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Marker detail: Flight of the Nike-Hercules

Caption: Marker detail: Flight of the Nike-Hercules
Additional Description:
Surface to Air Mission — functional diagram.
Drawing adapted from Army MMS Subcourse No. 150: Nike Radars and Computer

1 • The North American Air Defense Command identifies an enemy bomber flying over Canada.
2 • If the bomber is not destroyed by the time it reaches Minnesota, it is tracked by the Army Air Defense Commands at Duluth and Fort Snelling, as well as by acquisition radar (ACQ) at St. Bonifacius.
3 • Target-tracking radar (TTR) at the St. Bonifacius battery follows the bomber's flight.
4 • The 15-minute countdown to the missile's firing begins. A missile is loaded into a hydraulic elevator, raised out of the underground storage area, and moved into a nearly vertical position by a launcher.
5 • The missile is fired with the aid of a booster rocket. It travels about a mile in less than four seconds before the booster drops off.
6 • The missile's rocket can transport it more than 75 miles with a maximum speed of about 2,700 miles per hour.
7 • Missile-tracking radar (MTR) follows the missile. A computer at the fire control area calculates the movement of the bomber and missile and sends electronic signals that adjust the fins of the missile, which homes in on the aircraft even if it tries evasive tactics.
8 • When the missile reaches the "intercept point," the warhead receives a command to explode.
Submitted: November 23, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Database Locator Identification Number: p692377
File Size: 1.236 Megabytes

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