Photos: A museum of missiles at White Sands

The Nike Hercules was a second-generation U.S. air-defense missile system. It could carry a nuclear warhead and could blast entire aircraft formations out of the air. In testing, it also was able to intercept short-range ballistic missiles. It was 41 feet long, weighed 10,000 pounds, had a range of more than 75 miles, and was first fired in 1955.

Photo by Daniel Terdiman/CNET News.com