Missile, slot thrust attitude controller system, and method

A missile, comprising:

• a missile body having a nose section, a forward section, an aft section and a tail section;
• a computing device configured to control steering of the missile body in air;
• and
• a missile segment having a hollow body having an external surface conforming to an external surface of a portion of the missile body, the missile segment comprising:
• a plurality of slot thrust motor (STM) cavities arranged in the hollow body and each STM cavity:
• being elongated in a first direction relative to a longitudinal axis of the missile body;
• having a chamfered opening at one end of the STM cavity coincident with the external surface of the hollow body, the chamfered opening configured to expel a stream of a gas in a gas-flow direction which is at least one of perpendicular to and offset from the longitudinal axis;
• having a first elongated section having a first diameter, a second diameter, and first depth configured to house therein a predetermined quantity of an energetic reactant composition (ERC);
• having a first elongated section having a first diameter, a second diameter and first depth configured to house therein a predetermined quantity of an energetic reactant composition (ERC) wherein a length of the first diameter is at least twice a length of the second diameter;
• and
• having a second section adjacent to the first section, the second section having a second depth and a continuously increasing diameter to form an elongated diverging nozzle in the chamfered opening, the elongated diverging nozzle configured to:
• flare the stream of the gas communicated from the first elongated section, in response to detonation of the ERC;
• and
• expel therefrom the flared stream of the gas wherein the elongated diverging nozzle being elongated in the first direction relative to the longitudinal axis of the missile body.

A method, comprising:

• determining, by at least one processor, an amount of steering force needed to cause a certain amount of missile body translation along at least one of section of a missile body;
• determining, by the at least one processor, a group of selected slot thrust motors (STMs) of a plurality of STMs needed to produce the steering force based on an amount of an energetic reactant composition (ERC) of each STM, the group of selected STMs being in an area and a cavity of said each STM having a chamfered opening;
• igniting, simultaneously, the group of selected STMs, to detonate the ERC;
• and
• expelling a stream of gas through the chamfered opening, in response to the detonation of the ERC of the group of selected STMs, in a gas-flow direction to effectuate the amount of the steering force in a force direction which is at least one of opposite and offset from the gas-flow direction, the steering force configured to change one or more of six degrees of freedom at a location on the missile body relative to the group of selected STMs.