Launch Complex 533-7, south of Wichita, Kansas. A Titan II nuclear missile is removed for routine maintenance and replaced with another, which is refueled with fuel and oxidizer. Someone forgets to install a filter on the highly toxic oxidizer line, and the O-ring holding the filter is free and blocks the oxidizer shutoff valve, preventing it from closing. The oxidizer gas floods the premises. Two Air Force personnel die trying to save the situation and their comrades. In both cases, they were wearing protective suits, but they were flawed, with small tears—in one case, a leak at the glove seam and in the other, a leak in the leg. In 1978, the United States had approximately 1,000 silo-based ICBMs, of which 54 were Titan IIs, but they represent a full 33% of the total explosive potential. Some in the American upper echelons realize the age and obsolescence of the Titans, but are reluctant to remove them given their destructive power and, above all, without receiving anything in return from the Soviets. A card to play in the subsequent negotiations for nuclear weapons reduction…
