverer program? Where was it successfully launched from and what did it provide?
Corona launched from Vandenberg AFB.
Early Corona imagery detected construction of missile sites and airfields through film return buckets
500
In 1962, construction of what type of radar was designed for early warning of submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) attacks?
Phased Array Radar
500
The Minuteman I ICBM became operational in 1962 and used what type of fuel to improve response time?