US launches ‘push-button’ missile: from the archive, 18 November 1961

18 November 1961: Test firing of Minuteman missile, which can be launched remotely without preliminary fuelling, is a major step in America's defence programme

Cape Canaveral, November 17
The United States today launched a Minuteman intercontinental missile from an underground silo on a 3,000-mile trip down the Atlantic rocket range.

The Minuteman, expected to become operational next summer, can stay hidden for three years in its 90-foot-deep silo without deterioration, and be fired by a push-button from a remote control centre without preliminary fuelling.