For a less technical treatment, see the article on space mathematicsOrbital mechanics or astrodynamics is the study of the motion of rockets and other spacecraft. The motion of these objects is determined by Newton's laws of motion and the law of universal gravitation. Orbital mechanics is a specific and distinct branch of celestial mechanics; while the latter focuses more broadly on the orbital motions of artificial and natural astronomical bodies such as planets, moons, and comets, sometimes involving relativistic speeds, orbital mechanics deals primarily with classical (Newtonian) gravitation and the motions of spacecraft.
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