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.

• 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.

“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)