Astrodynamics

Catalog description

Applications of classical celestial mechanics to space flight planning. Determination and construction of orbital parameters by approximation methods. Perturbation techniques. AERSP 550 Astrodynamics (3) This course covers the mathematics and practices in orbital mechanics as applied to space mission analysis, design and operation. The major topics are: the n-body problem, the two-body problem, Keplerian orbits, the Kepler problem (position as a function of time), three-dimensional specifications of Keplerian orbits (orbital elements), Lambert's problem (determining the trajectory between two specified points with a given time of flight), impulsive transfers, the Hohmann transfer and its extension to other problems, the sphere of influence, the patched-conic approximation, the restricted three-body problem, linear orbit theory (relative motion between vehicles in neighboring orbits), gravitational modeling, perturbation methods (Encke's method and variation of elements), orbit determination, tracking kinematics, and time systems.