Rotation Tensor

Actually, we are not quite finished with geometry. In Sec. 2.11 emphasized the importance of referencing points and frames to other points and frames. With the displacement vector % we model the displacement of point В wrt point A. For frames we shall ascertain that the rotation tensor JtIM references the orientation of the frame В wrt the frame A.

As we study the properties of the rotation tensor, we establish the connec­tion with coordinate transformations. Special rotations will give us more insight into the structure of the rotation tensor, and particularly, the small rotation ten­sor proves useful in perturbations like the inertial navigation system (INS) error model. Finally, a special rotation tensor, the tetragonal tensor, models the tetra­gonal symmetry of missiles, a feature we exploit in Sec. 7.3.1 for aerodynamic derivatives.