Posts: 678
From: Hudson, MA
Registered: Jul 2005

Posts: 1488
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010

Posts: 55
From: Irvine, CA USA
Registered: May 2014

posted 09-19-2016 11:59 AM            

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There was a thread on the function of fins on the Saturn V. It seems that the Saturn V used fins to provide stability against rotation for certain abort situations.

Perhaps the more massive NOVA would have rotated more slowly than the Saturn V for the same disturbance, making fins unnecessary.

Posts: 55
From: Irvine, CA USA
Registered: May 2014

posted 09-19-2016 12:18 PM            

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If a rocket is approximated by a solid cylinder, its moment of inertia around an axis perpendicular to the longitudinal centerline is given by:

I = [m*(3*r^2+h^2)/12]

with r being the radius, h the height and m the mass.

The NOVA was slightly taller and had a larger radius than the Saturn V. And the mass of the NOVA was certainly greater than the Saturn V. Without plugging in any numbers, the MoM of the NOVA was certainly larger, probably significantly larger than the Saturn V. The NOVA would be more resistant to rotation than the Saturn V.