If stationary mass arrives at the same constant time rate as fuel is ejected, total rocket mass stays fixed. The rocket equation with stationary mass accretion is then . For initial rest, speed approaches the relative exhaust speed exponentially with relaxation time . This is the regular equal-rate limit of the unequal-rate mass-power formula.
Now and , so
For , set . Then and . For , integration gives
Consequently
This solution of the rocket equation with stationary mass accretion covers increasing or decreasing rocket mass, as long as . For equal-rate rocket burning and accretion, in the case , the mass is constant and the linear equation instead gives
It is also the continuous equal-rate limit of the preceding expression when written in terms of .
For the no-accretion limit, expand the power as an exponential:
Substitution gives
recovering (a). At a fixed time with , the limiting mass is , so the same calculation recovers the time-dependent no-dust solution.
Let be the gas mass ejected in a short interval, and let be the stationary dust mass acquired. The rocket mass change is . Before the interval the momentum of the rocket and this dust is , because the incoming dust is at rest. Afterwards it is
to first order; changing the gas ejection speed by affects only second-order terms. Momentum conservation, with no external force, therefore gives
Dividing by the time interval produces the rocket equation with stationary mass accretion:
The incoming material's zero initial momentum is essential: accelerating it to the rocket's speed consumes part of the thrust.