ballistic missile
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Related to ballistic missile: cruise missile, intercontinental ballistic missile, Ballistic Missile Defense
ballistic missile:
see guided missileguided missile,self-propelled, unmanned space or air vehicle carrying an explosive warhead. Its path can be adjusted during flight, either by automatic self-contained controls or remote human control. Guided missiles are powered either by rocket engines or by jet propulsion.
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The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia™ Copyright © 2013, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Ballistic Missile
a missile whose flight follows a ballistic trajectory. A ballistic missile, in contrast to a winged missile, does not have support surfaces intended to create aerodynamic lift during flight in the atmosphere. In some cases ballistic missiles are supplied with stabilizers to ensure aerodynamic stability in flight. Ballistic missiles consist of military missiles of various types (including intercontinental), carrier rockets, and space rockets.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
ballistic missile
[bə′lis·tik ′mis·əl] (ordnance)
A missile capable of guiding and propelling itself in a direction and to a velocity such that it will follow a ballistic trajectory to a desired point.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
ballistic missile
Any missile that does not rely upon aerodynamic surfaces to produce lift and, consequently, follows a ballistic trajectory when thrust is terminated. It is initially guided during the upward portion of its flight but drops under the force of gravity, following a trajectory similar to that of an artillery shell.
An Illustrated Dictionary of Aviation Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved