Engineering achievements

[Hlib]

Hans S Wrote:...let`s hope that Hlib`s SS-18 (strange example) are not made for eternity.
Hans

My example is not entirely strange. This is an illustration of how some expensive projects end up in a dead end.
It is not economically feasible to upgrade the SS-18 for other purposes: you need to find a contractor, add a third stage to the power plant, redo the control system, issue a lot of documents and inflate the real cost of work by ten times. This is a very difficult task. A decommissioned launch shaft is sometimes used for unauthorized disposal of garbage or goes into scrap metal.
Another example. The TU-160 is superior to the Concorde in range, speed, and payload. But it has long been decided that it is impossible to convert it into a passenger transport for many reasons. And this giant will never become a prototype of any supersonic passenger liner.
From the world of calculators, you can also recall many similar and seemingly illogical stories.

KeithB Wrote:...I am not sure what you mean by "these complexes", but all the US nuclear design agency sites are still going strong:
Los Alamos, Laurence Livermore, Sandia, Pantex, Kansas city plant...
There are still a lot of silos in operation, too.
Speaking of EMP testing (which I suspect is a bit of an urban legend), Sandia still has the test site where US planes (including B-52`s!) were tested. You can see it sometimes when you take off from the Albuquerque airport...

I was referring to reusable silo launchers. In any case, your information is interesting and will help me in my question.