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Roger A. Broucke (March 25, 1932 – June 21, 2005) was an aerospace engineer known for his solutions to the three-body problem. After working on practical orbital mechanics at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory , he became a professor at the University of Texas at Austin .
Orbital mechanics or astrodynamics is the application of ballistics and celestial mechanics to the practical 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 .
In astrodynamics a gravity assist maneuver, gravitational slingshot or swing-by is the use of the relative movement and gravity of a planet or other celestial body to alter the trajectory of a spacecraft, typically in order to save propellant, time, and expense.
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 general, eight parameters are necessary to unambiguously define an arbitrary and unperturbed orbit. This is because the problem contains eight degrees of freedom.These correspond to the three spatial dimensions which define position (x, y, z in a Cartesian coordinate system), the velocity in each of these dimensions, the magnitude of acceleration (only magnitude is needed, as the direction ...
In astrodynamics, the inclination can be computed from the orbital momentum vector (or any vector perpendicular to the orbital plane) as = | | where is the z-component of . Mutual inclination of two orbits may be calculated from their inclinations to another plane using cosine rule for angles .
In astrodynamics, the characteristic energy is a measure of the excess specific energy over that required to just barely escape from a massive body. The units are length 2 time −2, i.e. velocity squared, or energy per mass.
Its research program emphasizes astrodynamics, satellite meteorology, oceanography, geodesy, and terrestrial vegetation studies. CCAR was founded by professor George Born who served as Director for 28 years and Director Emeritus until his death in 2016.