Mathematical Theory Of Rocket Flight

This is the official final report to the Office of Scientific Research and Development concerning the work done on the exterior ballistics of fin-stabilized rocket projectiles under the supervision of Section H of Division 3 of the National Defense Research Committee at the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory during 1944 and 1945, when the laboratory was operated by The George Washington University under contract OEMsr-273 with the Office of Scientific Research and Development. As such, its official title is “Final Report No. B2.2 of the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory, OSRD 5878.”

After the removal of secrecy restrictions on this report, a considerable amount of expository material was added. It is our hope that thereby the report has been made readable for anyone interested in the flight of rockets. Two slightly different types of readers are anticipated. One is the trained scientist who has had no previous experience with rockets. The other is the person with little scientific training who is interested in what makes a rocket go. The first type of reader should be able to comprehend the report in its entirety. For the benefit of the second type of reader, who will wish to skip the more mathematical portions, we have attempted to supply simple explanations at the beginnings of most sections telling what is to be accomplished in those sections. It is our hope that a reader can, if so minded, skip most of the mathematics and still be able to form a general idea of rocket flight.