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Tag: Rocket

Game Changer

Posted on by Bob
For decades, the state of the art in missile technology has been Ballistic Missiles.   A Ballistic missile follows a ballistic trajectory to deliver its warhead, or warheads, onto a predetermined target.  The missile is put into orbit by a rocket, and the remainder of its flight is unpowered.  The missile simply falls like a rock […]

For decades, the state of the art in missile technology has been Ballistic Missiles.   A Ballistic missile follows a ballistic trajectory to deliver its warhead, or warheads, onto a predetermined target.  The missile is put into orbit by a rocket, and the remainder of its flight is unpowered.  The missile simply falls like a rock on a highly predictable approach.  Due to the nature of its flight, Ballistic Missiles can easily be countered by Anti-Ballistic Missiles.  The ABM can intercept and destroy the Ballistic Missile at any point during its flight.  Many countries have mastered the technology of Ballistic Missiles, and Anti-Ballistic Missile Defense.  It is what drove the Cold War.

In recent years, however, we have been introduced to a new missile technology.  Hypersonic Missiles have changed the art of war as we know it.  Hypersonic missiles travel at least five times the speed of sound, and they can fly much lower to the ground than conventional Ballistic Missiles.  These hypersonic missiles are more of a threat because they are highly maneuverable.  Due to their speed and their maneuverability, they are difficult, if not impossible, to detect by traditional anti-ballistic missile defense systems.  And, due to their immense kinetic energy, they are even more destructive to the target that they are directed toward.  Hypersonic missiles are a game changer. 

Russia, China, North Korea, and the US have all tested hypersonic missiles.  When they become operational and get incorporated into military arsenals, it will be truly significant for both aggressors and target countries. 

This is truly the way of the future in Rocket and Missile technology.  Scientists and engineers need to be familiar with this new type of missile.

If you would like to learn more about Rocket and Missile Fundamentals including the Hypersonic Missile technology, consider enrolling in ATI’s upcoming course Rocket and Missile Fundamentals.  The instructor has recently added a unit discussing Hypersonic Missiles.

As always, a complete listing of ATI’s courses can be found here.

Defiant North Korea launches a space rocket

Posted on by admin
Applied Technology Institute (ATI Courses) offers a variety of courses on Radar, Missiles and Combat Systems.  We believe the news below would be of interest to our readers. North Korea has declared the successful firing of a long-range rocket and flouted international condemnation of the launch by promising “many more”. In defiance of international warnings, North […]
Applied Technology Institute (ATI Courses) offers a variety of courses on Radar, Missiles and Combat Systems.  We believe the news below would be of interest to our readers. North Korea has declared the successful firing of a long-range rocket and flouted international condemnation of the launch by promising “many more”. In defiance of international warnings, North Korea fired the rocket on Sunday morning in what it said was a mission under the direct orders of lead Kim Jong-un to put an Earth observation satellite, the Kwangmyongsong-4, into orbit. But the United Nations deplored Pyongyang’s move, widely seen as part of its program to develop intercontinental ballistic nuclear missiles (ICBMs).
North Korea beamed a special announcement live on state-run television claiming the launch as a success, and trumpeted the beauty of the “fascinating vapor of Juche satellite trailing in the clear and blue sky”.
It came just weeks after Pyongyang’s widely-disputed claim that it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb, and is the latest evidence of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s willingness to ignore international pressure as tensions on the Korean Peninsula heighten. Washington has persistently called on Beijing, a key trade partner on which Pyongyang relies heavily, to do more to rein in its neighbor. But China has resisted calls to leverage its economic relationship with North Korea, fearing it would back an already volatile Kim Jong-un further into a corner. “China expresses regret that North Korea, in spite of the pervasive opposition of the international community, insisted on using ballistic missile technology to carry out a launch,” the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday. North Korea sees its rocket and nuclear tests as crucial steps toward its ultimate goal of achieving a nuclear-armed long-range missile arsenal – necessary, it says, to defend itself against what it describes as decades of US hostility, and part of Kim Jong-un’s “byungjin” policy of developing North Korea’s nuclear program and economy simultaneously. Pyongyang had initially told UN agencies it planned to launch its rocket sometime between February 8 and 25, before bringing the window forward to between February 7 and 14 on Saturday. It launched two hours into the revised window. This is the sixth long-range missile test by the North in its program to develop nuclear-loaded ICBMs. It is thought to have a small arsenal of atomic bombs as well as an array of medium-range missiles but has yet to demonstrate the capability to produce nuclear warheads small enough to attach on a missile.

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