Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

no abstract provided by author / M. Eng.

A logarithmic spiral trajectory is not the optimum trajectory for a solar sailing space vehicle. Investigation of the governing equations showed that the performance of the solar sail depends on one parameter "a". This parameter "a", defined simply as the ratio of radial to tangential forces, was seen to be significant for two reasons: first, the logarithmic spiral is restricted to values of a = 2 √ 2 ; secondly, decreased values of "a" indicate better performance characteristics. For values of a < 2 √ 2 a new trajectory was generated and found to be more efficient than any logarithmic spiral trajectory. / Master of Science

A universal time of flight equation for any orbit is developed as a function of the initial and final radius, the change in true anomaly and the initial flight path angle. Lambert's theorem, a new corollary to this theorem, a trigonometric variable substitution and a continuing fraction expression are used in this development. The resulting equation is not explicitly dependent upon eccentricity and is determinate for -2n < (change in true anomaly) < 2n. A method to make the continuing fraction converge rapidly is evaluated using a top down algorithm. Finally, the accuracy of the universal time of flight equation is examined for a representative set of orbits including near parabolic and near rectilinear orbits. / Master of Science

Thesis. 1978. Ph.D.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND AERONAUTICS. / Vita. / Includes bibliographical references. / Ph.D.

Thesis. 1979. M.S.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND AERONAUTICS. / Includes bibliographical references. / M.S.

Not available / text

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2000. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 105 p. : ill. (some col.). Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 76-79).

M.Sc. / Important ideas from dynamical systems theory and the restricted three-body problem are introduced. The intention is the application of dynamical systems theory techniques to the restricted three-body problem to better understand the phenomenon of gravitational capture. Chapter 1 gives a much deeper review of the purpose of this dissertation. Chapter 2 introduces and reviews important concepts from dynamical systems. Chapter 3 reviews the restricted three-body problem and all important aspects of the problem. In chapter 4 we define and study the phenomenon of gravitational capture. We take a novel approach by applying a symplectic method, namely the implicit midpoint method, to model trajectories in the restricted three-body problem. As far as we know, this is the first time such a method has actually been applied, with other authors preferring to apply explicit methods in trajectory modelling. In the closing of this chapter we review our whole discourse and suggest topics for future research. The disseration is concluded with two appendix chapters. In the first chapter we list all the computer code we have written for this dissertation. The second appendix chapter reviews the n-body problem and we show a full solution of the two-body problem.