Talk

guidance systems on rockets

In order for rockets/missiles to get where they are intended to go they need guidance systems. The US military spent a lot of money building and developing GPS (Global Positioning System) to enable GPS receivers to detect their current location very exactly. This infrastructure has enabled cruise missiles and other systems to navigate their way autonomously and cause discernible negative impact on their target. The USSR attempted to build their own version of the GPS satellites. Before the advent of GPS, missiles used other guidance systems. One system relies on communication with the earth station for directives on navigation. This requires a stable communication link with the station and assumes the station has an accurate view of the missiles progress. The easy solution is the inertial guidance system. The missile carries oscilloscopes on board that provide information on the current altitude. Using the speed information the missile calculates its current position with respect to the target (which is programmed prior to launch) and performs the necessary adjustments to arrive at the destination. Factors effecting this system include wind resistance etc which might put a missile seriously of course.

This is a far cry from the days where artillery meant cannons and the main parameter that could be adjusted was the angle of release (effecting trajectory and thus distance). Today missiles fired from submarines can travel under water till they come near the coast and then leave the water surface increasing the surprise factor.

Mans ability to devise ingenious methods for destroying each other is boundless.