inertial guidance

American  

noun

Navigation.

1. a guidance system for an aerospace vehicle, in which self-contained devices determine the vehicle's course on the basis of the directions and magnitudes of the accelerations it undergoes in flight.

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inertial guidance British  

noun

1. a method of controlling the flight path of a missile by instruments contained within it. Velocities or distances covered, computed from the acceleration measured by these instruments, are compared with stored data and used to control the speed and direction of the missile Compare celestial guidance terrestrial guidance

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Etymology

Origin of inertial guidance

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

The bus then uses small on-board rocket motors and a computerised inertial guidance system to manoeuvre and release the warheads on different trajectories.

From Reuters • Mar. 11, 2022

The prototype inertial guidance system they came up with could not be relied on completely and would need to be manually realigned during the flight.

From The Guardian • Dec. 16, 2012

The first Minuteman fired all three stages, put its brand new inertial guidance system, its nose cone and its flaring steering nozzles through the wringer in one bold gamble.*

From Time Magazine Archive

When the U.S., in 1954, started its crash program to build long-range missiles, not everyone was as sure as Draper that full inertial guidance would prove accurate.

From Time Magazine Archive

The delicate accelerometers and inertial guidance components did all the piloting until the second stage kicked us loose.

From The Trouble with Telstar by Schoenherr, John