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This is another good read about using automated terrain mapping for cruise missile guidance systems. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TERCOM Notably how it fit on older computer systems with limited memory by only sampling the terrain using a predefined path which a plane will travel over with imaging sensors beforehand. For minutemen style systems with predefined targets it would work well as the terrain won’t change s…
If you're interested in the history of the Titan missile program and US nuclear program in general I recommend "Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety".
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Fun tangent - the most unguided missile ever. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIR-2_Genie
> Lethal radius of the blast was estimated to be about 300 metres (980 ft). Once fired, the Genie's short flight-time [12 seconds] and large blast radius made it virtually impossible for a bomber to avoid destruction. Why can’t you dive or climb just 150m in 12 seconds and be out of the blast range?
Some engineers designed this - used big part of their life for the work and the system was never used.
I'm surprised they opted to use a passively cooled power supply. I imagine it was much heavier than an equivalent active system. I guess MPG doesn't matter much on a Titan missile.