A Book Of
A01=Edward Belbruno
Alpha Centauri
Apollo (spacecraft)
Apollo 11
Apollo 13
Apollo Lunar Module
Apollo program
Around the Moon
Asteroid capture
Astronomer
Astronomy
Author_Edward Belbruno
Ballistic capture
Buoyancy
Calculation
Cassini-Huygens
Category=PGC
Category=WNX
Celestial mechanics
Colonization of the Moon
Comet
Earth's orbit
Elliptic orbit
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eq_science
Escape velocity
Europa Orbiter
Exoplanet
Far side of the Moon
Formation and evolution of the Solar System
From the Earth to the Moon
Fuel
G-force
Geocentric orbit
Geology of the Moon
Geostationary orbit
Gravitational field
Gravity
Gravity assist
Halo orbit
Highly elliptical orbit
Hiten
Hot air balloon
Institute of Space and Astronautical Science
Jupiter
Kuiper belt
Lagrangian point
Liquid fuel
Lunar distance (astronomy)
Lunar orbit
Mathematician
Moons of Jupiter
Moons of Saturn
Oil painting
Oort cloud
Orbital plane (astronomy)
Origin of the Moon
Payload
Planetary body
Propulsion
Relative velocity
Robotic spacecraft
Rocket engine
Scientist
Space exploration
Space Exploration Initiative
Space probe
Space Shuttle
Spacecraft
Spaceflight
Technology
The Planetary Society
To the Earth
To the Moon
Trajectory
Product details
- ISBN 9780691128221
- Weight: 255g
- Dimensions: 127 x 191mm
- Publication Date: 11 Feb 2007
- Publisher: Princeton University Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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When a leaf falls on a windy day, it drifts and tumbles, tossed every which way on the breeze. This is chaos in action. In Fly Me to the Moon, Edward Belbruno shows how to harness the same principle for low-fuel space travel--or, as he puts it, "surfing the gravitational field." Belbruno devised one of the most exciting concepts now being used in space flight, that of swinging through the cosmos on the subtle fluctuations of the planets' gravitational pulls. His idea was met with skepticism until 1991, when he used it to get a stray Japanese satellite back on course to the Moon. The successful rescue represented the first application of chaos to space travel and ushered in an emerging new field. Part memoir, part scientific adventure story, Fly Me to the Moon gives a gripping insider's account of that mission and of Belbruno's personal struggles with the science establishment. Along the way, Belbruno introduces readers to recent breathtaking advances in American space exploration.
He discusses ways to capture and redirect asteroids; presents new research on the origin of the Moon; weighs in on discoveries like 2003 UB313 (now named Eris), a dwarf planet detected in the far outer reaches of our solar system--and much more. Grounded in Belbruno's own rigorous theoretical research but written for a general audience, Fly Me to the Moon is for anybody who has ever felt moved by the spirit of discovery.
Edward Belbruno is President of Innovative Orbital Design, visiting research collaborator in the Department of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University, and a consultant on advanced astrodynamics with NASA. He is the author of "Capture Dynamics and Chaotic Motions in Celestial Mechanics" (Princeton).
