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Reentry capsules have typically been smaller than 5 meters (16 feet) in diameter due to launch vehicle aerodynamic requirements. The capsule design is both volumetrically efficient and structurally strong, so it is typically possible to construct small capsules of performance comparable to lifting body or spaceplane designs in all but lift-to ...
Deceleration for atmospheric reentry, especially for higher-speed Mars-return missions, benefits from maximizing "the drag area of the entry system. The larger the diameter of the aeroshell, the bigger the payload can be." [60] An inflatable aeroshell provides one alternative for enlarging the drag area with a low-mass design.
The primary goal was to have the RV change its path during reentry so that anti-ballistic missiles (ABMs) would not be able to track their movements rapidly enough for a successful interception. The first known example was the Alpha Draco tests of 1959, followed by the Boost Glide Reentry Vehicle (BGRV) test series, ASSET [16] and PRIME. [17]
Allen was interested in the full range of aerodynamics research, and made contributions to the study of subsonic, transonic, supersonic and hypersonic flow. [2] When the United States became interested in the design of ballistic missiles, Allen began research in the dynamics and thermodynamics of atmospheric reentry, as well as the effects of radiation and meteorites on space vehicles.
There are two general reasons to use MARV. One is to make it more difficult to track the re-entry vehicle (RV) and thereby make it more difficult to attack as it approaches its target. This was particularly useful against early anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems which took seconds to calculate an interception course. Making random trajectory ...
Armstrong-Whitworth were contracted to develop the re-entry vehicle, and unlike the U.S. space program, they decided to stick with a winged vehicle instead of a ballistic capsule. Between 1957 and 1959, they contracted Nonweiler to develop his concepts further. This work produced a pyramid-shaped design with a flat underside and short wings ...
Maneuvering reentry vehicles MARV (instead of symmetrically shaped warheads) induce lateral drag during reentry and hence strongly bend the trajectory, thus deceiving lower altitude interceptor systems that generally assume a straight decelerating trajectory and which have a limited terminal guidance maneuverability and course correction ...
A multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) is an exoatmospheric ballistic missile payload containing several warheads, each capable of being aimed to hit a different target. The concept is almost invariably associated with intercontinental ballistic missiles carrying thermonuclear warheads , even if not strictly being limited to ...