Hypersonic flight

Hypersonic flight is flight through the atmosphere below altitudes of about 90 km (56 mi) at speeds greater than Mach 5, a speed where dissociation of air begins to become significant and high heat loads exist. Speeds over Mach 25 have been achieved below the thermosphere as of 2020. [citation needed]

Reentry vehicle (RV) after an 8,000-kilometre (5,000 mi) flight, 1959. Note the blackened tip of the RV due to aerodynamic heating. Compare to the aerodynamic heating effect on the iron meteorite on the right.

Hypersonic vehicles are able to maneuver through the atmosphere in a non-parabolic trajectory, but their aerodynamic heat loads need to be managed (see figure to the right).