The main purpose of writing this book is to present a unified approach for automatic control of atmospheric and space flight vehicles. Such an outlook has become more necessary nowthan ever,with the advent of aerospace vehicleswhose singlemission covers operation as aircraft, rocket, and spacecraft at various instants. The automatic control system for such a craft must therefore have the entire gamut of flight control techniques in its repertoire.

This book is primarily designed as a textbook for senior undergraduates as well as graduate students in aerospace engineering/aeronautics and astronautics departments. As an acquaintance with control theory is not necessary, the book can be used as a first course in flight control systems. However, a familiarity with the basic mathematical concepts of calculus, linear algebra, and Laplace transform is required. The contents have evolved from the lecture notes of several 3rd–4th year undergraduate, and graduate-level courses I have taught in my career. The material in the book has been especially selected to be useful in modern courses on flight control systems, where the artificial distinctions among aircraft, rockets, and spacecraft are removed. Suggestions for the usage of the material by course instructors is given later. The chapters and sections are designed to follow in a sequence such that their concepts evolve logically, and are introduced in an easy-toread manner, while retaining mathematical rigor.

It is easy for a reader to be lost in the theorems and proofs commonly found in textbooks on control systems, without realizing their practical significance. For this reason, the basic control theory concepts are covered in a manner accessible to a beginner in the topic. At the same time, understanding of relevant flight dynamic principles is highlighted while designing a flight control system. More emphasis is placed on realistic examples and exercises that require some programming, rather than those of the analytical type.