Titan II Propellant Transfer Operations (1980)
Video from the channel Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum about Titan II, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 15:58. Language: English. Video type: Archive footage.
What it shows
A US Air Force training film about transferring propellants for a Titan II missile, focused on the Propellant Transfer System (PTS) team. It follows a full workday: assignment of duties at the base, the convoy trip to a desert silo, identification before the combat crew commander and the code burned after use. Then comes the briefing at the control center and the preparations beforehand, which take about four hours.
Next is the safety inspection of the complex and the check of the fuel-handling pressure suits. Their air packs, when full, give about 60 minutes of endurance. Finally, the first-stage oxidizer is unloaded to a surface trailer and, after maintenance, reloaded by gravity.
When and where it was filmed
The filming is set at a complex in the desert; the title dates the film to 1980.
Context
The film presents the Titan II as the largest and most powerful ballistic missile in the US arsenal, one that had to be ready to launch at all times. Its propellants are toxic. That is why, before each operation, a toxicity corridor that would need to be evacuated in case of an accident is calculated using wind and temperature data. The film stresses strict adherence to technical orders and safety rules.