Rocket Trajectories

By Jan-Erik Rønningen
Norwegian Rocket Technology
[ contact@rocketconsult.no ]
[ www.rocketconsult.no ]

Version: 1.50 2008

Contents
 Different types of Rocket Trajectories
 Typical Suborbital Trajectory
 Guided Flight Trajectory
 Homing Flight Trajectory
 Circular Orbits
 Gravity
 Rocket Mass Ratio
 Ideal Rocket Equation
 Rocket Equation with Drag, Thrust and Gravity (2)
 Terminal Velocity
 Trajectory Equations for a Single-Stage Rocket with
Thrust, Drag and Gravity Forces (5)
 Trajectory Simulation (2)
Different types of Rocket
Trajectories
 Free Ballistic Flight Trajectory – Gravity and Drag
 “Parabolic” type of trajectories, controlled by drag, gravity and thrust
 Arrows, dart, stone, bullet, sounding rocket

 Guided Flight Trajectory – Preprogrammed Trajectory

 Trajectory shaped by i.e. lift, thrust vectoring and modulation
 Launch vehicles that places payloads into circular orbits

 Homing Flight Trajectory – Programmed Trajectory during Flight

 Trajectory is uncertain and situation dependent. Shaped by thrust vectoring,
ailerons, side-thrusters, thrust modulation etc.
 Missiles with sensors that can detect target and have the ability to calculate a
meeting point in time and space in order to hit the target

 Circular Orbits – Gravity and Speed

 Circular orbits are trajectories with almost infinity “free-fall”, shaped by speed
change and gravity
 Satellites, space crafts, meteorites, planets etc.
Typical Suborbital Trajectory -
Single-Stage Sounding Rocket
 Flight Profile: Parabola (actually
part of an ellipse)
 Powered Phase: Rocket thrust with
time
 Coasting Phase: Free flight up to
apogee controlled by gravity and
drag mainly
 Free Fall: From apogee to ground
impact (or splash down)

CRV-7 Forces at Burnout

0,7
18,2

Thrust [%]
Drag [%]
Gravity [%]

100,0
Different types of Rocket
Trajectories
 Free Ballistic Flight Trajectory – Gravity and Drag
 “Parabolic” type of trajectories, controlled by drag, gravity and thrust
 Arrows, dart, stone, bullet, sounding rocket

 Guided Flight Trajectory – Preprogrammed Trajectory

 Trajectory shaped by i.e. lift, thrust vectoring and modulation
 Launch vehicles that places payloads into circular orbits

 Homing Flight Trajectory – Programmed Trajectory during Flight

 Trajectory is uncertain and situation dependent. Shaped by thrust vectoring,
ailerons, side-thrusters, thrust modulation etc.
 Missiles with sensors that can detect target and have the ability to calculate a
meeting point in time and space in order to hit the target

 Circular Orbits – Gravity and Speed

 Circular orbits are trajectories with almost infinity “free-fall”, shaped by speed
change and gravity
 Satellites, space crafts, meteorites, planets etc.
Guided Trajectory


R0
Different types of Rocket
Trajectories
 Free Ballistic Flight Trajectory – Gravity and Drag
 “Parabolic” type of trajectories, controlled by drag, gravity and thrust
 Arrows, dart, stone, bullet, sounding rocket

 Guided Flight Trajectory – Preprogrammed Trajectory

 Trajectory shaped by i.e. lift, thrust vectoring and modulation
 Launch vehicles that places payloads into circular orbits

 Homing Flight Trajectory – Programmed Trajectory during Flight

 Trajectory is uncertain and situation dependent. Shaped by thrust vectoring,
ailerons, side-thrusters, thrust modulation etc.
 Missiles with sensors that can detect target and have the ability to calculate a
meeting point in time and space in order to hit the target

 Circular Orbits – Gravity and Speed

 Circular orbits are trajectories with almost infinity “free-fall”, shaped by speed
change and gravity
 Satellites, space crafts, meteorites, planets etc.
Homing Flight Trajectory

X
Different types of Rocket
Trajectories
 Free Ballistic Flight Trajectory – Gravity and Drag
 “Parabolic” type of trajectories, controlled by drag, gravity and thrust
 Arrows, dart, stone, bullet, sounding rocket

 Guided Flight Trajectory – Preprogrammed Trajectory

 Trajectory shaped by i.e. lift, thrust vectoring and modulation
 Launch vehicles that places payloads into circular orbits

 Homing Flight Trajectory – Programmed Trajectory during Flight

 Trajectory is uncertain and situation dependent. Shaped by thrust vectoring,
ailerons, side-thrusters, thrust modulation etc.
 Missiles with sensors that can detect target and have the ability to calculate a
meeting point in time and space in order to hit the target

 Circular Orbits – Gravity and Speed

 Circular orbits are trajectories with almost infinity “free-fall”, shaped by speed
change and gravity
 Satellites, space crafts, meteorites, planets etc.
Circular Orbits
v

a=g
G

R0
Gravity

Earth is not a perfect sphere

 g will therefore be a function of latitude  :
R0=6371315m

g0  9.780490
m
s 2
 1  0.0052884sin 2
( )  0 .0000059sin 2
( 2 ) 

g also decreases with the square of the distance, so

for high altitudes a corrected g has to be calculated :
2
 R0 
g h  g 0 
 R0  h 
For h<120km R0 is so large in comparison to h that :
g h  g0  3.086  106  h [m] < 1% error
Rocket Mass Ratio

