Dean Cheng
Ironically, then, much of the American reaction to the news of the Chinese hypersonic test has been focused on the military implications and has arguably been misplaced. Vehicles are considered “hypersonic” if they exceed Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound or approximately 6,174 km per hour or 1.6 km per second). Notably, the warheads of most intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), and even some vehicles such as the now-retired Space Shuttle, go much faster than Mach 5. A typical ICBM warhead, for example, will have a speed of around Mach 20 in its mid-course phase, and around Mach 10 after it initially re-enters the atmosphere. The Space Shuttle, at re-entry, reached speeds of nearly Mach 25.
No comments:
Post a Comment