If the center of gravity (CG) is located four inches in front of the center of pressure (CP), what can be said about the rocket’s stability?

When the center of gravity (CG) is positioned in front of the center of pressure (CP), it indicates that the rocket's aerodynamic forces will not act to stabilize it. Stability in rocketry is fundamentally governed by the relative position of the CG and CP. For a rocket to maintain stable flight, the CG must be located ahead of the CP. This configuration allows any disturbances in the rocket's flight path to generate restoring moments that bring the rocket back to its intended trajectory.

In this case, with the CG four inches in front of the CP, the aerodynamic forces acting on the rocket will tend to exacerbate any rotation or deviation from its flight path, leading to increased instability. As a result, the rocket is likely to experience uncontrollable tumbling or deviation during flight, thus affirming that it is unstable.

Other scenarios where the CG is located at or behind the CP could lead to uncertain or stable behavior, depending on various design and environmental factors, which highlights the importance of the correct positioning of the CG relative to the CP for achieving desired flight characteristics.