Advanced Space Mechanics

Catalog description

Restricted 3-body problem. Relative motion, Hill's and Clohessy-Wiltshire equations. Lambert's problem. Satellite constellations and optimization. Communications and link budgets. Space debris. High fidelity simulation. Interplanetary mission planning, launch windows and gravity assists. Basic trajectory optimization. Several guest lectures from practitioners in the field. Individual final project chosen in consultation with instructor. Prerequisites: 279A or equivalent with permission of instructor. Fluency with MATLAB (or another mathematical programming language with 2D and 3D plotting capabilities).