missile silo
Underground rocket storage
A missile silo is an underground facility housing a ballistic missile ready for launch.
The vertical shaft protects the weapon from attack and concealment from surveillance until launch, when doors open and the missile fires upward.
Silos are hardened against nuclear blast and typically located in remote areas: The Great Plains are dotted with Cold War–era missile silos.
Ocean-spanning nuclear delivery system
- Soviet UnionFormer communist superstate
- mutually assured destructionReciprocal nuclear annihilation threat
- deterrencePrevention via threatened consequences
- arms raceEscalating weapons accumulation between nations
containment · Iron Curtain · NATO · Warsaw Pact · nuclear standoff · superpower · strategic command · NORAD
Munition's explosive section
- thermonuclearInvolving nuclear fusion heat
- megatonExplosive force unit
- plutoniumActinide, atomic number 94
- uraniumElement ninety-two
fission · fusion · enrichment · payload · yield · fallout · radiation · nonproliferation
Reinforced subterranean stronghold
- subterraneanBeneath earth's surface
- buriedPlaced beneath earth
- hardenedMade tough or unfeeling
- blast doorExplosion-resistant entry barrier
reinforced concrete · depth · excavation · bedrock · shaft · tunnel · fortified · shelter
Shape's outer edge length
- guardsProtectors or watchmen
- surveillanceSystematic observation of subjects
- fenceBoundary structure between properties
- patrolRegular surveillance route
sensors · checkpoint · access control · intrusion detection · fortification · watchtower · barbed wire · cameras
Backward enumeration to zero
- ignitionStarting combustion process
- liftoffMoment of ascent
- launch controlRocket departure oversight center
- trajectoryPath of moving object
propellant · fueling · retargeting · readiness · activation · blast-off · thrust · booster
ICBM
Ocean-spanning nuclear delivery system
- Soviet UnionFormer communist superstate
- mutually assured destructionReciprocal nuclear annihilation threat
- deterrencePrevention via threatened consequences
arms race · containment · Iron Curtain · NATO · Warsaw Pact · nuclear standoff · superpower · strategic command · NORAD · fallout shelter
warhead
Munition's explosive section
- thermonuclearInvolving nuclear fusion heat
- megatonExplosive force unit
- plutoniumActinide, atomic number 94
uranium · fission · fusion · enrichment · payload · yield · fallout · radiation · nonproliferation · treaty
bunker
Reinforced subterranean stronghold
- subterraneanBeneath earth's surface
- buriedPlaced beneath earth
- hardenedMade tough or unfeeling
blast door · reinforced concrete · depth · excavation · bedrock · shaft · tunnel · fortified · shelter · elevator
perimeter
Shape's outer edge length
- guardsProtectors or watchmen
- surveillanceSystematic observation of subjects
- fenceBoundary structure between properties
patrol · sensors · checkpoint · access control · intrusion detection · fortification · watchtower · barbed wire · cameras · biometrics
countdown
Backward enumeration to zero
- ignitionStarting combustion process
- liftoffMoment of ascent
- launch controlRocket departure oversight center
trajectory · propellant · fueling · retargeting · readiness · activation · blast-off · thrust · booster · guidance system
- Cold War SitesBerlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, Iron Curtain, Brandenburg Gate, Kremlin
- secure placesprison, jail, vault, bank vault, fortress
- underground spacesbasement, cellar, cave, cavern, tunnel
- nuclear waratomic bomb, nuclear holocaust, nuclear arsenal, hydrogen bomb, ICBM
- submarinessub, subs, torpedo, submarines, hull
- Cold War ArmsICBM, nuclear bomb, hydrogen bomb, atomic bomb, B-52
missile silobomb shelter
Fortified underground refuge
fallout shelter · bunker · air raid shelter · demilitarized zone · hospital
missile silolaunchpad
Rocket departure platform
launch platform · launch pad · Cape Canaveral · Kennedy Space Center · spaceport
missile silopeace
Freedom from disturbance
olive branch · dove · peace treaty · love · children's hospital
missile, missiles, silo, silos, siloed, siloing, guided missile, missile silos, ballistic missile