Variable-mass system the momentum of the system varies for Therefore, by Newton's second law Noting that u - v is the velocity of d"m" relative to "m", symbolized as v, this final equation can be arranged as In a system where mass is being ejected or ablated from a main body, the derivation is slightly different. At time "t", let a mass "m" travel at a velocity v, meaning the initial momentum of the system is Since the main body will be losing mass, d"m" will be negative, meaning that at a time "t" + d"t" the momentum of the system becomes
Escape velocity In gravitational fields, "escape velocity" refers to the escape velocity of zero mass test particles relative to the barycenter of the masses generating the field. In most situations involving spacecraft the difference is negligible. For a mass equal to a Saturn V rocket, the escape velocity relative to the launch pad is 253.5 am/s (8 nanometers per year) faster than the escape velocity relative to the mutual center of mass. Ignoring all factors other than the gravitational force between the body and the object, an object projected vertically at speed formula_16 from the surface of a spherical body with escape