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Titan Missile Museum / Sahuarita, Arizona
Titan missile complex 571-1, located approximately 20 miles south of Tucson, remains as the last of its kind. In 1987, all Titan missile complexes in the US were taken off alert and all but 571-1 were destroyed. The complex currently houses an unarmed Titan II missile in its silo. The Titan II was the largest land based nuclear missile ever used by the United States with one W53 warhead and a yield of 9 megatons. The facility's highest state of alert was on November 22, 1963 when President Kennedy was shot. When news of the assassination broke, the keys used to launch the missile where ordered to be placed on the table at the launch console to prepare for a possible firing. The Pentagon apparently was pointing its finger (and the Titan missile) at the Soviet Union as it considered whether the assassination was an act of war. However, the keys were never actually placed in the switches. Advancing 25 years as we countdown to 2009 - when the button is pushed in Times Square this evening to drop the Big Apple, wishing a Happy New Year to all.