Orbital Mechanics for Engineering Students

by Howard D. Curtis

Orbital mechanics is a cornerstone subject for aerospace engineering students. However, with its basis in classical physics and mechanics, it can be a difficult and weighty subject. Howard Curtis - Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Embry-Riddle University, the US's #1 rated undergraduate aerospace school - focuses on what students at undergraduate and taught masters level really need to know in this hugely valuable text. Fully supported by the analytical features and computer based tools required by today's students, it brings a fresh, modern, accessible approach to teaching and learning orbital mechanics. A truly essential new resource.


A complete, stand-alone text for this core aerospace engineering subject
Richly-detailed, up-to-date curriculum coverage; clearly and logically developed to meet the needs of students
Highly illustrated and fully supported with downloadable MATLAB algorithms for project and practical work; with fully worked examples throughout, Q&A material, and extensive homework exercises.

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

696 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.