Burnout Mass

Payload mass (mp)

mb M  m p
Rocket inert mass (mr)
Mf  
M M
M  mr  mm  md
Start Mass
Propellant mass (md)
Rocket motor mass (mm)
Ideal Rocket Equation

-ve v
dm M-dm
+

m  dv  ve  dm
dm
dv  ve 
m
vmax mb
1
0 dv  ve M m  dm
vmax  ve   ln mb  ln M 
m 
vmax  ve  ln b   ve  ln( M f )
M 
Rocket Equation with Drag, Thrust
and Gravity (1)
Rocket Equation with Drag, Thrust
and Gravity (2)
Find the max. speed a rocket can get Then we multiply with dt on both sides,
First we reuse this equation : ve D
dv   dm  dt  g 0  sin dt
F D m m
a   g 0  sin 
m m Integration gives,
We have learned that the thrust of a rocket can be
 v vv0max  ve   ln m mMb  D   t  t0b  g 0  sin    t  t0b
described as, m
Negative because mass is D
F 
dm
 ve expelled in opposite vmax  v0  ve   ln mb  ln M     tb  0  g 0  sin    tb  0
dt direction of movement. m
We also know that acceleration is the same as, With v 0  0m / s,
dv m  D
a vmax  ve  ln  b    tb  g 0  sin   tb
dt  M  mb
We now inserts these equations into the first one With no drag and vertical launch the equation
and get, simplifies to,
dm m 
  ve vmax  ve  ln  b   g 0  tb
dv dt D
   g 0  sin  M 
dt m m
dv v dm D
 e   g 0  sin 
dt m dt m
Terminal Velocity
When drag equals gravity the net
forces on the rocket is zero:
NetForces  D  G  0
Terminal Velocity is then:

0.5    A  C D  v 2  G
2G
vt   m / s
  A  CD
Higher velocity for objects that are
heavier, more streamline,
flying in lower atmosphere density and
that has smaller frontal area.
Trajectory Equations for a Single-Stage
Rocket with Thrust, Drag and Gravity
Forces (1)

mp
M Thrust  mr  mm 
2
M Coast  mr  mm

mr = rocket mass
mm= motor mass
mp = propellant mass

g = const. = 9.81m/s2
= const. = 1.22 kg/m3
CD = const.
 Trajectory Equations for a Single-Stage
Rocket with Thrust, Drag and Gravity
Forces (2)
Constant:
  0.5  A  CD   mThrust  dv
Drag: dt 
D    v2[N ]
  z2    v2
tb= ? & vmax = ? m dv
dt  Thrust  2
dv
 z  v2
F  ma  m dt m
vmax
dv
dv
Integration: tb  Thrust 
  z2  v2
T G  D  m 0
dt
mThrust 1  z  vmax 
mThrust  dv tb    ln 
dt  Burnout time:  2  z  z  vmax 
T  mThrust  g    v 2
mThrust  dv
dt 
(T  mThrust  g ) NOTE:
    v2
 tb = It / Tavg
T  mThrust  g
z2 
Simplify: 
Normally tb is known.
Trajectory Equations for a Single-Stage
Rocket with Thrust, Drag and Gravity
Forces (3)

Finding vmax: 2 z

w
mThrust
 z  vmax 
w  tb  ln 
 z  vmax 
 z  vmax 
 w  tb  ln  
 z  vmax 
 z  vmax 
e  wtb   
 z  vmax 
 w t b  wt b
vmax  (1  e )  z  (1  e )
 wt b  w t b
1 e T  mThrust  g 1  e
vmax  z   

 w t b  wt b
1 e 1 e
Trajectory Equations for a Single-Stage
Rocket with Thrust, Drag and Gravity
Forces (4)
dv dv dh
We now want to find the burnout altitude, hb:  F  m  a  m  dt  m  dh  dt
dh
v
dt
dv
F  m Thrust v 
dh
dv
T  mThrust  g    v 2  mThrust  v 
dh
T  mThrust  g
z2 

m v
dh  Thrust  2  dv
 z  v2
vmax
m v  dv
hb  Thrust 
 
0
z2  v2

hb 
mThrust
2
 
vmax
 ln( z 2  v 2 ) 0

mThrust  z2 
hb   ln 2 
2  z  vmax 
2
Trajectory Equations for a Single-Stage
Rocket with Thrust, Drag and Gravity
Forces (5)
We now want to find the ascent altitude, ha and H:

mCoast  v  dv
dh 
 mCoast  g    v 2
 mCoast  g
2
zCoast 

v  dv
dh  mCoast 
 mCoast  g
    v2

mCoast v  dv
dh   2
 zCoast  v 2
0
m v  dv
dh  Coast
  z
vmax
2
Coast v2
mCoast  zCoast
2
 vmax
2

hCoast   ln  H = hCoast + hb
2  z 2
Coast 
Trajectory Simulation (1)
”Launch” Software Download:

http://users.cybercity.dk/~dko7904/software.htm

Input values
Results
Trajectory Simulation (2)

Burnout

Apogee