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Orbital mechanics or astrodynamics is the application of ballistics and celestial mechanics to the practical problems concerning the motion of rockets, satellites, and other spacecraft.
A rocket's required mass ratio as a function of effective exhaust velocity ratio. The classical rocket equation, or ideal rocket equation is a mathematical equation that describes the motion of vehicles that follow the basic principle of a rocket: a device that can apply acceleration to itself using thrust by expelling part of its mass with high velocity and can thereby move due to the ...
The boost phase is the portion of the flight of a ballistic missile or space vehicle during which the booster and sustainer engines operate until it reaches peak velocity. . This phase can take 3 to 4 minutes for a solid rocket (shorter for a liquid-propellant rocket), the altitude at the end of this phase is 150–200 km, and the typical burn-out speed is 7 k
A typical translunar trajectory. Vehicles sent on lunar or planetary missions are generally not launched by direct injection to departure trajectory, but first put into a low Earth parking orbit; this allows the flexibility of a bigger launch window and more time for checking that the vehicle is in proper condition for the flight.
The trajectory then generalizes (without air resistance) from a parabola to a Kepler-ellipse with one focus at the center of the Earth (shown in fig. 3). The projectile motion then follows Kepler's laws of planetary motion. The trajectory's parameters have to be adapted from the values of a uniform gravity field stated above.
A trajectory or flight path is the path that an object with mass in motion follows through space as a function of time. In classical mechanics, a trajectory is defined by Hamiltonian mechanics via canonical coordinates; hence, a complete trajectory is defined by position and momentum, simultaneously. The mass might be a projectile or a ...
Rocket-assisted projectiles employ a small rocket motor that ignites upon muzzle exit providing additional thrust to overcome aerodynamic drag. Rocket assist is most effective with subsonic artillery projectiles. For supersonic long range artillery, where base drag dominates, base bleed is employed. Base bleed is a form of a gas generator that ...
Precise trajectory calculations require taking into account small forces like atmospheric drag, radiation pressure, and solar wind. A rocket under continuous or intermittent thrust (or an object climbing a space elevator) can attain escape at any non-zero speed, but the minimum amount of energy required to do so is always the same.