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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. The motion of these objects is usually calculated from Newton's laws of motion and the law of universal gravitation .
Final v s, θ s and r must match the requirements of the target orbit as determined by orbital mechanics (see Orbital flight, above), where final v s is usually the required periapsis (or circular) velocity, and final θ s is 90 degrees. A powered descent analysis would use the same procedure, with reverse boundary conditions.
Orbital Mechanics for Engineering Students is an aerospace engineering textbook by Howard D. Curtis, in its fourth edition as of 2019. [1] The book provides an introduction to orbital mechanics , while assuming an undergraduate-level background in physics, rigid body dynamics , differential equations , and linear algebra .
In 2018, Li and Liao reported 234 solutions to the unequal-mass "free-fall" three-body problem. [22] The free-fall formulation starts with all three bodies at rest. Because of this, the masses in a free-fall configuration do not orbit in a closed "loop", but travel forward and backward along an open "track".
In orbital mechanics, the Hohmann transfer orbit is an elliptical orbit used to transfer between two circular orbits of different altitudes, in the same plane. The orbital maneuver to perform the Hohmann transfer uses two engine impulses which move a spacecraft onto and off the transfer orbit.
Newton's theorem simplifies orbital problems in classical mechanics by eliminating inverse-cube forces from consideration. The radial and angular motions, r ( t ) and θ 1 ( t ), can be calculated without the inverse-cube force; afterwards, its effect can be calculated by multiplying the angular speed of the particle
Sketch of a circumlunar free return trajectory (not to scale), plotted on the rotating reference frame rotating with the moon. (Moon's motion only shown for clarity) In orbital mechanics, a free-return trajectory is a trajectory of a spacecraft traveling away from a primary body (for example, the Earth) where gravity due to a secondary body (for example, the Moon) causes the spacecraft to ...
Orbital mechanics is a core discipline within space-mission design and control. Celestial mechanics treats more broadly the orbital dynamics of systems under the influence of gravity , including both spacecraft and natural astronomical bodies such as star systems , planets , moons , and comets .