Nose cone 1763096 220432187 2008-06-19T20:53:06Z Raymondwinn 3445323 {|align="right" | [[Image:titan3 centaur nose cone.jpg|thumb|A nose cone that contained one of the Voyager spacecraft is seen here as it is mounted on top of a Titan III/Centaur launch vehicle.]] |- | [[Image:south.african.airways.b747-400.zs-sak.arp.jpg|thumb|On this South African Airways Boeing 747-400 the nose cone is the most forward fuselage piece, ahead of all the windows.]] |} The term '''''nose cone''''' is used to refer to the forwardmost section of a [[rocket]], guided [[missile]] or [[aircraft]]. The cone is shaped to offer minimum [[aerodynamic]] resistance. Nose cones are also designed for travel in and under water and in high speed land vehicles. On a rocket vehicle it consists of a chamber or chambers in which a satellite, instruments, animals, plants, or auxiliary equipment may be carried, and an outer surface built to withstand high temperatures generated by [[aerodynamic heating]]. Much of the fundamental research related to [[hypersonic]] flight was done towards creating viable nose cone designs for the [[atmospheric reentry]] of spacecraft and [[ICBM]] [[MIRV|reentry vehicles]]. In a [[satellite]] vehicle, the nose cone may become the satellite itself after separating from the final [[Staging (rocketry)|stage]] of the rocket or it may be used to shield the satellite until orbital speed is accomplished, then separating from the satellite. The shape of the nose cone must be chosen for minimum drag so a [[solid of revolution]] is used that gives least resistance to motion. The article on [[nose cone design]] contains possible shapes and formulas. Due to the extreme temperatures involved, nose cones for high-speed applications (eg. [[hypersonic]] speeds or [[atmospheric reentry]] of orbital vehicles) have to be made of [[refractory]] materials. [[Pyrolytic carbon]] is one choice, [[reinforced carbon-carbon]] composite or [[HRSI]] ceramics are other popular choices. Other design strategy is using [[atmospheric reentry#ablative|ablative heat shields]], which get consumed during operation, disposing of excess heat that way. Popular materials for ablative shields are eg. [[carbon phenolic]], [[polydimethylsiloxane]] composite with [[silica]] filler and [[carbon fiber]]s, or, like in case of some Chinese [[Fanhui Shi Weixing|FSW]] reentry vehicles, [[oak]] [[wood]].<ref> {{cite web | url = http://www.fas.org/nuke/intro/missile/basics.htm | title = Ballistic Missile Basics | accessdate = 2008-02-03 | work = Special Weapons Primer | publisher = Federation of American Scientists }}</ref> == See also == * [[Nose cone design]] * [[Inlet cone]] == References == {{reflist}} [[Category:Rocketry]] [[fr:Coiffe (astronautique)]] [[sv:Noskon]] [[zh:鼻錐]]