"Astrodynamics is the study of the motion of man-made objects in space, subject to both natural and artificially induced forces."

(Space Vehicle Design by Griffin and French)



The program for a recent AIAA/AAS Astrodynamics Specialist Conference describes the various aspects of astrodynamics:

Satellite orbital dynamics, perturbation, and stability

Earth orbital and planetary mission studies, trajectory design and optimization

Analytical, statistical, and numerical aspects of orbit determination

Autonomous navigation and rendezvous

Spacecraft attitude dynamics, determination, and control

Dynamics and control of large space structures, modeling of flexible multibody dynamics, and estimation of distributed parameter systems