Missile tests ?

Delancey

We all know that both sides in the Cold War operated satellites that could spot a missile launch from enemy territory and thus alert them to a possible attack.
How was it possible that missile tests didn't inadvertently cause WW3 ?
How, for example, when the US tested a Minuteman or Titan missile the Soviets didn't assume they were under fire and immediately counter-attack ?

Victor

I have a vague recollect there was some protocol for this. Possibly stating a date, time, target zone and number of missiles. Launch location would probably not be stated ass the other side would try to interfere with the launch and/or track the submarine if it was a submarine launch. They would of course still try to track the re-entry, a modestly hazardous affair.

However, two things would would alert the defenders that it wasn't a real attack - the launch would be in an obscure direction (the flight path of a ballistic missile can be determined quite quickly after launch), typically towards the mid-Pacific and secondly, it would likely be individual missiles (but multiple warheads) at a time, not a thousand at a time.

Cardinal Richelieu

This article covers the testing procedure of US cruise missles in Canada from 1983 up to 1993. The large support crew in the air would also be an indication it was a test to any Russians snooping.

Source: Canadian Parliamentary Research Branch: CRUISE MISSILE TESTING IN CANADA:THE POST-COLD WAR DEBATE

The testing of cruise missiles in Canada proved very contentious. The government explained its decision in both political and technical terms. Politically, testing demonstrated alliance solidarity over the modernization of NATO's nuclear deterrent. Technically, testing the missile over terrain similar to that of the northern Soviet Union would improve its effectiveness, and allow the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) to develop an anti-cruise capability. The tests would take place in a 2,200-kilometre test corridor that included parts of the Northwest Territories, British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Tests could involve either releasing the missile in a "free flight" to its target, or allowing its guidance system to direct both the missile and the launch aircraft to the target in a "captive carry" test. The tests take several hours, and involve a number of aircraft in both Canada and the United States, from tankers to fighters to Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) planes. After the first few years of tests, attention shifted from monitoring the missile itself to attempting to track and intercept it. In order to simulate the climate of the northern Soviet Union, most cruise missile tests in Canada have taken place in the winter months.
In February 1988 the testing agreement was automatically extended for a further five years when neither party exercised its right of withdrawal on twelve months' notice. In early 1989, the United States requested and received permission to test the Advanced Cruise Missile (AGM-129A) in Canada. In February 1993, the Canadian government announced that it had signed a renegotiated and improved 10-year testing agreement with the United States. To date, some 23 cruise missile tests have taken place in Canada (an average of two to three per year), with the most recent having taken place in March 1993.

maquiladora

A complete agreement on the notification of all strategic missile launches wasn't signed until very late in the cold war, 1988. Although from 1971 the "Accidents Measures" agreement required each Party to notify the other in advance of any planned missile launches if such launches will extend beyond its national territory in the direction of the other Party.

http://www.fas.org/nuke/control/launch/intro.htm