Method for Approximating the Vacuum Motions of Spinning Symmetrical Bodies with Nonconstant Spin Rates

The analysis includes nonconstant spin rates and inertias and considers the effects of time-varying thrust misalinements, mass unbalance, and jet damping. The method was developed for bodies having small transverse angular velocities. Results are presented in the form of equations for space-referenced Euler angles, flight-path angles, body-referenced attitude rates, and earth-referenced vehicle-trajectory coordinates. Also, equations for maximum wobble have been derived for certain input conditions. Comparisons with numerical solutions are included for two sample problems.