What your're talking about is called the max q condition[1]. It's definitely a significant design consideration, but I believe that the loading would very diffe

What your're talking about is called the max q condition[1]. It's definitely a significant design consideration, but I believe that the loading would very different when the rocket is plowing through the air in a particular direction, compared to an "equivalent" hydrostatic stress applied uniformly over the surface, so even though the structure might be fine with the first, it wouldn't survive the second. For instance, think about corrugated or honeycomb materials - they often have a "strong" orientation and a "weak" orientation. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_q https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_q