Syllabus

AE4874-I Astrodynamics I for 2015/2016

Version 1.0, September 1, 2015

Lecturers
Eelco Doornbos, Kevin Cowan

Credits
4 ECTS

Required knowledge

BSc level calculus (e.g. WI1421LR, WI1402LR)

BSc level linear algebra (e.g. WI1403LR)
BSc level engineering mechanics (e.g. AE1130)
BSc level differential equations (e.g. WI2180LR-I)
BSc level numerical analysis (e.g. AE2220-I)

Follow-on courses

AE4870 Rocket motion and re-entry systems

AE4872 Satellite data processing
AE4874-II Astrodynamics II
AE4876-I Planetary Sciences I
AE4876-II Planetary Sciences II
AE4878 Mission geometry and orbit design

Assessment
Written exam (3 hours), held twice per year. These will be closed-book exams. The use of a
non-programmable calculator might be required for solving some exam problems.

Exam schedule
These can change always check the OSIRIS or mytimetable websites for up-to-date
information on the time and location of exams.
Week 1.9 Fri 30-10, 2015, 14:00 Exam
Week 2.9 Wed 20-1, 2016, 09:00 Exam resit

Study material

Fundamentals of Astrodynamics by Karel F. Wakker, available as PDF via

repository.tudelft.nl, and/or it can be ordered as hardcopy via Blackboard. This book
will also be used for the Astrodynamics II course.
Lecture slides, handouts and websites linked therin. These will be made accessible
on Blackboard under Course Documents, during the duration of the course lecture.


Consulted and recommended books (see also Appendix A of Wakker)

Orbital mechanics for Engineering Students, third edition, by Howard D. Curtis.

Individual chapters are available as PDFs via the TU Delft library subscription to
ScienceDirect. [Modern textbook, includes many exercise problems, algorithm
descriptions and Matlab code.]
Fundamentals of Astrodynamics, by Roger R. Bate, Donald D. Mueller and Jerry E.
White. [Nicely written, with a good pace and containing exercise problems, though
rather outdated, and using US units. A second edition has been listed on Amazon for
the past 1.5 years, but has not come out].
An introduction to the Mathematics and Methods of Astrodynamics, by Richard H.
Battin. [Thorough mathematics-oriented description]

Exercises
The lecture slides and other course documents (to be made available on Blackboard) will
contain informal quizzes, sample exam questions, and assignments, aimed at helping you
learn, to deepen your understanding of the course material and prepare you for the exam.
These will not be corrected or graded, but of course you are free to ask for help in case of
difficulties. Additional exercises can be found in the books listed under recommended
reading / practice problems.

Learning objectives

1. You will be able to apply Newtons laws of motion and Newtons universal law of
gravitation to derive the equations of motion for the n-body problem.
2. You will be able to derive and explain the 10 integrals of motion in the n-body
problem.
3. You will be able to describe the concepts of an inertial reference frame, quasiinertial reference frame and apparent forces, and be able to assess whether a
reference frame can be considered (quasi-)inertial.
4. You will be able to establish the equations of motion of the n-body problem, relative
to one of the bodies in the n-body problem, and identify the meaning of the various
terms in these equations of motion.
5. You will be able to establish the equations of motion for the 2-body problem, both
with respect to the barycenter of the 2-bodies and relative to either of the bodies.
6. You will be able to derive analytical equations for the shape of the orbit (conic
section in polar coordinates) and for the radial and normal velocity components
along the orbit, from the 2-body equations of motion.
7. You will be able to calculate the position and velocity in an orbit in the 2-body
problem as a function of time.
8. You will be able to derive analytical equations for quantities such as the orbital
period, mean motion, local circular velocity, local escape velocity, hyperbolic excess
velocity, apogee height, perigee height, semi-major axis, energy and angular
momentum for the 2-body problem, and apply these equations in calculations.
9. You will be able to describe the various reference frames and coordinates used for
describing orbits in 3D and apply conversions of coordinates between these
reference frames.
10. You will be able to determine a satellites orbital elements from various observations
of the orbit.
11. You will be able to describe the concepts of osculating orbital elements and mean
orbital elements and their use in describing the effects of orbit perturbations.
12. You will be able to model the effects of the Earths gravity field, atmospheric drag
and solar radiation pressure perturbations on a satellite orbit.
13. You will be able to describe the reference frame used in the circular restricted three
body problem and apply the equations of motion in this reference frame.
14. You will be able to explain the concepts of the Surfaces of Hill and Lagrange points.


Lecture schedule and corresponding sections from Wakkers Fundamentals of
Astrodynamics

Note that this schedule is based on a preliminary estimate of the time required for each of
the topics and is therefore subject to change.

Week 1.1 Tue 1-9, 2015, 10:45 introduction, basic concepts

Study: sections 1.1, 1.2, 1.4, 1.5, 1.8

Read: section 1.3

Thu 3-9, 2015, 15:45 many body problem

Study: sections 2.1, 2.2, 2.5, 2.6

Read: sections 2.3, 2.4
Week 1.2 No lectures
Week 1.3 Tue 15-9, 2015, 10:45 relative motion in the many body problem

Study: sections 4.1, 4.2, 4.3

Thu 17-9, 2015, 15:45 two body problem

Study: sections 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.6, 5.7, 5.9

Read: sections 5.5, 5.8
Week 1.4 Tue 22-9, 2015, 10:45 elliptical and circular orbits

Study: sections 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6

Thu 24-9, 2015, 15:45 parabolic and hyperbolic orbits

Study: sections 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5
Week 1.5 Tue 29-9, 2015, 10:45 reference frames, orbital elements

Study: sections 11.1, 11.2, 11.3, 11.5

Read: sections 11.6, 11.7, 11.8, 11.9, 11.10

Thu 1-10, 2015, 15:45 time, Lamberts problem, f- and g-series

Study sections 6.7, 7.4, 11.4, 11.11
Week 1.6 Tue 6-10, 2015, 10:45 perturbing forces and perturbed orbits

Study sections 20.6, 21.1, 22.1, 22.5

Read section 20.7

Thu 8-10, 2015, 15:45 orbit perturbations, gravity field

Study: sections 1.6, 20.1, 21.2, 21.3, 21.7
Week 1.7 Tue 13-10, 2015, 10:45 orbit perturbations, drag and radiation pressure

Study: sections 20.2, 20.3, 20.4, 21.4, 21.5

Skip: sections 20.5, 21.6

Thu 15-10, 2015, 15:45 three body problem - general

Study: section 3.1

Read: section 3.2
Week 1.8 Monday 19-10, 2015, 15:45 three body problem, circular restricted

Study: sections 3.3, 3.4, 3.6, 3.7

Read: section 3.13

Tue 20-10, 2015, 10:45 relative motion of two satellites

Study: sections 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4