alt Hacker NewsLiquid fueled launch vehicles aren't storable/able to be made ready at a moment's notice, unlike solids. Liquid fueled historical artifact:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SM-65_Atlas
There's a reason all modern silo based (and submarine) ICBMs are solids.
Replies
stickfigure • today at 3:32 PM
> There's a reason all modern silo based (and submarine) ICBMs are solids.
Believe it or not, here in 2026, this is incorrect!
Those crazy Russians:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R-29RMU_Sineva
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R-29RMU2_Lajner
UDMH + nitrogen tetroxide.
I would not want to be a Russian submariner. For all sorts of reasons.
Do you need to be able to strike at a moment's notice?
For a proper MAD-based nuclear deterrence, yes, you want to be able to launch a massive retaliation while your enemies' missiles are still in the air. Submarine-launched missiles also require stable storage. But having first-strike capabilities, the ability to wipe out any city in the world in return for a few weeks' planning, seems like something militaries would find valuable.