February 9 1959 – The First Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Becomes Operational

February 9 1959 – The First Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Becomes OperationalRate this post The Cold War reached a new plateau at a military outpost far in the north of Russia on February 9, 1959: the R-7 Semyorka, the first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), became operational on the launchpad of the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. Just two years after creating a secret program named “Angara,” the Soviet Union kicked the arms race with the United States into high gear. In the wake of World War II, tensions between the two remaining superpowers — the USSR and US — remained at a constant simmer. With both sides eager to ensure supremacy of their political […]