The choices are?
- Change the thrust direction, gimble mount for engine or bell.
- Alter the stream of gases, vanes or diverters.
- Fins, aerodynamic forces
- Multiple engine thrust control
- Separate attitude thrusters
- and dimly in my memory from this list, a discussion of altering the plume by injecting fuel off center
Are these the only ways? Have I missed any? Gyros?
Reaction wheels, as used to point the Hubble Space Telescope, sometimes incorrectly referred to as gyros.
Fluid injection amounts to non-solid jet paddles; same class as the Jetavator (a ring around the nozzle that can be impinged on the exhaust stream to divert it) and paddles that do the same thing with a non-continuous actuator -- no roll control.
Theoretically, CG shift could be used to provide pitch/yaw control, but not roll (well, in a vehicle that looks like a collection of strap-on boosters, with some flexibility in the couplers, perhaps, but I wouldn't want to fly in it).
While in atmosphere, fluid (gas) injection at the nose can be used to steer in much smaller flows and velocities than attitude jets by altering the stagnation point, though it has little effect at low (i.e. subsonic and low supersonic) speeds on vehicle shapes suitable for high supersonic flight.
Similarly, boundary layer control by surface suction could be used to create body lift differentially for pitch/yaw steering, and depending on shape possibly also roll; mostly good at subsonic speed.
A steerable shock wave probe in the nose (like the probes used on some sub-launched missiles to give a better aerodynamic profile to a missile that had to fit maximum volume in a fixed diameter tube) could give pitch/yaw at supersonic speeds.
--
I may be a scwewy wabbit, but I'm not going to Alcatwaz!
-- E. J. Fudd, 1954Donald Qualls, aka The Silent Observer Lathe Building Pages http://silent1.home.netcom.com/HomebuiltLathe.htm Speedway 7x12 Lathe Pages http://silent1.home.netcom.com/my7x12.htm
Opinions expressed are my own -- take them for what they're worth and don't expect them to be perfect.
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