3.5" Rotating Rockets with Various Afterbodies

Abstract

This report is a supplement to Report Section No. 6.1-sr207-1270, dated April 21, 1944, and coves tests conducted at the High Speed Water Tunnel at the California Institute of Technology. This work was authorized by a letter of January 31, 1944, from Dr. E. H. Colpitts, Chief of Section 6.1, National Defense Research Committee, New York City. The purpose of these tests was to determine the effect, on performance, of several different types of afterbodies. The first tests of this rocket showed that there was a slight stabilizing moment at very small yaw angles. this stabilizing moment had an undesirable effect on performance, and it was hoped that minor changes in the afterbody might overcome this difficulty. The Appendix gives definitions of the terms used in this report, as well as a brief discussion of the required conditions for stability in a nonrotating projectile. This report deals on with static stability of a projectile without rotation.