Clean Air and Mushroom CLouds

[Fritz]

ah

The upgrading of the older Minuteman III missiles has been under way for several years. The air force is in the process of replacing the decades old solid fuel rockets of its 500 Minuteman III missiles. Actually, a test of a 33 year old Minuteman I rocket motor showed that the motor (actually, a long tube full of slow burning explosives) still performed according to specification. The last of the Minuteman III missiles will receive their new motors by 2008. It costs about $5.2 million to replace the rockets on each missile. The new rocket motors, which have to comply with EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) rules, will have a shorter range than the original motors (which was classified, but thought to be nearly 10,000 kilometers, based on where the missiles were stationed and where likely Russian targets were.)

[Desnudo]

Government bureaucracy at its finest.

[Fritz]

I doubt this has much to do with the bureacracy

[JAG]

That's certainly a relief our nuclear missles will comply with EPA cleanliness standards. It will be a great relief to their targets that the emmissions from their motors is clean according to our government standards.

[sachmo71]

Go Green. Go Air Force.

[Ksyrup]

"The new rocket motors, which have to comply with EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) rules, will have a shorter range than the original motors..."

Ironically, the shorter range will give them just enough range to eradicate the many Greenpeace rafts littered throughout the Atlantic Ocean.

[Wolfpack]

Somehow I don't think EPA compliance will be much of an issue if the missiles are put to use. Chances are something else will have happened that really, really, REALLY violates EPA pollution rules regarding release of nuclear material before they are used, so the EPA should worry with that first.

[Coffee Warlord]

You know, I wish I had a few billion to completely waste on 'upgrading' a weapon that olbliterates the environment to make it more environmentally friendly.

Lordy lordy.

[The Afoci]

I suppose if the missle is a dud, this program will be a good thing.

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by Fritz

I doubt this has much to do with the bureacracy

It has everything to do with it. Applying EPA standards to nuclear rocket motors? I think the last thing we'll be worried about is the pollution given off by the motor if the thing is ever launched.

[Kodos]

"The missiles are coming!"

"Those EPA-violating bastards! I hope they receive a stiff fine!"

[cartman]

Hmm... I wonder if they have had to update their flight plans with the FAA as well?

[sachmo71]

Can they paint nekked ladies on the side of thier missiles?

[Calis]

This is great, you have a link to this though? People at work are questioning the validity of this story after I shared it with them. They unfortunately look at me strangely when I said Fritz posted it so it must be true.

[Peregrine]

I wonder where this came from too. Pulling data from the latest Jane's book, it lists the range of the new Minuteman IIIs as 13,000 kilometers, so the new motors could have definitely improved the range of the old ones.

[Wolfpack]

If that range is accurate, we're still able to hit a sizeable chunk of the planet. Taking Malmstrom AFB near Great Falls as an example, Moscow, Beijing, Tehran, and Pyongyang are within range. Aden in Yemen is about at the limit of that number.

[sabotai]

Isn't government great?

[Fritz]

Originally Posted by Calis

This is great, you have a link to this though? People at work are questioning the validity of this story after I shared it with them. They unfortunately look at me strangely when I said Fritz posted it so it must be true.

Just google EPA and ICBM

[Fritz]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

It has everything to do with it. Applying EPA standards to nuclear rocket motors? I think the last thing we'll be worried about is the pollution given off by the motor if the thing is ever launched.

Typicaly you don't find a bunch of civil servants dreaming this up, which is why I said it was not an issue of the bureaucracy. This has the look and feel of something political, or at least PR related. A politician and a bureaucrat are different beasts.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Interesting to see this posted today, just a few hours after I ran across a reference to the same (or similar) thing in Dick Marcinko's book Echo Platoon. That was published in 2000, so this has been going on for quite some time now.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Interesting to see this posted today, just a few hours after I ran across a reference to the same (or similar) thing in Dick Marcinko's book Echo Platoon. That was published in 2000, so this has been going on for quite some time now.

Marcinko ranks somewhere below Drudge as a reliable source...

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

Marcinko ranks somewhere below Drudge as a reliable source...

Eh, I'm not citing him as Webster's, I just thought it was interesting that I ran across a brief reference this morning while doing some, uh, bathroom reading & then saw the same fairly obscure thing mentioned in a thread here.