Spacecraft
System
Design

ASTE 520

Department of Astronautical Engineering (ASTE)
Viterbi School of Engineering (VSOE)
University of Southern California (USC)

Frequently asked questions – MS ASTE

USC Master of Science in Astronautical Engineering: Overview (53 min)

ASTE 520 in Fall 2011 semester: all course materials will be posted on the class web site at DEN in mid August.

In the meantime, you can get some information about the course
from the first (introductory) lecture in Fall 2010 semester:
 ASTE 520 – First lecture and detailed information

In 2011–2012 academic year, ASTE520 Spacecraft Design
was offered in both semesters, fall 2011 (Monday, 6:30–9:10 pm)
and spring 2012 (Friday, 5:00–7:40 pm).

The ASTE 520 course schedule for the 2012-2013 academic year is not certain yet. There is a possibility that I will offer the course only in the fall 2012; another option is to offer it, as usual, in both the fall 2012 and spring 2013. Note that shedules do change. Always check the course schedule and with the ASTE Student Affairs.

Course webcasts.  All lectures are available as webcasts through VSOE's Distance Education Network DEN to all students enrolled in the course during the entire semester.

PC or Mac. DEN streams course videos using Microsoft Windows media encoders and servers. While streaming windows media files are supported by both the latest Mac and PC operating systems, using a Windows based system will usually provide a better experience. Additionally, DEN has recently added video download capabilities using Microsoft’s Digital Rights Management supporting Windows operating systems.

Instructor:    Mike Gruntman (detailed bio)

Mike Gruntman's web site on
Astronautics and Spacecraft Design

Recommended books (textbooks and monographs) on Astronautics, Spacecraft Design, and Spacecraft Systems

• USC Department of Astronautical Engineering (formerly known as Astronautics and Space Technology Division) offers BS, BS Minor, MS, Engineer, and PhD Degrees in astronautical engineering; Graduate Certificate in astronautical engineering

Frequently asked questions FAQ
Master of Science in Astronautical Engineering

• History of the USC Astronautics Program

• Mike's books

• Mike's videos

USC Master of Science in Astronautical Engineering: Overview (53 min)

For fun:                            Sputnik 1                 Explorer 1               Vanguard 1

Special lecture (free download) –  1 hr 10 min
The Road to Space. The First Thousand Years.

Fifty years ago in October of 1957, the first artificial satellite of the Earth was launched into space.  The lecture focuses on the history of the events that led us to the space age. 

Special lecture (webcast):  Space: From Firecrackers to Interstellar Flight

Part 1. The First Thousand Years (webcast 87 min);  Part 2.  Space in 21st Century (webcast 84 min)

Short courses: space systems and space missions

Video clips of interest to space mission design and to spacecraft design
Space Mission Design and Spacecraft Design

Book preview   

Mike's book Blazing the Trail. The Early History of Spacecraft and Rocketry (published by AIAA in 2004) received the Luigi Napolitano Award from the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) in 2006. 

 From Astronautics to Cosmonautics   –  book published in 2007

About Course ASTE 520

• Spacecraft System Design course (ASTE 520) is offered by the USCDepartment of Astronautical Engineering  (ASTE) (formerly known as Astronautics and Space Technology Division).

• This class is usually taken by astronautical engineering, aerospace engineering, and other science (physics, astronomy) and engineering (electrical, mechanical, systems, computer, and other) graduate students.

• This class is a core requirement for the degree Master of Science in Astronautical Engineering (code ASTE).

• Frequently asked questions – Master of Science in Astronautical Engineering

• The class is a broad introduction to fundamentals of space systems, main spacecraft subsystems, and their interactions.

• This class is a must for science and engineering students,
  regardless of their major, considering careers in the space industry
  and government space research and development centers.

• This is a very popular class, perhaps the largest graduate class on fundamentals of space systems in the United States. More than 1000 graduate students took this class from 2003-2010.

Book preview

• Instructor: Professor Mike Gruntman (detailed bio)

• In academic years 2008–2009, 2009–2010, and 2010-2011 the course was offered in both semesters, fall (Monday, 6:30–9:10 pm) and spring (Friday, 5:00–7:40 pm). While I anticipate exactly the same scheduling arrangement – and unlimited course enrollment – in the next 2011–2012 academic year, schedules do change. Always check the class schedule with ASTE Student Affairs.

• ASTE 520 is webcast and available through the USC Distance Education Network (DEN).  DEN classes are taken by students pursuing graduate degrees (especially Master of Science) anywhere in the United States. In 2005–2011, students from 10–14 states of the United States enrolled each year in Mike's ASTE 520.

• Many our students work full time in major space companies and space government research and development centers (Aerospace Corporation, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Lockheed-Martin, Northrop-Grumman, Boeing, UT, Space and Missiles Systems Center, etc.), in small companies, and are on active duty. There is growing enrollment into the astronautical engineering program of students not affiliated with companies (on an individual basis).

• More information on the history, focus, and organization of the USC Astronautics program

• To get more information on ASTE–520, other astronautics-related courses, USC graduate and undergraduate programs in Astronautical Engineering , and on DEN and contact information, please consult  Frequently asked questions – Master of Science in Astronautical Engineering

Enrollment Dynamics  –  ASTE 520 Spacecraft System Design

Awarded (annual) Master's degrees in Astronautical Engineering

ASTE 520 Spacecraft System Design

Course Outline

Organization of the class.

History of space exploration.

Univere. Galaxy. solar system. Coordinate systems.

Space environment. Hardness.

Space mission geometry; astrodynamics.

Orbit design. Basic orbits, perturbations, delta-V.

Spacecraft and mission design overview. Operations, launching facilities. Reliability.

Guidance, navigation and control; attitude determination; reaction control system.
Global Positioning System.

Propulsion. Launch systems.

Introduction to communications; antennas.

Communication link;TT & C; data handling.

Electric power systems.

Thermal control.

Structures and mechanisms.

Only for students enrolled in Mike's ASTE 520

REQUIRED CLASS NOTES

Class Notes (800+ pages) are essential and mandatory to the course.

The notes are available for download at DEN's web site of ASTE520 in the beginning of the semester.

Start with reading the "readme.pdf" file for instructions.

Usually, the full set of notes is ready before the first class meeting. The full set of homework assignments will also be available by that time, or – at the latest – by the end of the first month of the semester.

To access the class web site at DEN, all students enrolled in the class (including all on-campus students) must register with DEN.

Note that the notes are protected with password that can be obtained only from the instructor by returning the student survey form.

The survey is in Section 00 of the class notes. This section (see the first lecture – link below) is not password-protected.

Please, download the first lectures (00, 01, 02) before the first class meeting.

Required text

Space Mission Analysis and Design , ed. W.J. Larson and J.R. Wertz,
Kluwer Academic Publishers and Microcosm, 2nd or 3rd Edition or the new edition.

The new edition of the textbook is expected to appear in early August 2011. It will first be available at the publisher's web site astrobooks.com  They advised me that it would appear on Amazon some time in September 2011. The anticipated list price of the new edition (softcover) is $72. The students enrolled in ASTE520 will get 10% discount, as usual, when buying the book directly from the publisher at http://astrobooks.com (you have to tell them that you are enrolled in ASTE520). 

Many other textbooks and monographs – recommended by the instructor –
on various aspects of astronautics and space technology  are listed at
http://astronauticsnow.com/AstroBooks/index.html

 

Homework

There are 30–36 homework assignments.
Late homework is graded with grades reduced by a 50% factor.

Grading policy for ASTE 520 (subject to change)

40% Midterm
40% Final
20% Homework

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