ICBMs

A Brief Overview of ICBMs

Description:

The ICBM is a rocket-based delivery platform for explosives. ICBM Stands for intercontinental ballistic missile which means an explosive missile that travels from one continent to another.

Development:

The ICBM was originally intended to be used against New York and other American cities. It was made in Germany by the team of Werner Van Braun under the Projekt Amerika. Then Russians started their early development of the ICBM. Their bomb was focused on being able to hit European targets but this changed after Sergei Korolyov started to develop a true ICBM to carry hydrogen bombs. The earlier ones carried conventional explosives. This was so mutually assured destruction did not occur.

History:

Immediately after WWII both the US and the USSR worked hard on designing their own rockets. The earlier designs were only short range rockets but improvements were quickly made.

Reasons Not To Use:

Mutually assured destruction or MAD is when, if a country sends a missile over to another country, they can tell by using detection devices. Many countries have these detection devices, so they can send one straight back at that country. That is why we should never use our nuclear warheads. Because both of the countries that launched the missiles would get severely injured.

Creation:

Creating a rocket is very difficult. The Atlas A was launched on June 11 1957 but the flight lasted only 24 seconds before it blew up. Most ICBMs have three flight phases. The first phase, the boost phase, was took 2 to 5 minutes. The rocket would go strait up. The second phase, the midcourse phase, Is when the rocket hangs over its target. The last phase, the reentry phase, is when it goes down. Some of the rockets split into multiple parts so they can hit several targets.