Drag-reducing aerospikes

[Hydrazine_Soup]

A drag-reducing aerospike is a device (see Nose cone design) used to reduce the forebody pressure aerodynamic drag of blunt bodies at supersonic speeds. The aerospike creates a detached shock ahead of the body. Between the shock and the forebody a zone of recirculating flow occurs which acts like a more streamlined forebody profile, reducing the drag.

Wouldn't it be nice to see this in game?

Edited March 5, 2020 by Hydrazine_Soup

[Gaarst]

KSP doesn't simulate air flow deflection so such a part would be useless.

Though a similar part that purposedly has very little amounts of drag and uses linear drag occulsion would work. But it would only reproduce the result of the aerospike and not the mechanism.

I know FAR has a much more realistic aerodynamic model, maybe such a device could have a use with this mod.

[thereaverofdarkness2]

14 hours ago, Gaarst said:

KSP doesn't simulate air flow deflection so such a part would be useless.

The game doesn't use the part's visual model to determine its aerodynamic properties so it would work fine. Make it look like an aerospike, but make it act like a nosecone.

Edited May 15, 2016 by thereaverofdarkness2

[Wjolcz]

Ooooooh, so that's what an aerospike is! Makes a lot more sense than the engine we have in the game with the same name.

[eddiew]

I believe that such a pointy object on the front does have an effect in FAR, if you're looking for that level of realism

[EpicSpaceTroll139]

11 hours ago, Veeltch said:

Ooooooh, so that's what an aerospike is! Makes a lot more sense than the engine we have in the game with the same name.

Actually, both the drag-reducing aerospike the aerospike engine are actual things! They just have very similar names, and the latter isn't used much at all because the benefits in efficiency currently aren't seen as outweighing the costs of finishing development. But that may change if we start getting more serious resolve for creating SSTOs.

[cantab]

The stock game doesn't currently do this. In its aerodynamic model the only way would be for the spike and nosecone to be a single part , because a surface-attached part is only ever going to increase drag.

[Sresk]

I 

On 5/16/2016 at 5:20 AM, cantab said:

The stock game doesn't currently do this. In its aerodynamic model the only way would be for the spike and nosecone to be a single part , because a surface-attached part is only ever going to increase drag.

I beg to differ I just started another thread about this exact thing. Put the tiny com antenna on the front of your nose and inlets and afterwards come back and tell me stock doesn't model aerospike.

Edited September 30, 2016 by Sresk

[Van Disaster]

8 hours ago, Sresk said:

I 

I beg to differ I just started another thread about this exact thing. Put the tiny com antenna on the front of your nose and inlets and afterwards come back and tell me stock doesn't model aerospike.

That's nothing to do with shockwaves, it's just "the part in the front" as far as heating is concerned.

Edited September 30, 2016 by Van Disaster