Spacecraft Dynamics

This course serves as an introduction to orbital mechanics, and spacecraft dynamics and control.

TEXT: “Spacecraft Attitude Determination and Control,” ed. James R. Wertz.

SUPPLEMENT: “Fundamentals of Astrodynamics,” by R.R. Bate, D.D. Mueller, and J.E. White, Dover Publications, New York, NY, 1971.

• Overview
  • Spacecraft Systems
  • Orbit Determination
  • Attitude Determination
  • Spacecraft Control
• Orbit Determination
  • Kepler’s Equation
  • Newton’s Equation
  • Orbit Propagation
• Attitude Determination
  • Attitude Parameterizations
  • Kinematic Equations
  • Attitude Sensors
  • Deterministic Attitude Determination
  • Kalman Filtering
• Attitude Dynamics
  • Euler’s Equation
  • Kinematic Equations
  • Torque-free Response
  • Nutation
  • Disturbance Torques
• Spacecraft Control
  • Linear Control
  • Nonlinear Control
  • Momentum-Bias Control
  • Nutation and Libration Damping
  • Gravity-Gradient Control
• Other (Time Permitting)
  • Magnetic-Field Modeling
  • Orbit Perturbations

Years Taught: Fall '96