NASA. Rare. Photograph of the night takeoff of the US Air Force missile : ATLAS ICBM. In order to reach the USAF's objectives, Convair used the balloon tank technique: the tanks, which had no spars, had to be maintained under pressure at the risk of collapsing under their own weight. At launch, liquid fuel was introduced into the tanks and the air used to maintain the structure was expelled. This technique allowed to lighten the total weight of the missile, but was long (more than 15 minutes per missile), dangerous, which was less and less in conformity with the operational needs of the USAF. Circa 1958, silver print of the period. Stamp and caption written on the back. 25,4 x 20,5CM with margins.
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