U.S. Nuclear Weapons Cost Study Project

This project was completed in August 1998 and resulted in the book Atomic Audit: The Costs and Consequences of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Since 1940 edited by Stephen I. Schwartz. These project pages are only occassionally updated and should be considered historical.

Titan I Missile Complex Construction



Construction of a Titan I missile site at Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado, November 1959


The missile control center is in the background and the powerhouse is in the foreground (the silo, propellant tanks, and associated buildings are not shown). Eighteen Titan I launch complexes (for 54 missiles) were built in California, Colorado, Idaho, South Dakota, and Washington state at an average cost of $44.4 million apiece (in constant 1996 dollars). Titan I missiles were only on alert from 1962 to 1965.