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How Does An Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Actually Work?
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How Does An Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Actually Work?
Since the late 1950s, ICBMs have loomed as a threat over international conflicts. Here's an explainer on what they are and how they work.
The Lede
Per the Encyclopedia Britannica, the first ICBMs were deployed by the Soviet Union in 1958. Since then, different countries have iterated on the original design: the US, for example, developed the Minuteman series of missiles in the 1960s, which are silo-launched, and the UK has submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) known as the Trident missile system. ICBMs differ from ballistic missiles in their far greater range — upwards of 3,500 miles — and capacity to carry payloads like nuclear warheads.
Key Details
- When launched, ICBMs enter suborbital space and achieve ~620 miles in altitude. They then release their payloads, which fall back into Earth's atmosphere and toward their target.
- An ICBM's path is parabolic, like the arc of a ball thrown. An ICBM is launched at an angle that lets it reach its target on a parabola, accounting for the Earth's rotation during travel.
- ICBMs can travel between North America and Central Eurasia in ~30 mins. Nations have tested ICBMs, but they've never been used in combat.
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