Orbital Mechanics credit: 3 or

4 Hours

Analysis of orbits in an inverse-square gravitational field; elementary rocket dynamics, impulsive orbit transfer and rendezvous, and Lambert's Theorem with applications; patched-conic trajectories, planetary gravity-assist maneuvers, and linearized orbit theory with application to simplified analytical models; perturbations. 3 undergraduate hours. 3 or 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: AE 202 .