

The temperature at which the solid–liquid phase change occurs. The arrangements of electrons above the last (closed shell) noble gas. These blocks are named for the characteristic spectra they produce: sharp (s), principal (p), diffuse (d), and fundamental (f). The atomic number of each element increases by one, reading from left to right.Įlements are organised into blocks by the orbital type in which the outer electrons are found. Members of a group typically have similar properties and electron configurations in their outer shell.Ī horizontal row in the periodic table. and the 91st Missile Wing at Minot AFB, N.D.A vertical column in the periodic table. the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom AFB, Mont. The current ICBM force consists of 400 Minuteman III missiles located at the 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Today's Minuteman weapon system is the product of almost 60 years of continuous enhancement. Modernization programs have resulted in new versions of the missile, expanded targeting options, improved accuracy and survivability. Through state-of-the-art improvements, the Minuteman system has evolved to meet new challenges and assume new missions. Minuteman's maintenance concept capitalizes on high reliability and a "remove and replace" approach to achieve a near 100 percent alert rate. From the beginning, Minuteman missiles have provided a quick-reacting, inertially guided, highly survivable component to America's strategic deterrent program. Both the missile and basing components incorporated significant advances beyond the relatively slow-reacting, liquid-fueled, remotely-controlled ICBMs of the previous generation. Minuteman was a revolutionary concept and an extraordinary technical achievement.


The Minuteman weapon system was conceived in the late 1950s and Minuteman I was deployed in the early 1960s. Fully qualified airborne missile combat crews aboard airborne launch control center aircraft would execute the president's orders. Should command capability be lost between the launch control center and remote missile launch facilities, specially configured E-6B airborne launch control center aircraft automatically assume command and control of the isolated missile or missiles. Launch crews, consisting of two officers, perform around-the-clock alert in the launch control center.Ī variety of communication systems provide the president and secretary of defense with highly reliable, virtually instantaneous direct contact with each launch crew. Missiles are dispersed in hardened silos to protect against attack and connected to an underground launch control center through a system of hardened cables. The Minuteman is a strategic weapon system using a ballistic missile of intercontinental range.
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The "L" in LGM is the Department of Defense designation for silo-launched "G" means surface attack "M" stands for guided missile, the 30 stands for the Minuteman series of missile and the G after “30” is the current Minuteman III. The LGM-30G Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, is an element of the nation's strategic deterrent forces under the control of the Air Force Global Strike Command.
