Questions tagged [icbm]
Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) are a class of rockets developed for the purpose of delivering warheads to targets almost anywhere on Earth. Use for discussing the rocket portion of the vehicle. Discussing warheads themselves are off-topic.
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What kind of propulsion did/does the Raytheon EKV vehicle use?
Raytheon has developed an Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle, designed to intercept an ICBM and destroy it through a collision. Here are some related links:
Wikipedia page
YouTube video about the project, ...
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Could an ICBM self-destruct? [closed]
A nuclear country's leadership sends a command to launch an ICBM. It launches.
Is it ever possible to abort attack on designated target if they change their mind?
If yes, for how long? Is it only ...
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"Tandel Missile" design with engines forward of their fuel tanks
Whilst looking for something else entirely, I came across this amazing looking rocket design mentioned in passing on this nasaspaceflight.com forum page, talking about the San Diego Air and Space ...
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Why does the Minotaur I wear a yellow jacket that "banana-peels" off as it launches?
Videos available of the recent Minotaur I launch at Wallops for NROL-111 show a yellow jacket on most of the four stage SRB-to-orbit launch vehicle. I read or heard somewhere that wires attached to ...
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Why don't silo-launched Minuteman missiles incinerate themselves at launch?
Whilst cobbling together an answer for this question, I found myself thinking about the effects of hot rocket exhaust on a rocket launching from a confined space. I assumed it would be generally ...
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What are the implications of North Korean black and white patterns on missiles?
Black and white patterns on rockets were originally intended as roll patterns. They helped as a visual back-up for acceleration sensors measuring the roll, as discussed in this previous question What ...
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Besides the video game and Nine Inch Nails box set, what is HALO-IV? How does it relate to the testing of ICBM interceptors?
Near the end of the Raytheon Technologies YouTube video Missile Defense Agency completes unprecedented homeland defense test can be seen what looks to me like thermal infrared footage of a ship-...
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Why is the tip of this Russian ICBM folding/closing during launch?
This question refers to the page on which a YouTube video Soviet Missile SS-18 Satan / Most Powerful Rocket is shown. Screenshots below are from circa 01:10 for ...
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Would ICBM warheads be visible after separation from the booster and prior to reentry?
Simple question really - would ICBMs be visible to a person from the ground on a clear night, in much the same way the Starlink satellites have been?
Edit - to be clear, I'm meaning when the warheads ...
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How Much Time Did We Have to "Duck and Cover" From an ICBM Launch Only 666 Miles Away? [closed]
During the Cuban Missile crisis I was stationed at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. As it had on many other occasions during the "cold war," our battle group began those infamous, "13 Days" by going on alert. ...
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Why doesn't the USA use structurally stronger rockets for the more important launches?
Russia uses the R-7 ICBM-derived Soyuz launch vehicle for most of its space launches. The advantage of it is that there's no concern on what the weather is like on launch day and Soyuz launches almost ...
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How many ICBMs could have been successfully launched? [closed]
Did the United States or USSR ever publicly state their estimates for what percentage of their ICBM fleets would launch successfully when the president gave the order? Answers to this question suggest ...
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What are the pros and cons of Aerospike nosecones?
Some rockets, mainly (only?) ICBMs have Aerospike nosecones
Why are they preferred in lieu of traditional nose cones?
Illustrations:
An aerospike nosecone on a trident ICBM
Video including the ...
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What benefits can be gained from launching below ground?
ICBMs are commonly launched from below ground. How much fuel could be saved if a missile is launched below ground instead of above? If the tube was deeper with modified launch by a separate chemical ...
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How to decide if the rocket most recently tested by North Korean is classified as long-range or medium-range launch?
The Reuters article Russia, U.S. duel at U.N. over whether North Korea fired long-range missile describes some ongoing United Nations Security Council discussion related to the classification of the ...
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ICBMs versus number of available warheads [closed]
ICBMs are known to be able to carry multiple warheads. The capability to launch against multiple targets in the same time is important when in an all-out war but I can imagine many times that a single ...
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How do ICBMs compare to civilian rockets in terms of $/kg to orbit?
In one hand, ICBMs used fancy, dangerous, poisonous chemicals as propellant. That must be more expensive as fuel, and might necessitate more expensive infrastructure than liquid hydrogen or kerosene. ...
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What was the death toll of the Nedelin catastrophe?
There are some conflicting accounts on the Nedelin catastrophe. "A significant number", "Hundreds", "Scores of engineers". The closest to a concrete number I found is 74 deaths on site, but the number ...
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What kind of missions are US surplus ICBM's capable of launching?
It has been proposed that the US military should repurpose suborbital, nuclear weapons carrying, intercontinental ballistic missiles for civil use, like Russia and Ukraine has done since decades. How ...
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Do any current ICBM's have the delta-V to target the sun?
Based on an XKCD comic, XKCD 1626 which has the image:
Do any of the active duty ICBM's have the ability to actually target the Sun?
Considering that the R-7 booster that is the basis used by Soyuz/...
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Can Minuteman LGM-30 booster be used to launch commercial satellites?
The LGM-30 Minuteman is the only land based ICBM in the US strategic arsenal. Gradually these missiles will have to be retired. My question is, can they be used to launch commercial satellites into ...
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Is it correct that it takes approx. 30 minutes for an ICBM to reach Russia?
Imagine an ICBM with a nuclear warhead is launched from the US to reach Moscow.
How long does it take to reach its target? I've read numbers of about 30 minutes (if the missile is launched from ...
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Are ICBMs and orbital launchers similar enough to be co-developed today?
Russia has two types of hypergolic liquid fuel ICBMs deployed, UR-100N and R-36M2 Vojewoda and they are working on the big Sarmat. There's in this category also the Chinese DF-A5. (A list of ICBMs ...
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How are intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) modified to be orbital launch vehicles?
It's been done a lot, but how? Is it an extensive modification or relatively simple? The flight information for ICBMs on Wikipedia makes it seem like they got pretty close to orbit.
I reviewed the ...
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Were decommissioned Cold War missiles repurposed for peaceful spaceflight?
Those formerly on either side of the Iron Curtain can now admit that the Cold War had its plusses and minuses. The key minus, of course, is that the United States and the Soviet Union constructed ...
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