Fundamentals of Astrodynamics by Roger R. Bate, Donald D. Mueller, Jerry E. White
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Book Reviews of Fundamentals of Astrodynamics
Book Review: OK but not that great
Summary: 3 Stars
The book is a classic in the field of astrodynamics, but that is exactly what it is: outdated. The book is designed with engineering students in mind, who do not have a deep understanding of physics and especially mathematics (calculus isn't the summit of mathematics!). The book ends where it starts to get interesting (real-life situations). Yes, many books only deal with ideal situations, which can be solved explicitly, but a book on astrodynamics naturally means that you are dealing with the physical reality of imperfection, so deal with it.
However, if you don't know anything of astrodynamics and you are interested in an introduction this is a good (and cheap, thanks to Dover publications' reprints) place to start. Don't be fooled, however, it's not a book on orbital mechanics, since there is a lot more mathematics to orbital mechanics than is shown in this book (e.g. numerical methods, perturbations and averaging methods). A very comprehensive book on astrodynamics is by Vallado, for those who want a complete overview and lots of pseudocode computer programmes (although even that book is not state-of-the-art).
Book Review: Good book for orbital mechanics only
Summary: 4 Stars
The book presents a very detailed introduction to orbital mechanics. However, it does not deal with spacecraft rotations, which are an important part of spacecraft motion. Therefore, the book is advisable if you are planning to study only orbital mechanics. I would recommend that you refer to another text book if you want a more complete introduction to astrodynamics.Book Review: absolute classic
Summary: 5 Stars
An excellent introduction that is VERY readable. Chapter 4 has a nice section on using Universal Formulation for time of flight. Intro books costing over $100.00 are not of this quality. This book is a rare case where you get more than you pay for.Book Review: For all aspiring "steely-eyed missile men/women"!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an excellent text for students and professionals working in aerospace engineering, physics and astronomy. Good luck finding an astrodynamics book more clearly written and illustrated.
The math is accessible to any serious undergraduate student in the physical sciences. Admittedly, the mathematical treatment is a bit dated, geared toward a 1970's engineer with a slide rule. However, a good Matlab programmer can just take the formulas and go from there using modern methods on a desktop computer.
This is a practical book that focuses on helping the reader master the basic physics, coordinate transforms and methods for dealing with a body's translational motion in a central-force gravity field. It does not cover more advanced topics such as rotational dynamics, gravity models, or navigation & control systems. The historical anecdotes are great - fascinating and pertinent as well. This may not be the end-all book on astrodynamics, but it's a reference I always keep close at hand.
Book Review: The basics made simple
Summary: 5 Stars
Affectionately referred to as BMW (from the author names), this book was the required text for my intro spaceflight mechanics course in college. Not only did I do just about every problem in the book (which helped me blow away the final), but over the next 15 years I kept coming back to it for quick reference. Some of my commercial products contain simple Kepler solvers and orbit integrators that began life in BMW. Compared to other books in this field, it's a deceptively easy read. But I know of at least one rocket destroyed by engineers ignorant of the basics in sections 9.5 and 9.6. Sure, it leaves out chaos and I really wish it used SI rather than imperial units (actually, it favors canonical units, a useful and units-agnostic concept). But BMW is the simplest, most intuitive intro to astrodynamics I've ever seen.