Captain Swoop's Virtual ICBM Tour presents...
Missile Parts: The CTL Wafer
The CTL Wafer Section is probably one of the best known and most misunderstood parts of a Minuteman III missile, as far as the public at large goes. In both cases, this is because of the CTL Wafer's primary function: Command Destruct Capability. This section of the missile carries the radio packages, batteries, and control mechanisms which provide in-flight telemetry and the ability to destroy the missile after launch, to the ground stations. This equipment is misunderstood, by most, because on an OPERATIONAL Minuteman ICBM, it is NOT installed. To do so would allow an enemy radio station to monitor missile launches, flight paths, and ultimately, destroy the missile, simply by breaking the radio code. This wafer section is employed ONLY on test launches of the missile, to monitor flight data and allow the Range Safety Officer the ability to terminate the flight if the missile goes out of control.
Many movies and TV shows have finished with suspenseful scenes of ICBM's hurtling toward their targets and then, at the last minute, the Hero (or someone else) pushes the "self destruct" button and saves the world. Complete fiction. Once a Minuteman III enters "Terminal Countdown" at T - 60, the umbilicals disconnect from the Missile Guidance Computer and First Stage, and the bird is on it's own - after that point, only God himself can stop them. There are contingency plans to stop an accidental launch - but they require personnel to be on the silo in the few minutes BEFORE it actually exits the silo. And there are Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) systems - but they are unreliable at best, and even 1 warhead through a defense net is too many. So the next time the Hero pushes that button to destroy that accidentally-launched missile, laugh and say "No way!"..... then worry as you think about it!
