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A comment on Superfast military plane hit Mach 20 before crash.

Re:Superfast military plane hit Mach 20 before crash by jasonwatkinspdx on Sunday August 21, 2011 @07:36PM (#2910651)
The most significant difference between this prototype and existing ICBM technology is that the reentry vehicle has more lift and less drag.

It's counterintuitive, but re-entry vehicles are typically bluntly shaped because it reduces the heat load on the nose cone by pushing the bow shock further out in front of the craft. The downside of this is higher drag and less lift, so ICBM warheads fall more than they glide.

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Re:Superfast military plane hit Mach 20 before crash by blackguardx on Sunday August 21, 2011 @09:34PM (#2910902)
I think this is why they are called "ballistic missiles." They fall to earth as if they were an artillery round.
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Re:Superfast military plane hit Mach 20 before crash by dredmorbius on Monday August 22, 2011 @01:59AM (#2911489)
That and the fact that most of the flight is in an unpowered, "ballistic" mode, rather than powered for the full duration.
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Re:Superfast military plane hit Mach 20 before crash by jasonwatkinspdx on Monday August 22, 2011 @11:57AM (#2912867)
True, but there are things we could call ballistic that are low drag (they also are likely low lift). A typical pointy artillery shell being a great example.
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