Ironspike: Trying to imitate a Nike Sprint

[Coyote27]

So, I saw

today and needed to make my own!

The real Nike Sprint could hit Mach 10 in 5 seconds. Mine can only get up to 2500m/s(Mach 7) and it takes a lot longer.

Download here if you want to: http://kerbalx.com/Coyote27/Ironspike

Now, can anyone get a functional faster-accelerating rocket that can actually top Mach 10 in atmo?

[Coyote27]

Based on some feedback, I tried replacing the heatshield on the nose with a closed shock-cone intake for less drag. Results were a melted shock-cone and explosion at about 1300 m/s. Looks like the head shield is necessary.

The real-life Nike Sprint had its entire upper stage coated in an ablative heatshield, of course.