Quote from: sdsds on 02/04/2024 09:01 pmLooking at the 'heritage' of the GEM-63XL, there's a notable claim at https://www.northropgrumman.com/space/sentinel/icbm-over-65-years-of-technical-leadership stating Thiokol produced the world’s first solid-fuel missile. I don't doubt the existence of the TX-18 missile; is there any available technical information about it? And maybe it's obvious from context but this excludes powered solids, right? (Chinese use of gunpowder rockets in 1232, etc. etc.)Perhaps they mean guided solid propellant missiles, though the AIM-4, a heat-seeker, didn't "guide" very well. (Thiokol only made the motor. Hughes made the missile.) - Ed Kyle
Looking at the 'heritage' of the GEM-63XL, there's a notable claim at https://www.northropgrumman.com/space/sentinel/icbm-over-65-years-of-technical-leadership stating Thiokol produced the world’s first solid-fuel missile. I don't doubt the existence of the TX-18 missile; is there any available technical information about it? And maybe it's obvious from context but this excludes powered solids, right? (Chinese use of gunpowder rockets in 1232, etc. etc.)