Orbital Mechanics for Engineering Students

{{Short description|Aerospace engineering textbook}}

{{Infobox book

| name = Orbital Mechanics for Engineering Students

| image = Orbital Mechanics for Engineering Students cover.jpg

| image_size =

| alt = Cover of the third edition of Orbital Mechanics for Engineering Students

| caption = Third edition

| author = Howard D. Curtis

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| series = Elsevier Aerospace Engineering Series

| subject = Orbital mechanics

| published = 2010 (Butterworth-Heinemann)

| pages = 792 (4th ed.)

| awards =

| isbn = 978-0-08-102133-0

| isbn_note = (4th ed.)

| oclc =

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| congress =

}}

Orbital Mechanics for Engineering Students is an aerospace engineering textbook by Howard D. Curtis, in its fourth edition {{as of|2019|lc=y}}.{{r|curtis}} The book provides an introduction to orbital mechanics, while assuming an undergraduate-level background in physics, rigid body dynamics, differential equations, and linear algebra.{{r|hall}}{{r|jablonski}}

Topics covered by the text include a review of kinematics and Newtonian dynamics, the two-body problem, Kepler's laws of planetary motion, orbit determination, orbital maneuvers, relative motion and rendezvous, and interplanetary trajectories.{{r|jablonski}} The text focuses primarily on orbital mechanics, but also includes material on rigid body dynamics, rocket vehicle dynamics, and attitude control.{{r|hall}}{{r|jablonski}} Control theory and spacecraft control systems are less thoroughly covered.{{r|jablonski}}

The textbook includes exercises at the end of each chapter, and supplemental material is available online, including MATLAB code for orbital mechanics projects.{{r|hall}}