Hyper-sonic maneuvering?

[bombo1]

Whaa? I'm confused. My solution: Don't fly that fast, no trouble. simple.

You mast made me laugh:D

[softweir]

... Think wings and nose of the Space Shuttle compared to something like a Concorde...

I believe that the nose of the Shuttle was made that blunt so as to protect the wings from the front shockwave. The blunter the nose, the wider the cone of shockwave. Make it wide enough, and the wings are entirely enclosed within the cone of low-velocity air within the shockwave. Make it too pointed and the shockwave can intersect with the wings, which would be fatal.

Interestingly, Reaction Engines are proposing that SKYLON would have a narrow nose much like Concorde, and claim that aerodynamic research has shown that the materials they propose for the wings will survive the effects of the shockwave, though they may possibly need active cooling. They appear confident that Scaled Composites (their materials partner) can deliver the goods!

EDIT: OK, I appear to be misremembering/imagining the bit about Scaled Composites being signed-up to produce the aeroshell. I could swear I had read about it in a press release (or maybe a news article) but I can no longer find it.

Edited November 8, 2013 by softweir
Check facts, couldn't cite.

[Nibb31]

They appear confident that Scaled Composites (their materials partner) can deliver the goods!

This is the first I hear of such a partnership. Do you have any sources? My impression was that Skylon didn't use composites. It's supposed to be made of aluminium and titanium.

[Nuke]

scaled are the ones you could go to build something like that. given the exotic ceramic composite materials they plan to use for the thermal protection system. but id like to see a source on this myself.

[K^2]

I believe that the nose of the Shuttle was made that blunt so as to protect the wings from the front shockwave.

Ah, yes, that does make sense. It still makes things easier on the nose as well, even if it wasn't the main factor. You'll notice that re-entry capsules have a blunt shape despite not having any wings to protect. Normal shock in front of a blunt nose does provide extra thermal protection. Same goes for the leading edge on wings.

The blunter the nose, the wider the cone of shockwave.

I wouldn't put it quite that way, though, it's not actually wrong. Just paints a picture that might be off. The oblique shock wave as it spreads from the ship is going to have the same angle. That depends only on velocity, temperature, and to a lesser degree density of the gas. So you don't have much control over it. What the flat nose does is create a region of normal shock which is equivalent to shifting the focal point of the oblique shock forward.

Of course, this does increase the amount of space inside the shock, so you are absolutely correct about it making a difference to the wings. The cost, of course, is significantly increased drag. Normal shock is much more "expensive" in terms of resistance than an oblique shock. It's a good thing if you are building a re-entry capsule. But it will cost you on the way up if you are building a space plane.

Interestingly, Reaction Engines are proposing that SKYLON would have a narrow nose much like Concorde, and claim that aerodynamic research has shown that the materials they propose for the wings will survive the effects of the shockwave, though they may possibly need active cooling. They appear confident that Scaled Composites (their materials partner) can deliver the goods!

That's interesting. I haven't really thought much about what all of this means to an SSTO. Basically, you trade a reduction in drag during later stages of ascent for added complexity in terms of materials and cooling. I would not have guessed it to be worthwhile, but I'm sure Reaction Engines actually done their homework on it. If they think they can make it work, more power to them.

[drakesdoom]

You can fly around the world in 6 hours and you want to turn? How about you just head in the correct direction to start with?

[automcdonough]

well, it's kinda like it's supercavitating through the atmosphere. a plate at the very nose could be used to increase the size of the air bubble to include most of the craft, and to deflect the air bubble around, much like concepts for steering in supercavitating water..

[softweir]

This is the first I hear of such a partnership. Do you have any sources? My impression was that Skylon didn't use composites. It's supposed to be made of aluminium and titanium.

Sorry, yes, I was mistaken to say that. I could SWEAR that I had read it in a press release (or maybe a news article) but I can find nothing to support my impression.

tl/dr: me=derp!

On another note, I did find a mention HERE of a fibre-reinforced ceramic aeroshell being proposed - it's in the paragraph titled "Material Construction".