Titan Missile Museum

We visited the Titan Missile Museum located south of Tucson today, then on the return drive we stopped at the Mission of San Xavier del Bac. The Titan site dates to the cold war era of the 1960s while San Xavier del Bac dates to the Spanish Missions to Northern Mexico during the 1600s.

During the cold war there were 54 active Titan sites across the country, all but one site was deactivated as a result of arms agreements with the Soviet Union signed during the Reagan Presidency. Most of the decommissioned sites were destroyed as part of the agreement but this site was preserved as a National Historic Landmark and museum of the technology of that time. 

There are several types of tours available of the Titan Facility, we took a group tour that visited the top or outside of the facility along with one level of the below ground structures including the control center and the missile silo.  While waiting for our tour to start we read some of the information available inside the museum building documenting the construction of the facility and the power of the nuclear warhead that the missile carried.

 

 

A  nuclear warhead in the museum (disarmed we hope).

 

First stage rocket engines.

 

 

This is the silo closure door, the dark railing was added to allow tourists to look into the silo through glass windows.

 

Looking down the barrel, the missile is an actual Titan that has never been fueled and the warhead is unarmed as evidenced by the hole in the side.

 

Communication antennas are raised like periscopes.

 

The Control Room.

 

Looking up at the missile and warhead.

 

Some of the connections to the missile.

 

The Mission of San Xavier del Bac was founded in 1692 by a Jesuit Father and the present church was constructed during the years from 1783 too 1797. The building and artwork show it’s age but during our visit there was a person carefully vacuuming one of the paintings on the church wall. The church is used for services and several people were praying while we visited; in addition to the church there is a museum that documents the history of the mission and displays some artifacts.

 

The church at San Xavier del Bac Mission.

The grounds.

 

 

 

Inside the church.