Nine-Ply Spruce Rib, Nose Fairing, Poseidon C-3

This is a nine-ply section of Sitka spruce wood used in the nose fairing of the U.S. Navy's Poseidon C-3 submarine-launched ballistic missile, which was deployed from 1971 into the 1990s. During the missile's launch, the nose fairing and nose cap at its tip protected the reentry vehicle and its nuclear warheads housed inside from air friction temperatures approaching 1000 degrees. Explosive devices blew the nose fairing and nose cap off shortly after the missile entered space. Lockheed Missiles & Space Company made and donated tjhis object to NASM.