Astrodynamics, Space Missions, and Chaos

Astrodynamics, Space Missions, and Chaos PDF Author: Edward Belbruno
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 496

Book Description
The subject of astrodynamics is of particular interest at this critical juncture for space projects in the wake of the Columbia disaster. This volume, based on a conference sponsored by NASA and Princeton University, comprises papers on the applications of chaos and dynamical systems (including considerations of asteroid pairs, near-Earth objects, and asteroidal dust); formation flying; optimization, guidance, and control systems; mission design; orbit dynamics; and propulsion, including material on NASA's major intiative, Project Prometheus. The volume is also of value to mathematicians for its discussion of chaos-related issues; to astronomers, astrodynamicists, and planetary geologists for its blueprint for the methodology of future space exploration; and to engineers for its discussion of innovations in space propulsion systems. It is also a must-read for commercial, economic, and military policymakers.

Astrodynamics, Space Missions, and Chaos

Astrodynamics, Space Missions, and Chaos PDF Author: Edward Belbruno
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 498

Book Description
The subject of astrodynamics is of particular interest at this critical juncture for space projects in the wake of the Columbia disaster. This volume, based on a conference sponsored by NASA and Princeton University, comprises papers on the applications of chaos and dynamical systems (including considerations of asteroid pairs, near-Earth objects, and asteroidal dust); formation flying; optimization, guidance, and control systems; mission design; orbit dynamics; and propulsion, including material on NASA's major intiative, Project Prometheus. The volume is also of value to mathematicians for its discussion of chaos-related issues; to astronomers, astrodynamicists, and planetary geologists for its blueprint for the methodology of future space exploration; and to engineers for its discussion of innovations in space propulsion systems. It is also a must-read for commercial, economic, and military policymakers.

Continuing Kepler's Quest

Continuing Kepler's Quest PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309261457
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 82

Book Description
In February 2009, the commercial communications satellite Iridium 33 collided with the Russian military communications satellite Cosmos 2251. The collision, which was not the first recorded between two satellites in orbit-but the most recent and alarming-produced thousands of pieces of debris, only a small percentage of which could be tracked by sensors located around the world. In early 2007, China tested a kinetic anti-satellite weapon against one of its own satellites, which also generated substantial amounts of space debris. These collisions highlighted the importance of maintaining accurate knowledge, and the associated uncertainty, of the orbit of each object in space. These data are needed to predict close approaches of space objects and to compute the probability of collision so that owners/operators can decide whether or not to make a collision avoidance maneuver by a spacecraft with such capability. The space object catalog currently contains more than 20,000 objects, and when the planned space fence radar becomes operational this number is expected to exceed 100,000. A key task is to determine if objects might come closer to each other, an event known as "conjunction," and the probability that they might collide. The U.S. Air Force is the primary U.S. government organization tasked with maintaining the space object catalog and data on all space objects. This is a complicated task, involving collecting data from a multitude of different sensors-many of which were not specifically designed to track orbiting objects-and fusing the tracking data along with other data, such as data from atmospheric models, to provide predictions of where objects will be in the future. The Committee for the Assessment of the U.S. Air Force's Astrodynamic Standards collected data and heard from numerous people involved in developing and maintaining the current astrodynamics standards for the Air Force Space Command (AFSPC), as well as representatives of the user community, such as NASA and commercial satellite owners and operators. Preventing collisions of space objects, regardless of their ownership, is in the national security interested of the United States. Continuing Kepler's Quest makes recommendations to the AFSPC in order for it to create and expand research programs, design and develop hardware and software, as well as determine which organizations to work with to achieve its goals.

Modern Astrodynamics

Modern Astrodynamics PDF Author:
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080464912
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 307

Book Description
In recent years, an unprecedented interest in novel and revolutionary space missions has risen out of the advanced NASA and ESA programs. Astrophysicists, astronomers, space systems engineers, mathematicians and scientists have been cooperating to implement novel and ground-breaking space missions. Recent progress in mathematical dynamics has enabled development of specialised spacecraft orbits and propulsion systems. Recently, the concept of flying spacecraft in formation has gained a lot of interest within the community. These progresses constitute the background to a significant renaissance of research dealing with astrodynamics and its applications. Modern Astrodynamics is designed as a stepping stone for the exposition of modern astrodynamics to students, researchers, engineers and scientists. This volume will present the main constituents of the astrodynamical science in an elaborate, comprehensive and rigorous manner. Although the volume will contain a few distinct chapters, it will render a coherent portrayal of astrodynamics. Encompasses the main constituents of the astrodynamical sciences in an elaborate, comprehensive and rigorous manner Presents recent astrodynamical advances and describes the challenges ahead The first volume of a series designed to give scientists and engineers worldwide an opportunity to publish their works in this multi-disciplinary field

Fly Me to the Moon

Fly Me to the Moon PDF Author: Edward Belbruno
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400849195
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 172

Book Description
When a leaf falls on a windy day, it drifts and tumbles, tossed every which way on the breeze. This is chaos in action. In Fly Me to the Moon, Edward Belbruno shows how to harness the same principle for low-fuel space travel--or, as he puts it, "surfing the gravitational field." Belbruno devised one of the most exciting concepts now being used in space flight, that of swinging through the cosmos on the subtle fluctuations of the planets' gravitational pulls. His idea was met with skepticism until 1991, when he used it to get a stray Japanese satellite back on course to the Moon. The successful rescue represented the first application of chaos to space travel and ushered in an emerging new field. Part memoir, part scientific adventure story, Fly Me to the Moon gives a gripping insider's account of that mission and of Belbruno's personal struggles with the science establishment. Along the way, Belbruno introduces readers to recent breathtaking advances in American space exploration. He discusses ways to capture and redirect asteroids; presents new research on the origin of the Moon; weighs in on discoveries like 2003 UB313 (now named Eris), a dwarf planet detected in the far outer reaches of our solar system--and much more. Grounded in Belbruno's own rigorous theoretical research but written for a general audience, Fly Me to the Moon is for anybody who has ever felt moved by the spirit of discovery.

