Author: comprehensiverocketscience

Orbital Mechanics – Finding True Anomaly from Eccentric and Mean Anomaly

In this video, we use eccentric anomaly and mean anomaly to calculate our true anomaly from just a few parameters – a (semimajor axis), P (period), mu (gravitational parameter of the central body), e (eccentricity), and time since perigee passage. We also show how to solve for eccentric anomaly using either Python or Excel.

Starship – Orbit Calculations

In this video we perform a series of calculations to arrive at a basic 2-dimensional trajectory model for the SpaceX Starship, in its December 2021 configuration. We use publicly available data to arrive at several conclusions regarding Starship’s performance and trajectories. This video introduces many important properties and relationships in rocket engineering, including fuel-oxidizer burn… Continue reading Starship – Orbit Calculations

Launch Vehicles Part 2 – Staging

In this video, we take a basic look at launch vehicle staging. This includes the general concept, why staging is performed, and some of the typical mass fractions. Future videos will go into this in much greater depth, but this provides a basic overview. Enjoy!