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<blockquote data-quote="sferrin" data-source="post: 23601" data-attributes="member: 7600"><blockquote data-quote="Rosdivan"><a href="http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/pdf/nikeajax/nikeajax.pdf" target="_blank">DEVELOPMENT, PRODUCTION, AND DEPLOYMENT OF THE NlKE AJAX GUIDED MISSILE SYSTEM</a>While reading through the above document, I came across this chart, which I presume to be a chart of intercept envelope. Why would the first line simply stop as abruptly as it does at the 15km mark? A typographic error? Also, why is the altitude as low as it is? Test shots reached to 140,000 feet and other sources indicate the envelope extended up to 60,000 feet. Is that just a difference between development goal and actual capability or something else?</blockquote>Could be almost anything.&nbsp; One I heard of (different missile) was &quot;the batteries only last X number of seconds&quot; after which the missile goes stupid.&nbsp; Had nothing to do with performance.&nbsp; Maybe the liquid fuel tanks are pressurized and the pressure differential will cause problems (you'll notice on the longer range shots it can go higher.&nbsp; Maybe because the tanks have emptied some?)</blockquote>

[QUOTE="sferrin, post: 23601, member: 7600"] [quote="Rosdivan"] [url=http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/pdf/nikeajax/nikeajax.pdf]DEVELOPMENT, PRODUCTION, AND DEPLOYMENT OF THE NlKE AJAX GUIDED MISSILE SYSTEM[/url] While reading through the above document, I came across this chart, which I presume to be a chart of intercept envelope. Why would the first line simply stop as abruptly as it does at the 15km mark? A typographic error? Also, why is the altitude as low as it is? Test shots reached to 140,000 feet and other sources indicate the envelope extended up to 60,000 feet. Is that just a difference between development goal and actual capability or something else? [/quote] Could be almost anything. One I heard of (different missile) was "the batteries only last X number of seconds" after which the missile goes stupid. Had nothing to do with performance. Maybe the liquid fuel tanks are pressurized and the pressure differential will cause problems (you'll notice on the longer range shots it can go higher. Maybe because the tanks have emptied some?) [/QUOTE]

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