Dynamical Systems

Dynamical Systems PDF Author: Wang Sang Koon
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9780387495156
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Book Description
This book considers global solutions to the restricted three-body problem from a geometric point of view. The authors seek dynamical channels in the phase space which wind around the planets and moons and naturally connect them. These low energy passageways could slash the amount of fuel spacecraft need to explore and develop our solar system. In order to effectively exploit these passageways, the book addresses the global transport. It goes beyond the traditional scope of libration point mission design, developing tools for the design of trajectories which take full advantage of natural three or more body dynamics, thereby saving precious fuel and gaining flexibility in mission planning. This is the key for the development of some NASA mission trajectories, such as low energy libration point orbit missions (e.g., the sample return Genesis Discovery Mission), low energy lunar missions and low energy tours of outer planet moon systems, such as a mission to tour and explore in detail the icy moons of Jupiter. This book can serve as a valuable resource for graduate students and advanced undergraduates in applied mathematics and aerospace engineering, as well as a manual for practitioners who work on libration point and deep space missions in industry and at government laboratories. the authors include a wealth of background material, but also bring the reader up to a portion of the research frontier.

Robotic Exploration of the Solar System

Robotic Exploration of the Solar System PDF Author: Paolo Ulivi
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 0387096272
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 541

Book Description
Paolo Ulivi and David Harland provide in Robotic Exploration of the Solar System a detailed history of unmanned missions of exploration of our Solar System. The subject is treated from an engineering and scientific standpoint. Technical descriptions of the spacecraft, of their mission designs and of instrumentations are provided. Scientific results are discussed in considerable depth, together with details of mission management. The project will deliver four volumes totaling over 2,000 pages that will provide comprehensive coverage of the topic with thousands of references to the professional literature that should make it the 'first port of call' for people seeking information on the topic. The books will cover missions from the 1950s until the present day, and some of the latest missions and their results will appear in a popular science book for the first time.

Celestial Mechanics and Astrodynamics: Theory and Practice

Celestial Mechanics and Astrodynamics: Theory and Practice PDF Author: Pini Gurfil
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3662503700
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 553

Book Description
This volume is designed as an introductory text and reference book for graduate students, researchers and practitioners in the fields of astronomy, astrodynamics, satellite systems, space sciences and astrophysics. The purpose of the book is to emphasize the similarities between celestial mechanics and astrodynamics, and to present recent advances in these two fields so that the reader can understand the inter-relations and mutual influences. The juxtaposition of celestial mechanics and astrodynamics is a unique approach that is expected to be a refreshing attempt to discuss both the mechanics of space flight and the dynamics of celestial objects. “Celestial Mechanics and Astrodynamics: Theory and Practice” also presents the main challenges and future prospects for the two fields in an elaborate, comprehensive and rigorous manner. The book presents homogenous and fluent discussions of the key problems, rendering a portrayal of recent advances in the field together with some basic concepts and essential infrastructure in orbital mechanics. The text contains introductory material followed by a gradual development of ideas interweaved to yield a coherent presentation of advanced topics.

Low Energy Flight: Orbital Dynamics and Mission Trajectory Design

Low Energy Flight: Orbital Dynamics and Mission Trajectory Design PDF Author: Jianping Yuan
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9811361304
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 209

Book Description
The book focuses on the orbital dynamics and mission trajectory (transfer or target trajectory) design of low-energy flight in the context of modern astrodynamics. It investigates various topics that either offer new methods for solving classical problems or address emerging problems that have yet to be studied, including low-thrust transfer trajectory design using the virtual gravity field method; transfer in the three-body system using invariant manifolds; formation flying under space-borne artificial magnetic fields; and the orbital dynamics of highly irregular asteroids. It also features an extensive study of the orbital dynamics in the vicinity of contact binary asteroids, including the 1:1 ground-track resonance, the equilibrium points and their stability, and the third-order analytical solution of orbital motion in the vicinity of the non-collinear equilibrium point. Given its breadth of coverage, the book offers a valuable reference guide for all engineers and researchers interested in the potential applications of low-energy space missions.

Spacecraft Trajectory Optimization

Spacecraft Trajectory Optimization PDF Author: Bruce A. Conway
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 113949077X
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 313

Book Description
This is a long-overdue volume dedicated to space trajectory optimization. Interest in the subject has grown, as space missions of increasing levels of sophistication, complexity, and scientific return - hardly imaginable in the 1960s - have been designed and flown. Although the basic tools of optimization theory remain an accepted canon, there has been a revolution in the manner in which they are applied and in the development of numerical optimization. This volume purposely includes a variety of both analytical and numerical approaches to trajectory optimization. The choice of authors has been guided by the editor's intention to assemble the most expert and active researchers in the various specialities presented. The authors were given considerable freedom to choose their subjects, and although this may yield a somewhat eclectic volume, it also yields chapters written with palpable enthusiasm and relevance to contemporary problems.