Book


A. de Ruiter, C. Damaren, J. Forbes, Spacecraft Dynamics and Control – An Introduction, John Wiley and Sons Ltd, January 2013.

Spacecraft Dynamics and Control - An Introduction

Additional material such as exercises, supplementary material and errata may be found here.

From the Back Cover

“This unique volume is unmatched in breadth and depth, providing detailed coverage of topics ranging from orbital dynamics to formation flight to attitude dynamics to control and navigation. The authors bring a fresh, unified perspective to the field with a groundbreaking textbook that is destined to become the favorite of students at all levels.”—Dennis S. Bernstein, Aerospace Engineering Department, The University of Michigan, USA

This textbook presents a rigorous, yet practical and accessible introduction to the fundamentals of spacecraft dynamics and control. Written for engineering students and practicing engineers with a basic background in mathematics and mechanics, it is suitable for both upper-year undergraduate courses and first graduate courses, as well as self study. The material covered is comprehensive; all the pertinent aspects of a spacecraft mission including orbital dynamics, attitude dynamics, and control are discussed. Additionally, advanced topics such as low-thrust trajectory analysis, nonlinear spacecraft attitude control, and navigation techniques are introduced. A unique feature of this textbook is the presentation of classical control systems design techniques using spacecraft attitude control as the motivating control design objective.

Key features:

  • A comprehensive reference on the fundamentals of orbital dynamics, attitude dynamics, and control
  • Classical control systems design is explained and motivated by the control of a spacecraft’s attitude
  • Practical aspects of spacecraft dynamics and control are discussed, included sensor and actuator operation, digital implementation of controllers, and the effects of unmodelled dynamics
  • Numerous illustrations accompany the text, helping the reader to better understand the material

From a Review in IEEE Control Systems Magazine

“I consider this book an excellent pedagogical exposition of spacecraft dynamics and control…I have no doubt that this book will earn its place amongst the other excellent treatments of the subject mentioned above.” – Dr. Marco Quadrelli, IEEE Control Systems Magazine, April 2015, pp. 103-105.