Celestial Mechanics and Astrodynamics: Theory and Practice

Dr. Pini Gurfil is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology. Prof. Gurfil has been conducting research in astrodynamics, distributed space systems, trajectory optimization, vision-aided navigation and tracking, and multi-agent systems. Dr. Seidelmann is Research Professor at the University of Virginia, President of the Celestial Mechanics Institute and past chairman of the IAU/IAG Working Group on Cartographic Coordinates and Rotational Elements. His recent work has focused on space astrometry missions, reference systems, space surveillance.

“I found it to be very readable and an interesting introduction to the field of astrodynamics. I think it succeeds in its intention to emphasize the similarities between celestial mechanics and astrodynamics as well as the problems involved in dealing with real data. It is well-illustrated and is supported by good reference material. … the authors are to be congratulated on generating an excellent text-book which should find its place on any astronomer’s bookshelf.” (Steve Bell, The Observatory, Vol. 137, August, 2017)“This book combines the two disciplines in the aerospace community. … The strength of the book lies in its comprehensive illustrations of mathematics, figures and modern developments. … this book can serve as a good guide to exploring the numerical work in astrodynamics.” (Chih-Yueh Wang, Contemporary Physics, Vol. 58 (3), July, 2017)

• Introduction.- Vectors.- Reference Systems and Relativity.- Central Force Motion.- The Two-Body Problem.- Orbit Determination.- The n-Body Problem.- The Restricted Three-Body Problem.- Numerical Procedures.- Canonical Equations.- General Perturbations Theory.- Motion Around Oblate Planets.- Semianalytical Orbit Theory.- Satellite Orbit Control.- Optimal Impulsive Orbit Transfers.- Orbit Data Processing.- Space Debris.- People, Progress, Prospects.