Week 14: Predicting Apogee

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The math from last week has a direct, practical use: predicting exactly how high a rocket will fly before it ever leaves the pad.

Forces

Solving last week's coast-phase equation for height directly gives us a closed-form apogee prediction — no simulation needed for a quick estimate.

Math

h_apogee = v0² / (2·g)

Worked example (metric): with a burnout velocity of 60 m/s: h = 3600 / 19.62 ≈ 183 m — matching the apogee we found working backward last week.

Safety Note

This is exactly why we predict apogee before launch: many launch sites operate under altitude waivers, and you need to know your predicted apogee stays safely under that ceiling.