AAS 97-115

EFFECTS OF EXHAUST GASES ON THE DYNAMICS OF SPINNING SPACE VEHICLES UNDERGOING MASS LOSS

F. O. Eke and J. Mudge, University of California-Davis

Abstract

This paper explores the impact of including fluid inertia in the analysis of the attitude motions of variable mass systems. This is done by assigning a non-zero value for the ration of the fluid density to that of the solid portion of the system. The equations of attitude motions of the system are then solved in closed form, and the time histories of the system's angular velocity components are evaluated, with density ratio as parameter.