LGM-25C Titan II

The LGM-25C Titan II was a two-stage intercontinental ballistic missile developed by the Glenn L. Martin Company as the successor to its Titan I. It replaced the liquid oxygen and kerosene of the earlier missile with storable hydrazine-based hypergolic propellant, which cut the time needed to launch and allowed firing from a silo, and it carried the largest single warhead of any American ICBM. Its first flight was in March 1962 and it served in the United States nuclear deterrent from 1963 to 1987. Modified examples, designated Titan II GLV and Titan 23G, were adapted as medium-lift space launch vehicles that carried NASA's Gemini crewed capsules and satellites for the Air Force and NOAA, with launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base continuing until 2003.