Nose Cone Parade

This is the post I do when I don't have anything to post. There is no object in the world or beyond that is as cool, as good looking, as indicative of the speed and power of rocketry, as a nose cone. Nozzles are pretty good, parachutes and fins as well, but no it is the nose cone that makes the rocket.

Nice railgun test

"In February 2008 the US Navy tested a magnetic railgun; it fired a shell at 5,600 miles per hour using 10 megajoules of energy. Its expected performance is over 13,000 miles per hour muzzle velocity, accurate enough to hit a 5 meter target from 200 nautical miles away while shooting at 10 shots per minute. It is expected to be ready in 2020 to 2025."

The best parts of these images are the burning metal, and the shock wave clearly visible way way out in front of the projectile.

Rocket launch in Iran

This appears to be a rocket launched in Iran as part of their attempts to place a warhe... I mean satellite into orbit. There are very many moderate people in Iran, and probably many scientists with great ideas and goals, and motivations... but much like in our country, the crazy ignorant conservative religious nuts tend to stand out and steal the lime-light. Best of luck to them. Btw placing an object in orbit means they could deliver a nuclear bomb to any part of the planet. Something to think about.