zero-lengthhttp://www.oed.com/dictionary/zero-length_adj%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_usezero-length, adj.
Revised 2018

zero-lengthadjective

Aeronautics (now chiefly historical).
  1. 1945–
    Of or relating to a launching system in which aircraft or missiles are launched from a mobile platform, without travelling along it for any significant distance, using rocket boosters as a source of thrust; (also) designating such a launch or launcher, or the (short) fittings supporting the rocket boosters.
    In a zero-length launching system the very first motion of the aircraft or missile causes it to disconnect from the launcher. In later use also used to contrast launches from mobile platforms with those requiring a runway.
    1. 1945
      Lighter, more streamlined rails were used as aircraft launchers... The ‘zero length’ rail was developed consisting of only a front and rear streamlined stud or part which supported the rocket beneath the wing and supported it for only a fraction of an inch of its initial travel.
      Military Review November 24/2
    2. 1954
      A later G.A.P.A. [sc. ground-to-air pilotless aircraft] rocket being adjusted on a ‘zero-length’ launcher.
      K. W. Gatland, Development of Guided Missile (ed. 2) iii. 79 (caption)
    3. 1960
      One of the primary advantages of the zero-length launching technique is that the aircraft requires no guidance during launching.
      U.S. Patent 2,922,602 1
    4. 2004
      In zero-length launch of aircraft, the jet engine is used with a rocket motor to accelerate the aircraft to flying speed in a brief interval of time.
      U.S. Patent 6,695,251 B2 1

Originally published as part of the entry for zero, n. & adj.

zero, n. & adj. was revised in June 2018.