Astronautics: The Physics of Space Flight

by Ulrich Walter

This introductory text covers all the key concepts, relationships, and ideas behind spaceflight and is the perfect companion for students pursuing courses on or related to astronautics. As a crew member of the STS-55 Space Shuttle mission and a full professor of astronautics at the Technical University of Munich, Ulrich Walter is an acknowledged expert in the field. This book is based on his extensive teaching and work with students, and the text is backed up by numerous examples drawn from his own experience. With its end-of-chapter examples and problems, this work is suitable for graduate level or even undergraduate courses in spaceflight, as well as for professionals working in the space industry. This third edition includes substantial revisions of several sections to extend their coverage. These include both theoretical extensions such as the study of relative motion in near-circular orbits, and more practical matters such as additional details about jet-engine and general rocket performance. New sections address regularized equations of orbital motion and their algebraic solutions and also state vector propagation; two new chapters are devoted to orbit geometry and orbit determination and to thermal radiation physics and modelling.

Genres: Space, Science, Physics

828 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Pooja Kashyap · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve never been great at math or physics. Equations made me squint, not smile.
And yet, few things humble me more than watching humans strap themselves and leave Earth.

Recently, I challenged myself by reading 𝗔𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗙𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 by 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳. 𝗗𝗿. 𝗨𝗹𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿 (former Space Shuttle astronaut). It’s a technical book, heavy on equations, but surprisingly rich in intuition.

What surprised me most is:
𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁.
Every extra kilogram demands exponentially more propellant. That single idea suddenly made things like rocket staging, SpaceX’s reusability obsession, orbital mechanics, and even re-entry risks click.

Walter doesn’t just teach formulas. He builds 𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:
• Orbits aren’t rockets "fighting gravity", they’re objects constantly falling and missing Earth
• Rockets work best when they’re already moving fast (Oberth effect)
• Re-entry is harder than launch
• Every mission is ultimately constrained by one thing: delta-v

This book didn’t turn me into a rocket scientist (obviously) 😁
But it did make me scientifically literate enough to understand why space missions look the way they do, and why they’re so astonishing and beautiful!

Also, 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗼 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗲.

I wrote a detailed reflection breaking down these ideas - Astronautics by Ulrich Walter

𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆
You don’t need to love equations to appreciate physics.
But if you build intuition, 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄, even the most complex systems become understandable.

[Dimitri Kurashvili · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book!

If you want to understand the first principles of rocket flight this is the best book so far. There were many small “discoveries” I’ve made while reading it, but the most important one was at the very start. Mr. Ulrich derives rocket thrust equation there. And it finally became clear to me how m-dot and pressure terms in the equation can be properly explained, and not just assumed as in many other books.

This book is not for beginners but consider reading it if you care about good foundation in this field.

[Pedro Enguita · Rating 4 out of 5]

A marterpiece of scientific divulgation, covering almost every single aspect of physics of spaceflight. The lecture was arid many times, full of demostrations that are of little use, and pages and pages of formulas that require detailed attention in order to get the meaning of them. Although the book has many useful remarks that help the reader to extract the meaning in all this endless ocean of mathematics, a little more emphasis would help the non-expert reader (as myself).

[Bader Alazmi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is one of the most comprehensive modern references on the physics of spaceflight and orbital mechanics. Written by Professor Ulrich Walter—former Space Shuttle astronaut (STS-55) and current professor at the Technical University of Munich—it combines academic rigor with first-hand practical experience, offering a rare blend of theoretical depth and real aerospace application.The book systematically covers all major physical principles underlying spaceflight, from rocket propulsion to atmospheric entry.