Conversation

Watching a rocket launch made me really curious how rockets are stabilized. they're like a pencil balanced on its eraser with fire under it. why doesn't the tiniest fluctuation in air currents cause it to tip away from vertical, faster and faster until it's rocketing sideways?

Found a good explainer:
https://www.nar.org/nar-products/rocket-stability/

it turns out the answer is "put the center of gravity ahead of the center of pressure", that way the influence of air currents is a stabilizing negative feedback loop.