Rocket science

[raytoews]

Any rocket scientist here.
North Korea seems to have all mobile launchers.
Can an ICBM be launched from a mobile launcher?

[DaleB]

You mean, like one of these? Or are you talking about these or these?

[rwanttaja]

Any rocket scientist here.
North Korea seems to have all mobile launchers.
Can an ICBM be launched from a mobile launcher?

I'm a rocket engineer, not a rocket scientist. And yes, an ICBM can be launched from a mobile launcher...the Russian SS-25 is a good example, deployed in the '80s.

Ron Wanttaja

[raytoews]

Ah ha. Just an engineer. Not a scientist. )
Thanks.

[raytoews]

Riigghhtt

[rwanttaja]

Ah ha. Just an engineer. Not a scientist. )
Thanks.

The difference is pretty distinct:

An engineer says, "HOW does this work?"
A scientist says, "WHY does this work?"
A manager says, "WHEN will this work?"
...and a liberal arts major says, "Would you like fries with that, sir?"

Ron "Supersize that" Wanttaja

[rwanttaja]

I'm a rocket engineer, not a rocket scientist. And yes, an ICBM can be launched from a mobile launcher...the Russian SS-25 is a good example, deployed in the '80s.

I should mention that a small part of my engineering career was spent working on ICBM mobile basing (the original M-X concept), and another part was spent coming up with concepts to FIND mobile launchers. I've had a very conflicted life.

Ron "Hyperspectral R Us" Wanttaja

[Auburntsts]

I'm neither a rocket scientist or engineer but I was a USAF missileer (aka ICBM launch officer) and as has already been stated ICBMs can be and are mobile. In reality the payload type (nuclear, conventional. Etc), from a functional perspective, has no bearing on whether a given missile can be made into a practical and effective mobile launch platform.

[CraigCantwell]

Ron: Don't forget that we really pinged the old Soviet Bloc when we did the air launch demo of the ICBM.

[raytoews]

Im not an engineer or a scientist and all i know about ICBM is the one we visited south of Tucson and it was in a silo deep under ground. Very cool.
So Mr Un can roll them around the country and hide them, kind of like yall do with the subs.
What was the logic of building these silos all over the midwest?
That is one crazy bastard, what can he possibly get out of this except get the us and china in a fight. The Russians tried it with a nuke attack on Hawaii in the sixties and it bankrupted them. Maybe this is the Russians trying it again. Trouble with that plan is the US and China are so economically tied neither can afford to get into a fight. Somebody had a plan!