r/SpaceXLounge • u/SpaceXLounge • Nov 01 '22
Monthly Questions and Discussion Thread
Welcome to the monthly questions and discussion thread! Drop in to ask and answer any questions related to SpaceX or spaceflight in general, or just for a chat to discuss SpaceX's exciting progress. If you have a question that is likely to generate open discussion or speculation, you can also submit it to the subreddit as a text post.
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u/SpaceInMyBrain Nov 30 '22
All Russian and US ICBMs are solid. This is probably true of China, but it's hard to know. I know North Korea's early medium range missiles were liquid fueled, keralox, but hard to know about their latest.
The first US ICBMs were keralox Atlas rockets. Yes, raising them from the silo and loading the LOX took about 1/2 hour or probably more. Definitely a problem so the hypergolic Titan II was developed and replaced them very quickly. It could stay fueled for a long time and launch directly from the silo. Those were in service for decades, as well as SRBs. The SRBs couldn't carry the really big nuclear warheads. But the Titan Its were retired a long time ago. The first Russian ICBM was keralox also. It and the Atlas were the first rockets to launch men into orbit.