Type of Document	Master's Thesis
Author	Halter, Ronald Vaughn
URN	etd-06222010-020301
Title	A universal time of flight equation for space mechanics
Degree	Master of Science
Department	Aerospace Engineering
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Lutze, Frederick H. Jr. Committee Chair Cliff, Eugene M. Committee Member Stalford, Harold L. Committee Member
Keywords	Space trajectories
Date of Defense	1988-06-05
Availability	restricted
Abstract 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.
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