23 Jul
2001
23 Jul
'01
7:07 p.m.
At 01:28 AM 7/23/2001 -0500, you wrote:
On Sun, 22 Jul 2001, Steve Schear wrote:
I wonder what the destructive mechanism is for this system?
There was an article in IEEE Spectrum last year (I think) on one of the systems. The main failure mechanism is weakening of the aeroshell and due to increased loading the missile comes apart. The same sort of thing happened in Desert Storm with some of the Scuds that used plywood sheeting instead of aluminum. It's one of the primary factors of their high failure rate.
Heat by radiant absorption seems an obvious but impractical method.
It's the one they use primarily.
Only because the rocket exterior has not been "stealthed" via high reflectivity and faceting. steve