15 Minutes and the Texas Towers

[+column5]

I just finished reading 15 Minutes by Douglas Keeney. Its a very worthwhile read for anyone interested in the USAF, SAC, or the Cold War in general. The book does not have a narrative so to speak, it recoutns a number of interrelated events from the 1940s to the 1970s involving SAC and American nuclear policy during the period. Many of these are fascinating but for me the most enlightening was the story of the Texas Towers. These were a series of air defense radar stations mounted on towers akin to oil rigs stationed in the Atlantic. The amount of effort that went into designing, deploying and maintaining these installations is staggering, and all to gain a few precious minutes of additional warning of a Soviet attack. Unfortunately, the story of these towers ends in tragedy, and the link below gives a good account:

 

http://www.thetexastowers.com/

[+Fubar512]

I've often fished over the submerged remains of Texas Tower Number 4. It sits 67 NM east of Manasquan, NJ, in 185 feet of water. Up until the winter of 2000, it was possible to easily dive to the top of the submerged radome platform, as it was no more than 70 feet beneath the surface. A severe winter storm that year collapsed the remaining tower leg that was holding the platform above the bottom, dropping the whole mess down to 120+ feet.

 

 

http://njscuba.net/sites/site_texas_tower.html

Edited July 14, 2011 by Fubar512

[+streakeagle]

I have seen an entire TV special about that. Fortunately, satellites provided a far more practical and effective solution aside from the humongous cost of lobbing even the smallest payloads into a decent orbit.

[Lexx_Luthor]

http://www.thetexastowers.com/

 

aH, thanks C~5, I'll add this to my cold war strategic vault.

 

 

[+Typhoid]

I have seen an entire TV special about that. Fortunately, satellites provided a far more practical and effective solution aside from the humongous cost of lobbing even the smallest payloads into a decent orbit.

 

 

not quite the same things.

 

The Texas Towers were air defense radars that extended radar coverage to sea. There was no replacement for those capabilities until the OTH-B radars were deployed, whcih have since been mothballed without replacement.

 

Satellites track ballistic missiles.

 

There is not (yet) a space based capability to track aircraft (with some specific caveats that I'll not go into here)

Edited July 14, 2011 by Typhoid

[TX3RN0BILL]

And here I thought that the americans had satellites with such good resolution that they could watch real-life pr0n from space...

[+JediMaster]

I suppose that would depend on the size of the, ahem, "attributes" of those participating...

[+Typhoid]

And here I thought that the americans had satellites with such good resolution that they could watch real-life pr0n from space...

 

I said we couldn't track airplanes (yet) from space. I didn't say we couldn't look over your shoulder and read the fine print.

 

 

By the way, you should check your engine - you're number 3 cyclinder is running a little cooler than the others.