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ICBM
ICBMNeedICBM stands for intercontinental ballistic missile—a long-range missile that takes advantage of the scientific laws of flight trajectory. The concept was born in the cold war, when new atomic bombs, or warheads, were developed in an attempt to maintain military superiority over the Soviet Union. As the arms race progressed, it became clear that a new delivery system for warheads had to be developed. Atomic weaponry could be placed on bombers, as it had been in World War II, but the bombers had to be kept on constant alert, which meant that some planes were flying all the time. The bombers were vulnerable to attack by antiaircraft defense systems, and the effectiveness of the warheads was limited by the number of planes carrying them that could reach their targets. A more effective delivery system had to be developed. RocketryThe science of rocketry became a military priority during World War II. Some early rockets were used as terrorist weapons late in the war, After the war ended, scientists working in the Nazi rocketry program were recruited by both the United States and the Soviet Union. From the late 1940s onward both countries engaged in a frantic race to be the first to develop rockets capable of delivering atomic weaponry from domestic launchpads to strategic enemy sites. Short-Range RocketsBoth sides were quick to develop short-range rockets. These were useful as tactical weapons on battlefields but not for delivering a payload on an enemy half a globe away. The Soviets produced the first ICBM, with a six-thousand-mile range. This "Sapwood" rocket was operational in 1957. The Americans were already testing their "Thor" and "Atlas" ICBMs at the time and developing the "Minuteman" rocket, which was in the design stage. StagingThe technological breakthrough was the new application to rockets of the old concept of staging. Rockets require massive fuel supplies and engines to be capable of liftoff. Once in flight, however, they require much less fuel and motor capability. Without staging, the fuel tanks and engines required for liftoff are simply added deadweight that limits the rocket's range. Staging eliminated the deadweight. At liftoff, all the heavy fuel and engine parts are attached to the rocket. Once liftoff is completed, these are jettisoned. Another stage might have some fuel and motor capabilities for steering and speed adjustment. When the warhead is on course, directed at the target, this stage can be jettisoned also. What is left is a rapidly moving warhead, assisted in its descent by gravity and without the weight of the machinery and fuel that got it to that point. This was the concept that allowed ICBMs to be developed. The same technology led to manned and unmanned rockets sent into space for peaceful purposes. Source:Trevor Illtyd Williams, Science: A History of Discovery in the Twentieth Century (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1990). |
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"ICBM." American Decades. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "ICBM." American Decades. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3468302090.html "ICBM." American Decades. 2001. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3468302090.html |
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ICBM
ICBM • abbr. intercontinental ballistic missile. |
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Cite this article
"ICBM." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "ICBM." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-icbm.html "ICBM." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-icbm.html |
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ICBM
ICBM abbr.intercontinental ballistic missile.
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Cite this article
"ICBM." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "ICBM." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-ICBM.html "ICBM." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-ICBM.html |
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ICBM
ICBM see guided missile . |
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"ICBM." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "ICBM." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-ICBM.html "ICBM." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-ICBM.html |
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ICBM
ICBM intercontinental ballistic missile
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Cite this article
FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "ICBM." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "ICBM." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O25-ICBM.html FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "ICBM." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O25-ICBM.html |
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