How big is a missile?

By Derek Wildstar ·

TML message #6101From bundle 502

Brilliant Lances tells us that a standard starship missile masses(*) seven
tons.  It also tells us that you can store extra missiles in your starship's
cargo hold, and gives a rule for the time it takes to get the missile out of
the hold and into the missile launcher.  Brilliant Lances does *not* tell us
how much volume that missile takes up, either stored in the cargo hold or
installed on a grapple or docking ring.  The volume of the missile is rather
required in order to be able to design vehicles which carry missiles on
grapples or docking rings.  Presumably the missile will require slightly
more volume when carried in the hold, due to packaging materials, pallets
and similar considerations.

To put a bit of perspective on this question, I went looking through Peter
Alway's new book, _Rockets of the World_ (excellent, by the way: 198
dimensioned and color keyed drawings of 133 different rockets from 14
different countries, including the USSR's N-1 moon rocket, short histories
of each rocket, 179 photographs, again including the N-1.  ISBN 09627876-2-0)
for a sounding rocket that was about 7000kg.

I found one: the Viking Model 2, a sounding rocket designed by the Naval
Research Laboratory.  Its loaded weight was 6800kg, and it carried a 230kg
payload to an altitude of up to 252km.  The rocket was 45 inches in diameter,
and 505 inches long (including a 121 inch conic nose cone).

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