definitions

inertial guidance

noun Navigation.

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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Nearby words

inertia time, inertia-reel seat belt, inertial force, inertial frame, inertial fusion, inertial guidance, inertial mass, inertial observer, inertial platform, inertial system, inertial upper stage
Compare celestial guidance, command guidance.

Origin of inertial guidance

First recorded in 1950–55
Also called inertial navigation.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for inertial guidance

inertial guidance

inertial navigation

noun

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 missileCompare celestial guidance, terrestrial guidance
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012