Methods in Astrodynamics and Celestial Mechanics

Methods in Astrodynamics and Celestial Mechanics is a collection of technical papers presented at the Astrodynamics Specialist Conference held in Monterey, California, on September 16-17, 1965, under the auspices of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Institute of Navigation. The conference provided a forum for tackling some of the most interesting applications of the methods of celestial mechanics to problems of space engineering. Comprised of 19 chapters, this volume first treats the promising area of motion around equilibrium configurations. Following a discussion on limiting orbits at the equilateral centers of libration, the reader is introduced to the asymptotic expansion technique and its application to trajectories. Asymptotic representations for solutions to the differential equations of satellite theory are considered. The last two sections deal with orbit determination and mission analysis and optimization in astrodynamics. Error equations of inertial navigation as applied to orbital determination and guidance are evaluated, along with parameter hunting procedures and nonlinear optimal control problems with control appearing linearly .This book will be useful to practitioners in the fields of aeronautics, astronautics, and astrophysics.