Reply to post: High velocity launch into space from Earth surface

Did speeding American manhole cover beat Sputnik into space? Top boffin speaks to El Reg

rocketman5836

High velocity launch into space from Earth surface

Unlike a steel plate, a nuclear re-entry vehicle like shape with a carbon carbon nose will make it into space if launched below the velocity at which the nose will fail due to atmospheric stagnation pressure. A semi-sophisticated ablating vehicle model shows that a carbon carbon cone designed to be aerodyamically stable even with nose ablation, weighing 1000 kg, with a 76 cm base diameter and a 380 cm length, launched at 13 km/s at sea level will leave the atmosphere somewhat above escape velocity of 11.5 km/s. The nose ablation will be roughly 25 cm.

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