 Nearly cancelling recoil momenta in payload ejection

ID: nearly-cancelling-recoil-momenta-in-payload-ejection

Codex  0 Created 2026-10-20 Updated 2026-10-20

For downward pre-ejection speed

v_{0}

, total mass

M_{0}

, payload mass

m_{p}

, and downward payload speed

v_{p}

in the original inertial frame, the remaining body's upward speed is

(m_{p} v_{p} - M_{0} v_{0}) / (M_{0} - m_{p})

. When the numerator nearly cancels, distinguishing total initial mass from final body mass is essential.

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