Introduction to Space Dynamics

Introduction to Space Dynamics By William Tyrrell Thomson When this little book came out, in the early sixties, it created quite an impact. It also marked the transition from the "old astrodynamics" to the "new". The term "astrodynamics" is attributed to the late Samuel Herrick, and was coined in the forties or early fifties. Prior to sputnik, astrodynamics was heavily centered on determining the orbits of comets and asteroids from optical observations. When artificial satellites became imminent, the emphasis shifted to determining physical constants (e.g., figure of the earth) from satellite tracking data. "Introduction to Space Dynamics" represents a new departure. First, it places considerable emphasis on launch vehicle (rocket) performance, including some optimization analysis based on the calculus of variations. The older texts tended to completely ignore this topic (possibly because much was classified). Also, except for Lawden's monograph, many of the papers on optimized launch vehicle performance were difficult to obtain - and generally difficult to read. Second, Thomson inserts considerable material on gyroscopic motion, stabilized platforms, and inertial navigation. This represents a transition away from the optical-tracking-orientation of earlier texts. Thomson's book also enjoys the benefit of more modern notation, and uses vector and matrix notation throughout. A curious topic included in this book -- a topic to which I was first introduced by this book -- is "jet damping." The jet damping effect tends to dampen-out any angular motion of a rocket during thrusting periods. However, the effect is small to the point of usually being negligible. (Witness the notorious instability of rockets, particularly unguided ones.) Considering how much material Thomson devotes to this to this specialized topic, one gets the impression that Thomson must have performed considerable research on this, and was determined to pass his knowledge on. It is almost inevitable to compare this book with Herrick's "Astrodynamics", which came out some ten years after "Introduction to Space Dynamics." While Herrick's book is without question beautifully written and very comprehensive, it is basically backward-looking. Thomson's book, on the other hand, was very progressive for its time. As a consequence, Thomson's book was very influential; Harrick's book was something of a curiosity, and almost certainly a disappointment for its author. Despite the forty-some years that have passed since its initial publication, "Introduction to Space Dynamics" is still valuable, and should be read by everyone seriously interested in the field astrodynamics.

The book is a very concise introduction to the mathematics of orbital dynamics. As such if delves very deeply into vector mathematics, integral and differential calculus. It would be helpful to have either reference books on those subjects or a computer with internet access handy while reading this. I would not be surprised if this book is not used as a text in an advanced course in the subject.

This book is very, very detailed and technical. It is geared toward the college crowd. It's also interesting reading, although some of it is beyond my educational level. A person can learn something new from it. It has a lot of drawings and formulas.

This is really well-written. Although the introduction claims that the text is outdated, it still provides a great introduction to space dynamics, astrodynamics, and dynamics generally. There is an implied understanding in vector mathematics before beginning; the book has an overview of vector calculus, but I think the author assumes you already know it. I actually read this book before taking my undergraduate classes in engineering, and I referenced it many times when my own textbook wasn't as clear as this is. Thomson does use a lot of math, to back up everything he says, but he doesn't bog the text down like math books tend to do. I'm still using some of the math notation I picked up from this book, and my teachers hate it.

Not a bad introduction to dynamics, and space dynamics in general. The basic material was good. The more advanced material was a little unclear.