The missile, and the network built to survive its use
This is Jonathan Hare's account, with its provenance shown. The person or organization named has not yet claimed or corrected it.
The largest intercontinental ballistic missile the United States ever fielded, built by the Martin Company division that William L. Whitson ran as vice president and general manager from 1959 to 1963.
It matters to this graph for a second reason. Keeping command able to reach the silos after a first strike is the survivable-communications problem that produced packet switching — and therefore the internet. Jonathan Hare's original plastic models of the missile, kept by his grandfather as mementos, were his inheritance.
There is no single root. This is one view of the graph, from this node — what you see depends on where you enter and what you are looking for.
Nuclear physicist, Titan II, ARPA — and a two-hundred-word obituary
Open →the communications problem it createdWhy the internet protocols were invented
Open →wrote the implementation of what that problem produced"Bill knew."
Open →Everything above is a distillation. The primary source is published in full, so that any claim on this page can be walked back to what was actually said — and where the two differ, the source governs.
The account this page was distilled from, preserved as dictated.
Read the source →Primary source · S-156The account this page was distilled from, preserved as dictated.
Read the source →This entry is deliberately incomplete. The gaps below are the things only certain people can settle — and settling one is a contribution like any other: recorded, timestamped and attributed to whoever made it.
Correct anything wrong, add what only you know, or claim this entry as your own. Write to evidence@qpncatalyst.io and Jonathan directly (both are on the button) — a timestamped confirmation comes back with your submission attached, as your own independent record. No account, no permission, no institutional standing required.
Public contributions earn Publicity Premium; bringing others who were there earns Cascade Premium. Everything is valued retrospectively as outcomes verify, so nothing has to be priced up front.
Correct this entry → Add a story, photo or link → Browse the graph →