A Comparative Analysis of the Performance of Long-range Hypervelocity Vehicles

Download or read book A Comparative Analysis of the Performance of Long-range Hypervelocity Vehicles written by Alfred J. Eggers and published by . This book was released on 1957 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ballistic vehicle is found to be the least efficient of the several types studied in the sense that it generally requires the highest velocity at the end of powered flight in order to attain a given range. This disadvantage may be offset, however, by reducing convective heat transfer to the re-entry body through the artifice of increasing pressure drag in relation to friction drag - that is, by using a blunt body. Thus the kinetic energy required by the vehicle at the end of powered flight may be reduced by minimizing the mass of coolant material involved.