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The first British paper to carry an obit seemed to be the Torygraph. For all its faults (as I see it, anyway), it does have very good science coverage.
Thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sphyg for pointing that one out.
And, via Mr Gaiman's blog, a comment by Mr Stross.
In order to comply with EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) regulations, and at a cost of about $5.2 million per ICBM, the rocket motors on 500 Minuteman III missiles will be replaced with new ones. These rockets will emit less toxic chemicals when used. But the new, environmentally correct rockets will be heavier than the old ones, and will thus have a shorter range than the original motors. The actual range of the Minuteman III has been classified, but is thought to be nearly 10,000 kilometers, based on where the missiles are stationed and where the original Russian targets were. Thus, if the Minuteman III ICBMs have to be used in some future nuclear war, their rocket motors will not pollute the atmosphere. EPA regulations do not apply in foreign countries, so no changes are being made to reduce the harmful environmental effects of the nuclear warheads.
He lifted it from here. If you look down at the bottom of the page, it says that only 50 MX ever entered service, and the last 23 are to be withdrawn. Given that they should never have been built in the first place, that's got to be some kind of progress.
The same site also has this. There are a couple of entertaining pictures of bears there.
Thanks to
sphyg for pointing that one out.And, via Mr Gaiman's blog, a comment by Mr Stross.
In order to comply with EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) regulations, and at a cost of about $5.2 million per ICBM, the rocket motors on 500 Minuteman III missiles will be replaced with new ones. These rockets will emit less toxic chemicals when used. But the new, environmentally correct rockets will be heavier than the old ones, and will thus have a shorter range than the original motors. The actual range of the Minuteman III has been classified, but is thought to be nearly 10,000 kilometers, based on where the missiles are stationed and where the original Russian targets were. Thus, if the Minuteman III ICBMs have to be used in some future nuclear war, their rocket motors will not pollute the atmosphere. EPA regulations do not apply in foreign countries, so no changes are being made to reduce the harmful environmental effects of the nuclear warheads.
He lifted it from here. If you look down at the bottom of the page, it says that only 50 MX ever entered service, and the last 23 are to be withdrawn. Given that they should never have been built in the first place, that's got to be some kind of progress.
The same site also has this. There are a couple of entertaining pictures of bears there.
