The U.S. Nuclear Weapons Cost Study 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 should be considered historical.
Technicians with McDonnell-Douglas examine a mock-up of a Spartan antiballistic missile
A Sprint missile being lowered into its underground silo prior to a test launch, March 1, 1967
A Sprint missile test launch at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, October 10, 1967
Thirty Spartan and approximately 60 nuclear-armed Sprint missiles were deployed as part of the Safeguard ABM system in North Dakota in 1975. Employing a low-kiloton yield warhead, the Sprint was designed to intercept incoming Soviet warheads inside the atmosphere as a last-ditch defense against weapons which were not destroyed by the longer range Spartan missile (armed with a 5 megaton warhead). The Spartan was 55 feet (16.8 meters), weighed 28,700 pounds (13,045 kilograms), and had a range of approximately 465 miles (748 kilometers). The Sprint was 27 feet (8.2 meters) long, weighed 7,500 pounds (3,409 kilograms), and had a range of 25 miles (40 kilometers). Both missiles utilized solid propellants.
Credit: U.S. Army