Space Vehicle Design, Second Edition

Winner of the Summerfield Book Award!

The second edition continues to fulfill the book's original goal—that of linking and integrating the many disciplines relevant to the field of space systems engineering in a way that is impossible when they are considered separately, or even in one text that is the product of many authors. The text starts with an overall description of the basic mission considerations for spacecraft design, including space environment, astrodynamics, and atmospheric reentry. Then the various subsystems are discussed, and in each case, both the theoretical background and the current engineering practice are fully explained. Some material has been updated to make the treatment consistent with current experience and practice in the field. At the same time, there is much that remains relevant from what are now the earlier decades of the space program. Nothing of real value has been omitted merely on the grounds that it is old. This edition contains a new chapter on reliability analysis, much new technical material in other sections, and many homework problems. The book provides the space systems engineer with the tools to evaluate the overall impact of candidate design concepts on the various component subsystems and the integrated system leading to the final design selection.