The equations of motion of a rocket are derived by applying the fundamental definition of the derivative to Newton's second law of motion. Three independent cases are considered: motion of the missile center of mass, rotation of the missile about a transverse axis through the center of mass, and rotation of the missile about the longitudinal axis. The second case describes the motion in pitch (or yaw), and the third case describes the rotation (spin or roll) of the missile due to a ring of small jets placed around its circumference. The equations of motion of the center of mass are then modified to describe the motion of a satellite moving around the earth in a nearly circular orbit. Finally, a method is developed for com?puting the approximate impact point of the missile by al?gebraic means.
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