Handbook

Space Propulsion is dedicated to a fundamental aspect of space engineering: how to place spacecraft into orbit and how to maneuver them once there. With essentially no background medium to push against, many satellites require an onboard propulsion system which ultimately has a strong impact on mission success, and in many cases, may be a mission enabler. This course will introduce the basics of space propulsion covering the rocket equation and space mission analysis, high-thrust and low-thrust orbital maneuvers, launch vehicles and orbit insertion, and current and emerging propulsion technologies, their general operation, and their practical usage in space. Technologies to be covered will include chemical propulsion, electric propulsion, propellantless propulsion, air-breathing hypersonic propulsion, and future thermal nuclear propulsion systems.

This course is aimed at providing students with a comprehensive overview of all aspects of space propulsion and giving them the knowledge and analytical tools to critically evaluate different technologies, and how to go about selecting such technologies for space missions. The course is designed to fill the common educational gap between propulsion technology (i.e. the “hardware”), and propulsion operations (i.e. the “orbital dynamics”). It serves as a good introduction to those students that: (1) may pursue design and development of actual propulsion systems in the future, (2) students entering the space industry that may need to use and select existing propulsion systems for their missions, or (3) students from other space engineering disciplines that would like to better understand space propulsion.