Difference between revisions of "Center of thrust"
(Created page with "framed|left|Icon thumb|The thrust points away from the center of mass {{Stub}} The '''center of thrust''' or '''thrustvector''' ...") |
(+about pendulum rocket fallacy;) |
||
| Line 3: | Line 3: | ||
{{Stub}} | {{Stub}} | ||
The '''center of thrust''' or '''thrustvector''' is the direction in which the thrust is acting and on which point the thrust acts on the [[craft]]. The thrustvector and [[center of mass]] should be in one line to minimize steering to a minimum. | The '''center of thrust''' or '''thrustvector''' is the direction in which the thrust is acting and on which point the thrust acts on the [[craft]]. The thrustvector and [[center of mass]] should be in one line to minimize steering to a minimum. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Placing engines above the center of mass doesn't make a craft more stable, which is usually called pendulum rocket fallacy. In Kerbal Space Program such craft might be more unstable, as [[thrust vectoring]] needs to be applied inverted, when the engine is acting above the center of mass. So one way is to deactivate thrust vectoring, which makes rocket hard to steer especially in atmosphere. Another way would be to control in the other direction. To prevent the systems to counteract, torque of [[reaction wheel]]s needs to be deactivated and all [[control surface]]s needs to be removed. | ||
== See also == | == See also == | ||
* [[Center of lift]] | * [[Center of lift]] | ||
* [[Center of mass]] | * [[Center of mass]] | ||
| + | * {{Wikipedia|Pendulum rocket fallacy}} | ||
Revision as of 13:44, 13 September 2013
The center of thrust or thrustvector is the direction in which the thrust is acting and on which point the thrust acts on the craft. The thrustvector and center of mass should be in one line to minimize steering to a minimum.
Placing engines above the center of mass doesn't make a craft more stable, which is usually called pendulum rocket fallacy. In Kerbal Space Program such craft might be more unstable, as thrust vectoring needs to be applied inverted, when the engine is acting above the center of mass. So one way is to deactivate thrust vectoring, which makes rocket hard to steer especially in atmosphere. Another way would be to control in the other direction. To prevent the systems to counteract, torque of reaction wheels needs to be deactivated and all control surfaces needs to be removed.
See also
- Center of lift
- Center of mass
- Pendulum rocket fallacy on Wikipedia
