aerospiken.
/ˈɛːrə(ʊ)spʌɪk/, U.S. /ˈɛroʊˌspaɪk/, /ˈɛrəˌspaɪk/ Engineering.
1. In a rocket: a form of engine in which the exhaust gases emerge from an annular opening and converge so as to enclose a cone or spike of gas pumped in from the engine, or (in later designs) emerge from a rectangular opening so as to converge around a linear wedge-shaped space; (also) an engine in which a solid conical plug takes the place of the gaseous cone or spike. Frequently attributive.
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1966 Los Angeles Times 30 Nov. ii. 1/4 The Aerospike promises substantial improvement over conventional engines as it can be arranged compactly to fit the geometrical shape of the vehicle it will propel.
1980 Aviation Week & Space Technol. (Nexis) 14 July 124 Regarding the..aerospike.., this name originally identified a NASA/Rocketdyne concept of a plug nozzle rocket engine employing an isentropic expansion ‘aerodynamic spike’ formed by turbopump exhaust discharge gas flow.
1997 Sci. Amer. Oct. 91/1 The aerodynamic bubble (filled with a small amount of gas pumped in from the engine) serves the same function as a long, solid spike, which is why this combination of thrusters and ramps was dubbed an aerospike.
2. In a missile: a device in the nose which extends forwards to create a shock wave in advance of the body, thereby reducing drag at supersonic speeds.
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1969 W. E. Welsh Aerodynamic Spike Exper. on Sphere in Supersonic Flow iii. 7 Three regimes are apparent as blowing is increased above that required for the aerospike to penetrate the bow shock.
1975 Aviation Week & Space Technol. (Nexis) 13 Oct. (Missile Engineering) 15 Aerospike—a six segment steel tube that deploys from a recess in the nose shortly after launch—gives the C-4 missile a pointed cone shape.
2007 Pop. Mech. (Nexis) 1 Jan. 74 Once the missile clears the water, the first-stage engine ignites and the aerospike at the nose extends to improve aerodynamics.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1966