Walter Ulrich. Astronautics. The Physics of Space Flight

Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2018. — xxvi, 828 p. — ISBN: 978-3-319-74373-8.This introductory text covers all the key concepts, relationships, and ideas behind spaceflight and is the perfect companion for students pursuing courses on or related to astronautics. As a crew member of the STS-55 Space Shuttle mission and a full professor of astronautics at the Technical University of Munich, Ulrich Walter is an acknowledged expert in the field. This book is based on his extensive teaching and work with students, and the text is backed up by numerous examples drawn from his own experience. With its end-of-chapter examples and problems, this work is suitable for graduate level or even undergraduate courses in spaceflight, as well as for professionals working in the space industry. This third edition includes substantial revisions of several sections to extend their coverage. These include both theoretical extensions such as the study of relative motion in near-circular orbits, and more practical matters such as additional details about jet-engine and general rocket performance. New sections address regularized equations of orbital motion and their algebraic solutions and also state vector propagation; two new chapters are devoted to orbit geometry and orbit determination and to thermal radiation physics and modelling.Preface to the Third Edition
Preface to the Second Edition
Preface to the First Edition
Abbreviations
Symbols Used and TerminologyRocket Fundamentals
Rocket Principles
Jet Engine
Rocket Performance
Relativistic Rocket
ProblemsRocket Flight
General Considerations
Rocket in Free Space
Rocket in a Gravitational Field
Delta-v Budget and Fuel Demand
ProblemsRocket Staging
Serial Staging
Serial-Stage Optimization
Analytical Solutions
Parallel Staging
Other Types of Staging
ProblemsThermal Propulsion
Engine Thermodynamics
Ideally Adapted Nozzle
Engine Thrust
Engine Design
ProblemsElectric Propulsion
Overview
Ion Thruster
Electric Propulsion Optimization
ProblemsAtmospheric and Ascent Flight
Earth’s Atmosphere
Hypersonic Flow Theory
Equations of Motion
Ascent Flight
ProblemsOrbits
Fundamental Physics
General Principles of Motion
Motion in a Gravitational Field
Keplerian Orbits
Radial Trajectories
Life in Other Universes?
Stellar Orbits
ProblemsOrbital Maneuvering
One-Impulse Maneuvers
Lambert Transfer
Hohmann Transfer
Other Transfers
Relative Orbits
Orbital Rendezvous
ProblemsInterplanetary Flight
Patched Conics
Departure Orbits
Transfer Orbits
Arrival Orbit
Flyby Maneuvers
Weak Stability Boundary Transfers
ProblemsPlanetary EntryEquations of Motion
Elementary Results
Reentry with Lift
Reflection and Skip Reentry
Lifting Reentry
Space Shuttle Reentry
ProblemsThree-Body Problem
The N-Body Problem
Synchronous 3-Body Orbits
Restricted Three-Body Problem
Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem
Dynamics About Libration Points
ProblemsOrbit Perturbations
Problem Setting
Gravitational Perturbations
Gravitational Perturbation Effects
Resonant Orbits
Solar Radiation Pressure
Celestial Perturbations
Drag
ProblemsReference Frames
Space Frames
Time Frames
ProblemsOrbit Geometry and Determination
Orbit Geometry
Orbit Determination
ProblemsSpacecraft Attitude Dynamics
Fundamentals of Rotation
Attitude Kinematics
Attitude Dynamics Under External Torque
Gravity-Gradient Stabilization
ProblemsThermal Radiation Physics and Modeling
Radiation Properties
Radiation Exchange
Thermal Modeling
ProblemsPlanetary Parameters
Analytical Solution for Uneven Staging
References
Index