Fundamentals of Astrodynamics

Rating:
Summary: Great Little Introduction
Review: While working for NASA/JPL back in the 1970's and 80's, I first used this book as a reference source while doing engineering support for radio astronomy experiments. I recall at the time wishing I'd know of the book a few years earlier while still at the Univ. of Arizona; while a student I would have found plenty of use for it.
Recently I have returned to academia, and find myself making use some of its material for by my lower-division astronomy students. I've come to depend on it for its clearly-written explanations of the various coordinate systems, reference frames and obital dynamics. And I especially like the way it introduces n-body problems and the how they are affected by perturbations. For myself I even make some use of it when doing calindrical calculations.
It is among a handful of reference sources that I find almost continuously useful in so many applications.

Rating:
Summary: Very useful
Review: Written in the 1970s for use at the Air Force Academy, this book, though quite old, is still a great reference for those wishing to learn basic astrodynamics. It covers most of the major topics in very good detail, and is suitable for self-study as well as classroom instruction. Its age does not really have a significant impact on the quality of its content.