EAS4510 - Astrodynamics
Fall 2020

COURSE INSTRUCTOR

Name: Dr. Anil V. Rao
Office: MAE-A 314
E-mail: anilvrao@ufl.edu
Tel: 352-392-5523 (Office); (352) 672-1529 (Mobile, for Calls and Texts). Mobile is the only way to reach me via telephone this semester
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/anilvrao2

All contact methods are acceptable! I strongly prefer texting to or calling me on my mobile as it is more effective and more efficient! Thanks!

COURSE LOCATIONS AND CLASS PERIODS

This is an online class. Lectures will be held asynchronously via online lecture videos and via Zoom for material that is not covered in the lecture videos.

Class Period: MWF 12:50 - 1:40 PM (Period 6). Attendance is expected and will be taken online at random.
Online Lectures: Click here for Astrodynamics 2020 Playlist (On My YouTube Channel).
Zoom Meeting Information:
Please note that I will not be lecturing three times per week because a good portion of the course material will be provided via the lecture videos. That being said, the synchronous Zoom lectures during the regular class period will provide important information that might otherwise be difficult to cover in a lecture video. As a result, I highly recommend that everyone attend the synchronous lectures. Attendance is expected during the Zoom lectures.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

  • Characterize and understand the key properties of the motion of a spacecraft in orbit under central body gravitation.
  • Design basic impulsive in-plane and out-of-plane maneuvers to transfer a spacecraft between two orbits.
  • Perform preliminary analysis for space missions including missions where a spacecraft is transferred between two bodies.
  • Understand the motion of a spacecraft under the influence of non-central gravity perturbations.

IMPORTANT NOTE

I consider it an honor and a privilege to be able to teach all of you, and I intend to provide the best instruction possible in order to enable you to learn the material well. If you cannot make office hours, please contact me and we will set up a time for you to get help. Regardless of how busy I am with other things, I will do what I am able to make myself available.

APPROXIMATE SCHEDULE FOR MATERIAL

Topic

Review of Newtonian
Dynamics

Motion of a Spacecraft Under Central Body Gravitation

The Orbit
in Space

The Orbit as a
Function of Time

Rocket
Dynamics

In-Plane and Out-of-Plane
Impulsive and Non-Impulsive
Orbital Transfer

Inter-Body Trajectories and Orbital Transfer Between Two Bodies

Material Covered

Particle Kinematics & Kinetics and Rigid Body Kinematics

Formulation and Solution of Two-Body Differential Equation

Classical Orbital Elements and Position and Velocity

Eccentric Anomaly, True Anomaly, and Kepler's Equation

Rocket
Equation

Hohmann, Bi-Elliptic, Bi-Parabolic, and Out-of-Plane Orbital Transfer

Patched-Conics, Launch Windows, Mid-Course Corrections, and Fly-Bys

Schedule

Week 1

Week
3

Weeks
4 and 5

Weeks
6 and 7

Week
8

Weeks
9 through 11

Weeks
12 through 14

OFFICE HOURS

Name

Hours and Location

E-mail Address

Anil Rao (Instructor)




Monday/Wednesday/Friday:
2:00 PM — 4:00 PM
Tuesday/Thursday
10:00 AM — 12:00 PM

Location: Zoom

Note: I am also most definitely available by appointment or via e-mail, mobile phone, or text message. Please do not hesitate to contact me by any of these methods if you need help!

Note: if for some reason you are unable to make my office hours, you can always schedule an appointment at a time that is mutually agreeable to both you and I.

TEXTBOOK

1. Bate, R. R., Mueller, D. D., and White, J. E., Fundamentals of Astrodynamics, Dover Publications, 1971.
2. MATLAB for Dummies, Second Edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2014.

COURSE NOTES

I have created a set of typeset notes for the course. These notes are continually being updated. The current version of the notes are available by clicking here.

PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

All coding in this course will be done using MATLAB. It is REQUIRED that everyone have a legally obtained STUDENT VERSION of MATLAB for use with the course. Anyone using UF Apps will not receive help during office hours or otherwise because of inefficiency of using UF Apps (that is, the time delays and other issues due to the UF network). It is required that anyone who wants help must have a legally obtained STUDENT license of MATLAB installed to their computer.

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS

The homework will consist of three major homework assignments and a final project. All assignments are due at 5:00 PM on the due date and must be submitted through the Canvas course page on the University of Florida E-learning website. The bonus assignments (STK Level 1 and STK Level 2 Certifications) can be completed by by clicking here.

