Orbital Motion in Strongly Perturbed Environments

The proposed book will provide a detailed, technical introduction to the analysis of orbital motion in strongly perturbed environments, focusing on motion about small Solar System bodies, such as comets and asteroids. The author shows why such small bodies are of interest and why they can be used as a motivation for the general analysis of orbital mechanics. He shows how it is possible to model the small body environment, including specialised cases such as those of binary asteroids, comets and 'rubble piles', and how the fundamental equations of motion are derived. The properties of the various solutions to the equations of motion are described and the methods of analysis and their application are discussed. Both ballistic motion and powered motion on and about small bodies are considered and case studies for different small body missions are presented. The author concludes his comprehensive treatment with a discussion of the mechanics of multi-body small body systems and a review of advanced topics and future applications.

Provides a completely up-to-date treatment of a very new subject that will be of increasing importance in the future with the number of planned space missions to minor solar system bodies Brings together in a single volume a wide range of material that would otherwise have to be extracted from a variety of mathematical, scientific and engineering textbooks and research papers Shows how a particular practical problem in orbital mechanics may only be solved through careful consideration of all the major classical problems and techniques in astrodynamics Discusses a range of space mission design problems and uses case studies to demonstrate the practical solutions for some specific small body missions Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Inhalt

Introduction and Background.- Modelling the Small Body Environment.- Equations of Motion.- Properties of Solutions to the Equations of Motion.- Methods of Analysis and their Application.- Ballistic Motion on and about Small Bodies.- Powered Motion on and about Small Bodies.- Mechanics of Multi-body Small Body Systems.- Advanced Topics and Future Applications.