Relativistic Rocket - Relativistic Rocket Equation

Relativistic Rocket Equation

As with the classical rocket equation, one wants to calculate the velocity change that a rocket can achieve depending on the specific impulse and the mass ratio, i. e. the ratio of starting mass and mass at the end of the acceleration phase (dry mass) . Subsequently specific impulse means the momentum produced by the exhaust of a small amount of rocket fuel divided by the mass of that small amount of rocket fuel, in an inertial reference frame where the rocket is at rest before using that small amount of fuel. Thus specific impulse is a velocity, as opposed to the common usage of the word as the ratio of momentum and weight (weight would not make much sense in this context).