Spacecraft-Environment Interactions (Cambridge Atmospheric and Space Science Series)

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 318 pages
• Published by: Cambridge University Press August 19, 2004
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0521607566
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0521607568
• Book Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.3 x 0.8 inches
• Weighs: 1.3 pounds

Product Review
' a valued addition to my bookshelf, as it will be to others.' G. G. Swinerd, Journal of Aerospace Engineering

Product Description
Spacecraft interact with the space environment in ways that may affect the operation of the spacecraft as well as any scientific experiments that are carried out from the spacecraft platform. In turn the study of these interactions provides information on the space environment. The adverse environmental effects, such as the effect of the radiation belts on electronics, and spacecraft charging from the magnetospheric plasma, means that designers need to understand interactive phenomena to be able to effectively design spacecraft. This has led to the new discipline of spacecraft-environment interactions. The emphasis in this book is on the fundamental physics of the interactions. Spacecraft-Environment Interactions is a valuable introduction to the subject for all students and researchers interested in the application of fluid, gas, plasma and particle dynamics to spacecraft and for spacecraft system engineers.

Reader Reviews
A reasonably good overview of the space environment, and its effects on spacecraft (something that more spacecraft engineers should be familiar with). The content is a little light in some areas, and the authors have a nasty habit of pulling complex equations out of thin air with little explanation (and, in some cases, errors). However, they do a good job of pulling together material that would otherwise be scattered among various journal articles and technical reports, and presenting it in a cohesive manner. It won't tell you the whole story, but it will at least get you started. A reasonable choice as a text for a semester class on the space environment, so long as it is supplemented with other material (such as relevant articles, sections of NASA handbooks, etc.)