Introduction to Orbital Mechanics

Catalog description

CORE COURSE: What is an orbit? How does a spacecraft fly to the Moon or Mars? What does NORAD use to track all of the satellites currently in orbit around Earth? How does a spacecraft move from one orbit to another? These questions and more are answered in this course. From Kepler and Newton to the modern telecommunications, navigation, and remote sensing spacecraft, knowledge of orbital mechanics is essential for the modern Space Manager to be able to plan future space missions and to converse with orbital analysts that perform the day-to-day calculations determining IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THAT YOU HAVE PREVIOUSLY COMPLETED COLLEGE ALGEBRA BEFORE TAKING THIS COURSE. (Prerequisites: SPST500 and SPST501)