Missile Weapon Secret Was Out
A vital five-yoar-old secret, one of the major- weapons breakthroughs, was let out of the security bag recently. It revealed how to keep a diving intercqntinental ballistic missile from literally burning up because of atmospheric friction. The triek, which is deceptively simple, was conceived by H. Julian Allen, a California researeh engineer of the National Advisory Committeefor Aeronautics. Ratlier than the traditional needle nose or conical nose, Allen proposed a biimt, hemispherical prow. Tliis aerodynamic imperfection will do two essential things as the payload plummets at 17,000 m.p.h. on its target. First it acts as a brake on the descending bomb ; seeond it sets up outsize shock waves that carry off 90 per cent of the frictional heat into tlie air. The nnishroom nose concept has coolly passed its 8000 m.p.h. tests and will go for top speed soon.
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Bibliographic details
Taupo Times, Volume VI, Issue 287, 8 August 1957, Page 3
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144Missile Weapon Secret Was Out Taupo Times, Volume VI, Issue 287, 8 August 1957, Page 3
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