Introduction to Space Dynamics

Although this classic introduction to space-flight engineering was first published not long after Sputnik was launched, the fundamental principles it elucidates are as varied today as then. The problems to which these principles are applied have changed, and the widespread use of computers has accelerated problem-solving techniques, but this book is still a valuable basic text for advanced undergraduate and graduate students of aerospace engineering. The first two chapters cover vector algebra and kinematics, including angular velocity vector, tangential and normal components, and the general case of space motion. The third chapter deals with the transformation of coordinates, with sections of Euler's angles, and the transformation of angular velocities. A variety of interesting problems regarding the motion of satellites and other space vehicles is discussed in Chapter 4, which includes the two-body problem, orbital change due to impulsive thrust, long-range ballistic trajectories, and the effect of the Earth's oblateness. The fifth and sixth chapters describe gyrodynamics and the dynamics of gyroscopic instruments, covering such topics as the displacement of a rigid body, precession and nutation of the Earth's polar axis, oscillation of the gyrocompass, and inertial navigation.