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KIRTLAND AFB, N.M. -- The first Minuteman IB to be launched left an ICBM silo of the 66th Missile Squadron at Newell, S.D. With this shot, the 44th Strategic Missile Wing at Ellsworth AFB demonstrated that a Minuteman could be launched from an operational site. By February 1965, Strategic Air Command had removed all Titan I missiles from their silos at Ellsworth, leaving only Minuteman I ICBMs. To prove the ability of Minuteman crews and missiles, in November 1964, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara approved Project Long Life, a series of operational tests. The program called for a realistic test of the Minuteman IB system through short-range base launches of three modified ICBMs. The first test missile, loaded with enough propellant for a seven-second flight and a range of approximately two miles with inert upper stages and re-entry vehicles, was launched from Launch Facility N-02 on March 1, 1965. (Courtesy photo)