“At Cape Canaveral in Florida, the nations newest … intercontinental ballistic missile is ready for its maiden flight,” proclaimed a February newsreel from Universal, against a swirl of patriotic music. There was much to boast about the Titan: it was a significant improvement over the Atlas series of missiles that were just coming into use, boasting a range of 5,500 miles and a 3.75 megaton warhead. The Titan and its progeny would dominate the United States nuclear arsenal for decades.

On this day, February 6, in 1959, the first test flight of a Titan was completed, successfully. It was the first two-stage rocket (meaning the vehicle that would blast it into high altitude would break off when its fuel was exhausted, lightening the load and extending range considerably), as well as the first one to be stored in underground silos.

Not all Titans would be used for war: 13 of them were eventually converted for spaceflight use. The second generation Titan improved on the first by including an internal guidance system; but it was the Titan III rocket’s vastly better engineering, including parts that could be mass produced and interchanged, that made NASA consider it for the Saturn Space Mission.