Originally published at: Naval missile performs loop de loops after test goes awry | Boing Boing
…
7 Likes
Does watching the video constitute naval gazing?
18 Likes
That happens all the time when I restart Kerbal Space program. Usualy because I have too much power in the engines and not enough control
10 Likes
Ah yes, WorldStarHipHop.com - where I go for all my global military news
3 Likes
That came mighty close to falling back on the launch ship. A few different twists and turns, and that crew might have been fish food.
2 Likes
4 Likes
Back when fireworks had a decent amount of powder in them, it was fun to throw those spinning firecrackers that would like up and whistle into a puddle or other water. This reminds me of that.
1 Like
It reminds me more of when we used to light bottle rockets and then flip them up in the air, not knowing where they would jet off to when ignited.
4 Likes
Yeah I never was allowed shenanigans like that. I know people shot roman candle at each other too. My parents never let us have any fun.
Though this reminds me of something. So in the late 80s I bought this random box of junk at an auction. Had some .50 cal rounds from WWII (powder drilled out) and some other shiny bits. They were also a handful of blue and red fire crackers named Polar Bears.
We used to take a tuna can and put a firecracker under it to pop it up. An 80s Black Cat would pop it up about 3 feet or so. These Polar Bears, which were the same size as the Black Cats, popped thing higher than electric wires in the back yard. So 20 feet or so? I guess that was why people would be more likely to blow fingers off back in the day.
Taking Russian roulette to a whole new level
5 Likes
I was expecting the cruisier to punch it and get the hell out of there at Rooster Tail Speed but it appears that they just kept it in first gear…
1 Like
Tube-launched missles usually have two phases: a boost phase to get it out of the tube and safely away from the firer, and a cruise phase which carries the missle to the target. The guidance portion usually doesn’t kick in until after the boost phase is complete. I expect that in this case the guidance stage failed to acknowledge the launch and so the flight went beserk.
2 Likes
Amateurs - Britain did this with a sea-launched nuclear missile:
Another one of ours went the wrong way and when it was launched off the East Coast of Florida, it decided to go West:
2 Likes
The motor was running. It looks like a failure of the steering rendered the missile loopy.
1 Like
The motor was indeed running. The guidance portion is what steers the missile.
On land-based portable missiles (e.g. Stinger, Javelin, TOW) there is a seperate boost motor that flings the missile from the tube, then the cruise motor kicks in. But this missile type uses the same motor for both.
With practice (and uniform rocket performance) you could develop the technique to get them going in roughly the direction you want. I found that the key part was waiting until there was just a little bit of fuse left so that the velocity from the toss still had it pointing in the desired direction when the engine lit off. Good times, good times.
1 Like
Need more boosters. Also, more struts.
2 Likes
But the randomness was the point!
