Introduction to Orbital Perturbations

This textbook provides details of the derivation of Lagrange's planetary equations and of the closely related Gauss's variational equations, thereby covering a sorely needed topic in existing literature.

Analytical solutions can help verify the results of numerical work, giving one confidence that his or her analysis is correct. The authors—all experienced experts in astrodynamics and space missions—take on the massive derivation problem step by step in order to help readers identify and un...