THE NATION: Like a Bullet

Into the heavens over the Atlantic Ocean one night last week thundered a 100-ton symbol of U.S. scientific skill and diligence: the Air Force's Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile. Fully powered with close to 370,000 lbs. of thrust, the 80-ft. beast leaped from its Cape Canaveral pad, rocketed off the Florida coast into the starry night and arched serenely over the moon. The Cape's missile watchers held their breath as, in shucking its booster motors, the ICBM blazed like a meteor 200 miles from earth; then it faded and seemed to hang for a long time, suspended, like a star-colored point,...

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