When a Missile Test Is Conducted

[Fayd]

Where does the missile wind up?
Does it blow up or land in the ocean?

china lake proving grounds is where we do a lot of cruise missile testing.

beyond that, not sure what you're referring to by missile.

 

[pcgeek11]

In the case of torpedoes how do they retrieve them if they sink?

They don't sink immediately. The older Torpedoes had a test warhead on them that was ballasted with water and at the end of the torpedo run it used pressurized air to blow the water out and it would float. They also had a plug that will erode after a time period so that if it was lost and not recovered it would allow the warhead to flood and sink the torpedo.

The MIRV Test Missiles launched from submarines do have destruct packages installed on the dome of the second stage rocket motor. If they have a launch malfunction the range officer holding a dead man switch can blow it apart. The MIRVs are equipped with telemetry radio devices to transmit position etc to tell them if the test was successful or not. The MIRVs do not have explosives inside and will just fall into the sea. They do not recover them.

20+ years USN Torpedomans Mate First Class and changed rates after 10 years to Missile Technician First Class.

 

[dmcowen674]

When a Missile Test Is Conducted

Where does the missile wind up?
Does it blow up or land in the ocean?

Could ask Iran's navy chief Adm. Habibollah Sayyari, he just fired a test missile.

1-3-2012

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/oil-j...BzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25zBHRlc3QD;_ylv=3

Oil jumps to near $101 amid rising Iran tensions



On Monday, Iran test-fired a surface-to-surface cruise missile, part of 10-day naval maneuvers scheduled to end Tuesday.

Iran's navy chief Adm. Habibollah Sayyari said the test showed the key oil passageway Strait of Hormuz is "completely under our control."

Found more on it:

http://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/01/03/0448225/iran-tests-naval-cruise-missile-during-war-games?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot+%28Slashdot%29

and the surface-to-sea missile, known as the Qader, struck its targets with precision and destroyed them.

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So nothing to retrieve

 

[sdifox]

Let's ask Rubycon! oh wait... omg... what the f**k do we do now??

ahahahaha


well played

 

[ichy]

When the US Air Force test fires an ICBM they usually shoot it from Vandenberg AFB in California to Kwajalein Missile Range in the Marshall Islands. I believe that the Navy shoots test missiles from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station over into the South Atlantic.

 

[darkxshade]

The US usually fires test missiles at test sites... such as Afghanistan. :sneaky:

 

[Modelworks]

All test missiles have explosive bolts that can be detonated causing the missile to literally come apart in flight if something goes wrong. Even satellites that are launched into orbit have explosives located on the flight vehicle to terminate the flight and hopefully destroy any technology should the flight go wrong. There is a military manual on required test procedures I have somewhere at home I may try to find later if any are really interested.

 

[darkxshade]

Even satellites that are launched into orbit have explosives located on the flight vehicle to terminate the flight and hopefully destroy any technology should the flight go wrong.

Shame no one thought of that with spy UAVs. :ninja:

 

[AeroEngy]

The systems I have worked on have had suffecient velocity so that if they missed their target (or they were the target and were missed) there was nothing left but tiny bits of metal when they impacted either water or land.

Regarding flight termination:
The rockets I have worked on all have had shape charges on each stages so at any time they can be destroyed. This punches a hole through the case of the solid rocket motor resulting in tiny bits of rocket spread all over. I have never worked with liquid fueled rockets but I imagine it is something similiar.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

i saw a test, i think it was at white sands, where the missile did a few pre-programmed circles just after launch. this was to burn off energy so that the missile couldn't leave the range.

 

[AeroEngy]

i saw a test, i think it was at white sands, where the missile did a few pre-programmed circles just after launch. this was to burn off energy so that the missile couldn't leave the range.

That was what is called a "scrub" to burn off some extra energy although not necessarily to keep it on the range. You want your missile to arrive at given point in space at a specific time/trajectory. Rocket motors have a fixed amount of energy and thrust curves so you fly some loops and weave back and forth to arrive at your destination exactly when you planned to.

This is a picture from a THAAD test (not my program).

 

[natto fire]

I know they don't let people camp at White Sands if they are testing the next day, completely ruined my last visit there, ended up drinking tequila at a Motel 6 in Alamogordo.

How strong are missiles anyways? I would think that if it was launched up, gravity would take care of destroying it, but I'm not a rocket scientist.

 

[Modelworks]

Shame no one thought of that with spy UAVs. :ninja:

They did and do have destruct capabilities that is what was so stupid about the whole incident. I still have my doubts that it wasn't a give them the UAV on purpose loaded down with malware plot.

 

[randay]

the ocean is very good at keeping secrets.