Editing Spacecraft flight dynamics (section)

{{short description|Application of mechanical dynamics to model the flight of space vehicles}}
{{about|flight dynamics of spacecraft|aircraft flight dynamics|Aircraft flight dynamics |attitude control of spacecraft|Attitude control}}

[[File:Apollo-Moon-mission-profile.png|thumb|right|Flight path of the [[Apollo 11]] human lunar landing mission, July 1969]]
'''Spacecraft flight dynamics''' is the application of [[dynamics (mechanics)|mechanical dynamics]] to [[scientific modeling|model]] how the external forces acting on a [[space vehicle]] or [[spacecraft]] determine its flight path. These forces are primarily of three types: [[spacecraft propulsion|propulsive]] force provided by the vehicle's engines; [[gravitation]]al force exerted by the Earth and other celestial bodies; and [[aerodynamic force|aerodynamic lift and drag]] (when flying in the [[atmosphere of Earth|atmosphere of the Earth]] or other body, such as Mars or Venus).

The principles of flight dynamics are used to model a vehicle's powered flight during launch from the Earth; a spacecraft's orbital flight; maneuvers to change orbit; translunar and interplanetary flight; launch from and landing on a celestial body, with or without an atmosphere; entry through the atmosphere of the Earth or other celestial body; and [[Spacecraft attitude control|attitude control]]. They are generally programmed into a vehicle's [[inertial navigation system]]s, and monitored on the ground by a member of the [[flight controller]] team known in [[NASA]] as the [[Flight controller#Flight dynamics officer (FDO or FIDO)|flight dynamics officer]], or in the [[European Space Agency]] as the spacecraft navigator.

Flight dynamics depends on the disciplines of propulsion, [[aerodynamics]], and astrodynamics ([[orbital mechanics]] and [[celestial mechanics]]). It cannot be reduced to simply attitude control; real spacecraft do not have steering wheels or tillers like airplanes or ships. Unlike the way fictional spaceships are portrayed, a spacecraft actually does not bank to turn in outer space, where its flight path depends strictly on the gravitational forces acting on it and the [[orbital maneuver|propulsive maneuver]]s applied.