Orbital Mechanics for Engineering Students

by Howard Curtis

Orbital Mechanics for Engineering Students, Second Edition , provides an introduction to the basic concepts of space mechanics. These include vector kinematics in three dimensions; Newton’s laws of motion and gravitation; relative motion; the vector-based solution of the classical two-body problem; derivation of Kepler’s equations; orbits in three dimensions; preliminary orbit determination; and orbital maneuvers. The book also covers relative motion and the two-impulse rendezvous problem; interplanetary mission design using patched conics; rigid-body dynamics used to characterize the attitude of a space vehicle; satellite attitude dynamics; and the characteristics and design of multi-stage launch vehicles. Each chapter begins with an outline of key concepts and concludes with problems that are based on the material covered. This text is written for undergraduates who are studying orbital mechanics for the first time and have completed courses in physics, dynamics, and mathematics, including differential equations and applied linear algebra. Graduate students, researchers, and experienced practitioners will also find useful review materials in the book.

Genres: Physics, Textbooks, Engineering, Space, Science, College

744 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2004

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with many textbooks I didn't read to the end. I was reading this for a possible job, but I didn't get it so no sense in continuing for now. It'll always be a good reference on my shelf. I got through Ch 5 out of 11 and found it pretty informative and useful. It didn't get 5 stars because I did notice some mistakes in the sample problems, but you should be able to work through them.

[Micah Rasmussen · Rating 5 out of 5]

(722 pages)

I'm only up to chapter 4 as of today, however, this textbook is one of the best that I have ever studied. Everything is put together very well and the calculations progress in a wonderful workflow. This book should really only be used by the undergrad engineering students (or computer science such as myself) or by others in grad school as only a reference, however, practitioners and researches use this book as well. This book is great for computer science majors because all of the more labor-intensive computational procedures are implemented in MATLAB code. Before picking up this book you should have completed courses in physics, dynamics & mathematics through differential equations and applied linear algebra.
Here is what each chapter contains so you get the idea of what's inside the cover.
Ch.1 Dynamics of point masses
CH.2 The two-body problem
Ch.3 Orbital position as a function of time (orbits, trajectories, & . universal variables)
Ch.4 Orbits in three dimensions
Ch.5 Preliminary orbit determination
Ch.6 Orbital maneuvers
Ch.7 Relative motion and rendezvous
Ch.8 Interplanetary trajectories
Ch.9 Rigid-body dynamics
Ch.10 Satellite altitude dynamics
Ch.11 Rocket vehicle dynamics
Appendix A - Physical data
Appendix B - A road map
Appendix C - Numerical integration of the n-body equations of motion
Appendix D - MATLAB algorithms (Computer Science!!!)
Appendix E - Gravitational potential energy of a sphere

This is a truly intriguing book..

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book for academia. Curtis clearly explains the principles in an easy to understand manner. I read it cover-to-cover as an undergrad and find myself referencing it quite often. I found this book a joy to read.