Trident D-5 Missile Launch on YouTube

[ricknelson]

http://video.google.com:80/videoplay?do ... D-5+launch

[polaris]

So where does all the

So where does all the test fired missles go? do they end up as space junk, or do they just burn up when they re-enter earths atmosphere?

[tom dougherty]

Rick, Thanks for posting this!

Rick, Thanks for posting this! really enjoyed the video!

So where does all the test fired missles go? do they end up as space junk, or do they just burn up when they re-enter earths atmosphere?

The warhead is replaced with an instrument test package. No part of the missile comes close to reaching orbital velocity; it is a ballistic trajectory. The three stages and the instrument package impact at various points downrange, with the furthest range being the test package simulating the MIRV warhead.

[hakkikt]

Some missile parts do go

Some missile parts do go out into space (such as the warhead), some do not (such as the first stage), but they are all too slow to go to orbit, so whatever is launched falls back to Earth - but at different speeds. The "higher up" in the missile a part is, the faster it goes. The re-entry vehicles (= warheads) of ICBMs do need heat shields to prevent burn-up when they re-enter the atmosphere, so I would assume that the third stage of a Trident missile will burn up, and that the first & second stages will just hit the ocean.

[ricknelson]

The telemetry package (warhead) does

The telemetry package (warhead) does NOT burn up on a test launch. Data is collected on the way back in and a position at splash-down is determined so that a CEP (Circular Error Probability) of the target point can be computed.

In the '60s I was on a boomer that shot six test birds (Polaris A1s) in the Atlantic Missile Test Range. A destroyer took colored movies of the launches. The thing that always impresses me is how well the missile re-aligns itself after exiting the water, usually at some crazy angle.

We had one missile explode just after launch. You could see a flash at the second stage motor and then it blew up like a Roman Candle! Most beautiful sight I've eve seen. Burning solid propellant fell all around the destroyer. The other five birds "hit" the target which proved our navigation data was solid.