astronauticsnow.com

Founder of the USC Astronautics Program

Professor of Astronautics

Chairman 2004-2007 (founding chairman) and 2016-2019

USC Department of Astronautical Engineering (ASTE)

160+ problems with detailed solutions that were given, could have been given, or should have been given in ASTE-520 Fundamentals of Space Missions Magnitudes of stars and satellites. The solar system. Coordinate systems and time. Plane and solid angles. Space environment and spacecraft interactions. Satellite atmospheric drag. Solar radiation pressure. Gravitational field. The Earth. Basics of orbital mechanics. Orbital elements, transfers, and maneuvers. Orbit evolution and common orbits. Space mission geometry.

Fundamentals of Space Missions – 3-page info (pdf) – list of problems

About the course

Mike has been teaching ASTE 520 Spacecraft System Design since the mid 1990s. Originally, the course number was (AE, then AME) 501 and changed to ASTE 520 for administrative purposes in 2004. Prior to 2008, he offered the course once each year; then, in academic years 2008–2013 in both semesters (fall and spring). Beginning with 2013 academic year, he offered the course annually.

Graduate students as well as seniors took the course. In addition to full-time students, online students (working full time in space industry and government centers) enrolled in the course through the USC Viterbi's Distance Education Network.

Mike's ASTE 520 Spacecraft System Design has become a popular class, perhaps the largest graduate class on fundamentals of space systems in the United States. More than 2600 students took this class since 1994. The online students resided in many States of the Union, several provinces of Canada, as well at military installations across the globe. See the map and statistics below.

Mike has been continuously updating the content of this required course. The richly illustrated class notes included more than 850 pages.

In Fall 2025, Mike taught ASTE-520 Spacecraft System Design the last time.

As a service to professional community, Mike has also been offering short courses (through AIAA, ATI, and directly) on fundamentals of space systems for government and industry for more than twenty years. Several hundred engineers worldwide took his short courses. (In addition to the United States, Mike also taught, as a service to the community and conducting his own foreign policy, to friendly government parts in friendly countries.)

Sputnik   Explorer   Vanguard   Astronautics   Missile defense   Baikonur Tyuratam   Saryshagan   Rocket equation   Rocket espionage   U-2   Neil Armstrong   USC

ASTE 520 Spacecraft System Design -- Course Outline

• Organization of the class.


• History of space exploration.


• Universe. Galaxy. Solar system. Coordinate systems.


• Space environment. Hardness.


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


• Space mission geometry; astrodynamics.


• 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 subsystem.


• Thermal control.


• Structures and mechanisms