Introduction to Spaceflight

What it is about

You will get an initial, practice-oriented overview of spaceflight: from the space environment and orbital mechanics to propulsion and satellite design up to launch transportation. By the end you will be able to describe fundamental technical interrelationships and perform simple mission designs with simplified trade-offs.

What you will be able to do

• Understand societal, economic, and political drivers of space exploration
• Know involved natural science and engineering disciplines
• Acquire basic knowledge about the space environment and the mission lifecycle
• Gain basic knowledge in orbital mechanics, satellite design and space transportation
• Apply simple engineering trade-offs in mission design
• Select suitable tools for simple engineering problems

What the module consists of

• VorlesungConveying the disciplinary fundamentals on space environment, orbital mechanics, satellite systems and space transportation
• Übung / Mission DesignApplication of what has been learned in an accompanying design/practice project with simplified trade-offs

Teaching method

• VorlesungenIntroduction to theory and contextual areas of spaceflight
• Begleitende Übungen / Mission DesignPractical application of knowledge through project-like tasks and gamification
• Einsatz von Tools (Excel, MATLAB) und E‑LearningSupport for calculations, analyses and interactive learning formats