Ultimate Simple Guide to Rocket Science
What you'll learn
- Plot basic space missions using Hohmann Transfers
- Calculate the motions of most celestial bodies using Kepler's Laws and the Vis Viva Equation
- Estimate the performance of different rocket designs and create your own designs at a basic level
- Understand the logic and operation of human spaceflight
Requirements
- High school mathematics
- Strong interest in space exploration
- High school science and physics
Description
Have you always had a burning passion for space exploration but not the opportunity to study engineering at a university level? This course is designed to provide you the practical foundations for planning missions, a career in aerospace and an understanding of how to estimate the performance of your own designs and ideas.
In this course you will:
Learn the mechanics of motion from the basics at a gentle and forgiving pace
Learn the laws and rules governing the orbits of all celestial bodies
Plan Hohmann Transfer orbits, how long they take, how much fuel they need
Predict the performance of rocket engines and De Laval nozzles from first principles
Use the Tsiolkovski equation to estimate fuel requirements for any maneuver
Estimate launch requirements and drag
Learn the key aspects every rocket must have to fly stable
Learn to budget for mass on realistic missions
Rocket science is a deep and varied subject, so it's no surprise that this course touches on everything from rocket motion to combustion chemistry. When you know the basic ideas and formulas it should become clear where to look to push your skills and experience to wherever you dream of going but you need to take the first step to get there.
Disclaimer:
This course is not a substitute for a degree in aerospace engineering or specialist consultancy, by purchasing this course you agree that the course instructor is in no way liable for any disputes, claims, losses, injuries, or damage of any kind that might arise out of or relate to the content of this course or any supporting communications between instructor and student.
Who this course is for:
- Suitable for beginners looking for a broad, easy to understand overview
Course content
- Preview10:40
- Preview03:16
- 02:53Newton's First Law
- 05:22Newtons Second Law
- 06:32Newton's Third Law
- 07:01Newton's Laws Exercise 1
- 03:47Newton's Laws Exercise 2
- 07:58Newton's Laws Exercise 3
- 03:17Examples Summary
Instructor
![Philip Baldock](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 64 64"%3E%3C/svg%3E){kind=avatar}
- 4.3 Instructor Rating
- 746 Reviews
- 2,476 Students
- 6 Courses
I graduated with an MSci in Physics at the University of Birmingham in 2011 and went on to do research in the radiation damage of advanced composites.
Studying at the University of Birmingham, I remember my friends from other fields and even outside academia having so much passion for human endeavours, particularly in engineering. I could spot the creative energy of budding engineers and scientists in seconds but, in most cases, they felt like it was just too complicated to do anything with themselves. We’d watch Sci-Fi and play video games and I’d see their passion trying to get out. It always felt like such a shame that so much of the mathematical sciences are taught in so formal and impersonal a way that so few people actually take these subjects at university.
That’s why I decided to start making courses on Udemy, to make the creativity and the freedom I experienced learning the physical sciences available to anyone with a burning passion for them.
Of course, designing a rocket launch vehicle or a city on the Moon is hard and in many cases irreducibly so but every finished blueprint sent to a billion dollar factory must start out as a few simple lines of highschool level mathematics scribbled on a few sheets of paper.
My intention through these courses is to give the many great people I grew up with a way to connect with this beautiful material and to pursue their own dreams and ideas in a practical and mathematically sound way without having to gain a PhD beforehand.
I’m humbled and grateful to the countless people who have expressed interest in these projects and, if this sounds good to you, I hope you’ll come along with me in my courses.