Scientist: Turn ICBMs Into Disaster-Relief Tools

A Japanese scientist has an intriguing idea on how to convert mothballed ICBMs in the US and Russia from instruments of war: Use them to deliver supplies to hard-to-reach areas after disasters. "These rocket engines are still functioning," Huai-Chien Chang of the University of Tokyo tells LiveScience. "If we could use these engines, the cost would be very much reduced." One such missile could deliver thousands of pounds of supplies to, say, a Pacific island decimated by a tsunami. He presented the idea at an aerospace conference in San Diego last month. Click for the full story. (More ICBMs stories.)