Courses

There are a number of courses offered which emphasize or discuss space-related concepts in their course materials. Some of these courses are listed below.

Aerospace Engineering 3613: Aerospace Mechanics I
Introduction to celestial mechanics and an analytical study of spaceflight. Emphasis is placed on satellite orbits and general theory of gyrodynamics.
Instructor: Dr. Pernicka and Dr. Jennings

Aerospace Engineering 4535: Aircraft and Space Vehicle Propulsion
Analysis of aircraft and missile propulsion systems; fundamentals of jet propulsion including air breathing and rocket engines. Introduction to advanced propulsion systems for space flights such as nuclear, thermonuclear, and plasma jets.
Instructors: Dr. Han

Aerospace Engineering 5614: Spaceflight Mechanics
Further topics in orbital mechanics. Time equations, Lambert's problem, patched-conic method, orbital maneuvers, orbit determination, orbit design, re-entry problem.
Instructor: Dr. Pernicka

Aerospace Engineering 5535: Aerospace Propulsion Systems
Study of atmospheric and space propulsion systems with emphasis on topics of particular current interest. Mission analysis in space as it affects the propulsion system. Power generation in space including direct and indirect energy conversion schemes.
Instructors: Dr. Han

Aerospace Engineering 4790: Spacecraft Design I
Fundamentals of spacecraft design. Systems engineering, subsystem analysis and design. Gantt charts, organizational charts. Oral presentations and technical documentation. Term project to involve design and development of actual flight hardware, continuing into Spacecraft Design II.
Instructor: Dr. Pernicka

Aerospace Engineering 5481: Mechanical and Aerospace Control Systems
Synthesis of mechanical and aerospace systems to perform specific control functions. Response and stability are studied. Singular value analysis for stability margins is introduced.
Instructor: Staff

Aerospace Engineering 4791: Spacecraft Design II
As a continuation of Spacecraft Design I, detailed spacecraft design is performed, leading to procurement of components. As schedules permit, spacecraft fabrication and test commence. Development of labs to facilitate spacecraft test, operation, and data analysis continues.
Instructor: Dr. Pernicka

Aerospace Engineering 6614: Advanced Astrodynamics
Analysis of spacecraft motion using different dynamic models and perturbations. Use of the state transition matrix and differential corrections technique for trajectory computation. Orbit determination and station-keeping methods. Introduction to the three-body problem. Application of computational and analytic methods to solve astrodynamic problems.
Instructor: Dr. Pernicka

Aerospace Engineering 6479: Analysis And Synthesis Of Mechanical And Aerospace Systems
A unified treatment of modern system theory for the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Controls Analyst, including analysis and synthesis of linear and nonlinear systems, compensation and optimization of continuous and discrete systems, and theory of adaptivity.
Instructor: Staff

Nuclear Engineering 4215: Space Nuclear Power and Propulsion
A study of the design, operation and application of radioisotope power generators and nuclear reactors for space power and propulsion systems used on both manned and unmanned missions.
Instructor: Staff