Assignment

Assignment

Due Date

Homework #0

Homework #1

Homework #2

Background Material

Chapter 1 Problems

Chapter 2 Problems

7 September 2020

21 September 2020

12 October 2020

Homework #3

Chapter 3 Problems

2 November 2020

Homework #4

Homework #5

Chapter 5 Problems

Chapter 6 Problems

16 November 2020

7 December 2020

Bonus #1

Bonus #2

STK Level 1 Certification

STK Level 2 Certification

7 December 2020

7 December 2020

PROJECT SCHEDULE

Project

Contents

Date Assigned

Date Due

Project #1

Project #2

Project #3

Project #4

Material Through HW #1

Material Through HW #2

Material Through HW #3

Material Through HW #4

25 September 2020

16 October 2020

6 November 2020

20 November 2020

2 October 2020

23 October 2020

13 November 2020

4 December 2020

TAKE-HOME QUIZ SCHEDULE

Take-Home Quiz

Contents

Date

Take-Home Quiz #1

Take-Home Quiz #2

Take-Home Quiz #3

Material Through HW #2

Material Through HW #3

Material Through HW #4

23 - 26 October 2020

13 - 16 November 2020

4 - 7 December 2020

PROJECT ORMAT


The course will have four projects. Each project will be made available at 5:00 PM on a Friday and will be due the following Friday by noon. Late projects will not be accepted under any circumstances except the usual exceptions (illness or other emergency). Each project will require the use of MATLAB along with an understanding of the key concepts. Thus, it is extremely important that you understand the theory in addition to just being able to solve problems. Furthermore, the projects will require knowledge gained in the process of completing the homework assignments. Your grade on the projects will be reflected via any procrastination in completing homework assignments.

TAKE-HOME QUIZ FORMAT


The course will have three take-home quizzes. Each quiz will be a problem that will have both a theory (derivation) component along with a programming component. The quizzes will be significantly shorter than the projects, but will still require programming. The quizzes must be completed independently (but, of course, you can ask me for help).

ATTENDANCE RULES

Regular attendance is expected of all students on days when Zoom lectures are held. I will try to record the Zoom lectures, but please realize that recorded Zoom lectures are not necessarily the easiest to follow.

CHEATING

Cheating of any kind in this course will be enforced in accordance with the university rules. Any violation of any kind (even something as simple as a single line of code that is identical in the homework of two students) will automatically result in an "E" in the course and will reported as appropriate to the Dean of Students Office.

MAKE-UP POLICY

Because all assignments in this course are not time limited (in the same manner as that a usual in-class exam), make-ups will be provided on a case-by-case basis. If you have an issue (illness, other urgent matter), please discuss it with me and we will work to find a fair and reasonable solution.

COURSE GRADING

Item

Homework Assignments

Projects

Take-Home Quizzes

Bonus #1 (STK Level 1 Certification)

Bonus #2 (STK Level 2 Certification)

Total

Point Value

6 @ 5 Points = 30 Points

4 @ 10 Points = 40 Points

3 @ 10 Points = 30 Points

5 Points

5 Points

100 Points + 10 Points Bonus

IMPORTANT NOTES: The unannounced in-class quizzes are purely for attendance purposes. As such, these in-class quizzes will not be graded (they are purely self-diagnostic so that each of you can get a sense as to whether or not you understand a particular concept), but missing a quiz on account of an unexcused absence will result in a lowering of a student's final grade in the manner described above (that is, a deduction of one step for each missed quiz on account of an unexcused absence).

GRADING SCALE

Grades in this course are determined using the following scale:

Letter Grade

A

A-

B+

B

B-

C+

C

C-

D+

D

D-

E

Score Range

95 and Above

90 to less than 95

85 to less than 90

80 to less than 85

75 to less than 80

70 to less than 75

65 to less than 70

60 to less than 65

55 to less than 60

50 to less than 55

45 to less than 50

Less Than 45

NOTES ON ASSIGNMENT OF FINAL LETTER GRADES

  • The grading scale posted above is not flexible.
  • Any score on the boundary between two ranges will receive the higher grade (for example, a 94 receives a grade of "A-").
  • Finally, it is noted that while your individual scores for assignments, exams, and quizzes will be posted on E-learning (Canvas), the Canvas portal may not accurately reflect a student's relative standing in the class. Regardless of the information that is seen in Canvas, computation of final grades will be based on the criteria set forth above and a student's grade will only be final when grades have been computed at the end of the semester.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Any assignment either not submitted or not completed with a good faith effort (where the judgment of "good faith effort" rests wholly with me) will result in a full letter grade deduction in the course. For example, if the final score falls into the category of an "A-" and one homework or quiz is not submitted or is deemed to not have been performed with a good faith effort, the final grade will be a "B-". This policy is not flexible.

IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING RECORDING OF SESSIONS

This class contains sessions that may be audio visually recorded for students in the class to refer back and for enrolled students who are unable to attend live. Students who participate with their camera engaged or utilize a profile image are agreeing to have their video or image recorded. If you are unwilling to consent to have your profile or video image recorded, be sure to keep your camera off and do not use a profile image. Likewise, students who un-mute during class and participate orally are agreeing to have their voices recorded. If you are not willing to consent to have your voice recorded during class, you will need to keep your mute button activated and communicate exclusively using the "chat" feature, which allows students to type questions and comments live. The chat will not be recorded or shared. As in all courses, unauthorized recording and unauthorized sharing of recorded materials is prohibited.