How do wire-guided missiles not melt their guide-wires in flight, or otherwise break them while maneuvering?
In: Engineering
the first big thing is that the wire is stored in the missile, not on the launcher, meaning it is just leaving wire behind, not pulling it along, which is much less stressful on the wire.
Second, the wire is reeled out around the exhaust and not directly into the engine of the missile, to minimize the temperature exposure, and then because the missile is traveling so fast any wire that is exposed to the heat is only exposed for a split second before it is reeled out and left behind by the missile.
as for maneuvering, this is an actual concern and different missiles only have so much ability to maneuver. They can only make turns at a certain angle maximum. most of this issue is avoided by, well, not launching the missile till you are pointed mostly at the target and then only having to make small adjustments as it flies.
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