"Orbital Mechanics for Dummies"

In article ,
Steve Mazerski wrote:
...What I am looking for now is a
basic but solid introduction into orbital / space flight
mechanics, e.g. how to calculate what energy is needed
to take an object from point A to point B, what is a delta V etc.
Can anyone recommend introductory books on the subject?

At the moment, I'm not aware of a gentle "For Dummies" introduction that
proceeds far enough to give you a useful technical grounding, alas.

The best introductory text I've seen is Prussing&Conway's "Orbital
Mechanics", but it is a university text, so it may be slow going for an
absolute beginner or someone short on math background.

If you have a good library on hand, you might look for Max Hunter's
"Thrust Into Space", but it is loooooong out of print (and essentially
impossible to find on the used market).

(And one unrecommendation: Bate/Mueller/White's "Fundamentals of
Astrodynamics" is popular but in my opinion not very good. Its sole
virtue is that it's cheap. Might be worth experimenting with if P&C
proves unsatisfactory.)
--
MOST launched 1015 EDT 30 June, separated 1046, | Henry Spencer
first ground-station pass 1651, all nominal! |

Steve Mazerski wrote:

Can anyone recommend introductory books on the subject?
I am imagining something along the lines of a none-existent
"Orbital Mechanics for Dummies".

Certainly:

Lee, Wayne: To Rise from Earth: An Easy-To-Understand Guide to Space Flight
http://tinyurl.com/lxxo

(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...1062501195/sr=
1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-5726593-8558540?v=glance&s=books)

I think it's a great book!

From amazon.com:

"To Rise From Earth is a good introduction to the science of space flight. A
combination of history and science, this well illustrated book explains the
basic science of space flight, orbital mechanics and flying to other planets
at a level that should be understandable by a high school student.

The book is profusely illustrated, and full of marginal comments -
Historical facts, Scientific facts, Rules of thumb - which make it very
dippable. True to its intent, it explains the pricipals of space flight
clearly, without using a single equation.

As well as the theory, the book also gives a history of space flight, from
the first experiments with rockects by Goddard and von Braun, through the
American manned space programs (Mercury, Gemini, Apollo), with a large
chapter devoted to the Space Shuttle. A review of unmanned planetary probes
is also given, along with a final chapter on future exploration of Mars.

Throughout the book focuses on the American space program. One of its
shortcomings is that the Russian space program is almost completely ignored.
Also some of the Scientific and Historical facts given are wrong.

Overall, a very simple, readable and useful reference."

--
Steen Eiler Jørgensen
"No, I don't think I'll ever get over Macho Grande.
Those wounds run...pretty deep."

I HIGHLY recommend "Understanding Space: An Introduction to
Astronautics"
by Jerry Jon Sellers. This book is very readable and gives an
introductory but very detailed explanation of all aspects of
spaceflight including propulsion, spacecraft systems,
guidance/navigation, and a very detailed explanation of orbital
mechanics. Some of the orbital material covered include the
calculation of the six classical orbital elements from two observation
vectors, patched conic section flight paths for planetary missions,
and re-entry calculations using ballistic coefficients. The math used
is at an advanced high school or college freshman level (very little,
if any, calculus, lots of vector and matrix math clearly explained in
the appendix). To get the most out of this book, you MUST work the
chapter exercises. I had to because this was a textbook used for my
Masters in Space Systems Operations Management ;^)

It's a little pricey at around $70 but it is 110% worth it if you want
a solid introduction to real spaceflight. This book will definitely
separate you as a real layman rocket scientist from the techno-peasant
astronaut wannabes.

An alternate less expensive orbital book is the classic (and somewhat
dated) "Fundamentals of Astrodynamics" by Roger Bate, Donald Mueller,
and Jerry White.

Good luck with your studies!

Martin

Can anyone recommend introductory
books on the subject?

The book "To Rise from Earth: An Easy to Understand
Guide to Space Flight" by Wayne Lee (a mission planner
at NASA) could serve as a good introduction. Very easy
to read and nicely illustrated.

Chapter 2 is "Above the Clouds: Orbital Mechanics
Without Math", and Chapter 3 is "Dancing in the Dark:
How to Perform Space Maneuvers."

Amazon.com carries the book, and your local library might
even have a copy.

James



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OSPAM (JamesStep) wrote in message ...
Can anyone recommend introductory
books on the subject?

Here is a good start:

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/basics/index.html

(Steve Mazerski) writes:

until recently I was of the vague impression that gravity diminishes
very quickly in space which is why occupants of orbiting vehicles
appeared weightless...

Gravity does not "diminish very quickly in space;" as Newton showed,
it obeys an inverse square law. Hence, at twice the Earth's raius,
the gravitational acceleration toward the Earth is still 1/4th gee,
at three earth radii, it is still 1/9th gee, etc. --- and the gravitational
accleration at the altitude of low earth orbit is so close to 1 gee as to
make no practical difference.

Astronauts _appear_ "weightless" because they are MOVING AT ORBITAL VELOCITY,
just like their spacecraft, and both they and they spacecraft have the _same_
acceleration toward the Earth. Since they are BOTH accelerating at the SAME
RATE in the SAME DIRECTION, their _RELATIVE_ acceleration is _ZERO_, and they
=APPEAR= to "float" _RELATIVE_ in the spacecraft cabin. However, in reality,
+BOTH= they and their spacecraft are falling toward the Earth at a about a gee.

For the same reason If you were in an elevator and the cable broke, both
the elevator =AND= you would fall toward the Earth at the local value of
the gravitational acceleration, and you would _FEEL_ "weightless."
This is =NOT= because gravity has "gone away," but because in a gravitational
field, =EVERYTHING= falls with _EXACTLY THE SAME ACCELERATION_.


-- Gordon D. Pusch

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