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Astrodynamics is the term used to describe the application of Newtonian mechanics to human-made objects in space, such as rockets and spacecraft. It is a subfield of celestial mechanics and ballistics .
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, 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.
The mathematical statement of the three-body problem can be given in terms of the Newtonian equations of motion for vector positions = (,,) of three gravitationally interacting bodies with masses :
In astrodynamics, the vis-viva equation is one of the equations that model the motion of orbiting bodies.It is the direct result of the principle of conservation of mechanical energy which applies when the only force acting on an object is its own weight which is the gravitational force determined by the product of the mass of the object and the strength of the surrounding gravitational field.
In astrodynamics, an orbit equation defines the path of orbiting body around central body relative to , without specifying position as a function of time.Under standard assumptions, a body moving under the influence of a force, directed to a central body, with a magnitude inversely proportional to the square of the distance (such as gravity), has an orbit that is a conic section (i.e. circular ...
Simulated view of an object in an elliptic orbit, as seen from the focus of the orbit.The view rotates with the mean anomaly, so the object appears to oscillate back and forth across this mean position with the equation of the center.
A further simplification is based on the "standard assumptions in astrodynamics", which include that one body, the orbiting body, is much smaller than the other, the central body. This is also often approximately valid. Examples: The Solar System orbiting the center of the Milky Way; A planet orbiting the Sun; A moon orbiting a planet