Abstract
The vibration characteristics of a nonuniform, flexible and free-flying slender rocket experiencing constant thrust is investigated. The rocket is idealized as a classic nonuniform beam with a constant one-dimensional follower force and with free-free boundary conditions. The equations of motion are derived by applying the extended Hamilton’s principle for non-conservative systems. Natural frequencies and associated mode shapes of the rocket are determined using the relatively efficient and accurate Adomian modified decomposition method (AMDM) with the solutions obtained by solving a set of algebraic equations with only three unknown parameters. The method can easily be extended to obtain approximate solutions to vibration problems for any type of nonuniform beam.