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.
A Titan I launch sequence is demonstrated at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, in 1961. Fifty-four of these liquid-fueled missiles, each carrying a 4.5 megaton warhead, were deployed in groups of three at five air force bases between 1962 and 1965. Each missile was 98 feet (22.9 meters) tall. The elapsed time between the first and last frame is approximately 15 minutes. Note the persons in the first and last frames.
Credit: National Archives