Written by Professor Mike Gruntman, an astronautics expert who has taught the subject at the University of Southern California for the past 25 years to over 2,000 students, this book offers a unique blend of theory and practicality.

With over 160 homework and exam problems, each accompanied by detailed solutions, the book serves as a hands-on manual for making fundamental estimates and calculations in the planning and design of space missions and systems.

The problems described in detail cover a wide range of topics, including:

+ Visible magnitudes of stars and satellites
+ The solar system
+ Coordinate systems and time
+ Plane and solid angles
+ Space environment
+ Satellite atmospheric drag
+ Solar radiation pressure
+ Gravitational field
+ The Earth
+ Basics of orbital mechanics
+ Orbital elements
+ Orbital Transfers, Maneuvers and evolution
+ Common satellite orbits
+ Space mission geometry

The book should serve as an indispensable resource for university students and instructors, as well as for space engineers and managers, particularly system engineers, who are involved in the planning, design, and operation of space missions, systems, and payloads. A full list of problems can be found at the Astronautics Now website.

The book is available in both Kindle electronic form and paperback, and can be purchased in over a dozen countries via Amazon - which offers a "Look Inside" tool, that allows readers to preview over 30 pages of the book before making a purchase.

Related Links
Astronautics, Space Technology, Rocketry, and History
Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com