A General Dynamics contractor model of the SM-68 Titan intercontinental ballistic missile developed for the United States Air Force. The model stands 18.5? in height and is set on a 5? x 4? x .5? base that reads: “USAF, SM-68, Titan, Martin.” Bottom of base bears a Topping Inc. label. In fine condition, with a small missing part to upper stage.
Originally built as a backup to the SM-65 Atlas, the space launch vehicle versions of the Titan contributed to the majority of its 368 launches, which included all of the Project Gemini manned flights of the mid-1960s. Titan vehicles were used to lift U.S. military payloads as well as civilian agency reconnaissance satellites and to send interplanetary scientific probes throughout the solar system.
