Reentry Vehicle

The reentry vehicle or "RV" is designed to protect the warhead from the heat and stress of reentry to the Earth's atmosphere at over 20 times the speed of sound. The RV is constructed of aluminum with the skin covered by what are called "ablative" materials. In this case phenolic resins and plastics that are designed to flake away from the RV's surface as they are heated thus carrying the heat away from the RV.

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