Password for nuclear missiles printed on paper

The decision probably dates back to National Security Action Memorandum 160, signed by President John F. Kennedy in 1962. It stipulated that every nuclear weapon in the U.S. be equipped with what was known as the Permissive Action Link (PAL), which allowed it to be used only if the right person with the right code authorized it. PAL was very complex for the time and replaced the previous practice of securing nuclear weapons with simple mechanical locks.

However, Strategic Air Command (SAC) decided that entering an eight-digit code would take too long in the event of an attack. So the password for all Minuteman missiles in the United States was simply set to eight zeros.

In addition, the combination was printed on the launch checklists. Presumably to ensure that in the event of a nuclear attack and the death of the commanding officers, soldiers of lower rank could also initiate the counterattack. The launch codes remained so from the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis in late 1962 until 1977, which meant that personnel with low security ratings had access not only to the missiles but also to the associated passwords.