Astrodynamics

Astrodynamics

Preface

This book is going to serve as an introduction to the field of astrodynamics, especially from a practical, engineering perspective. We will focus our attention on man-made satellites, and the dynamics of orbiting such satellites around the earth, the moon, and other "local" objects. We will look at practical applications, such as earth-orbits, lunar and inter-planetary trajectories, ballistic missles, and interstellar escape trajectories.

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Table of Contents

• Introduction
• History

Section 1: Introduction

• Fundamental Laws
• The Earth
• Time
• Coordinate Systems

Section 2: Basic Orbits

• N-Body Problem
• Motion Constants
• Orbit Basics
• Classical Orbit Elements
• Orbit Determination

Section 3: Satellite Position and Velocity

• Satellite Ground-Track
• Time of Flight
• The Kepler Problem
• The Gauss Problem

Section 4: Perturbations

• Perturbations
• Cowell's Method
• Encke's Method
• Parameter Variations
• Analytic Formulation

Section 4: Orbital Manuvers

• In-Plane Orbit Changes
• Out-of-Plane Orbit Changes

Section 5: Specific Trajectories

• Ballistic Trajectories
• Lunar Trajectories
• Interplanetary Trajectories

Further Reading

• R. Bate, D. Mueller, J. White, "Fundamentals of Astrodynamics", Dover Publications, New York, 1971. ISBN 0486600610
• An Introduction to the Mathematics and Methods of Astrodynamics, Richard H. Battin, AIAA Education Series, 1999. ISBN: 1563473429
• Modern Physics (Gravity)
• Calculus

See also

• Astronomy
• Classical Mechanics
• Conic Sections