This paper examines the attitude motion of a cylindrical body with mas
s loss. It is found that mass variation can have a substantial influen
ce on the behavior of such a system Specifically, The initial dimensio
ns as well as the manner in which mass loss affects system inertia are
found to be key factors in the determination of the characteristics o
f the lateral motion of the system In great contrast to the attitude b
ehavior of spinning rigid bodies, oblate variable mass cylinders exhib
it divergent transverse attitude motion, while the transverse motion o
f prolate variable mass cylinders is found to be bounded in general.