In article ,
John Carmack wrote:
...opting for an ogive nose cone instead of a conical
one could quadruple the cost, or more, for very minor theoretical
gains...

And often you can do almost as well with a little cleverness. For this
particular example, a double cone (starting with a gentle taper and then
switching abruptly to a steeper one partway up) gets you most of the
benefit of an ogive without the fabrication difficulties.
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MOST launched 1015 EDT 30 June, separated 1046, | Henry Spencer
first ground-station pass 1651, all nominal! |