Typical ICBM mid-course altitude shown. Test on 3 July reached 2,802km on a steep trajectory
1,200km
2
800km
400km
Space
1
3
Earth’s atmosphere
1 Launch and boost
Two-stage rocket takes the missile into space within three to five minutes
2 Sub-orbital spaceflight
Lasts about 25 minutes. Missile might reach an altitude of 1,200km
3 Re-entry
At 100km high the warhead, travelling at about 6km/s, re-enters Earth’s atmosphere
To be successful the nose cone has to be able to protect the warhead from extreme heat during re-entry
Prototype North Korean ICBM
Guidance
Warhead
Person to scale
Nose
cone
Stage 1
Stage 2
1,200km
2
1,000km
Typical ICBM mid-course altitude shown. Test on 3 July reached 2,802km on a steep trajectory
800km
600km
400km
Space
200km
1
3
Earth’s atmosphere
1 Launch and boost
Two-stage rocket takes the missile into space within three to five minutes
2 Sub-orbital spaceflight
Lasts about 25 minutes. Missile might reach an altitude of 1,200km
3 Re-entry
At 100km high the warhead, travelling at about 6km/s, re-enters Earth’s atmosphere
To be successful the nose cone has to be able to protect the warhead from extreme heat during re-entry
Prototype North Korean ICBM
Warhead
Guidance
Nose
cone
Stage 1
Stage 2
Person to scale