The Conquest of Space: Space Exploration and Rocket Science (edX)

Each week we will focus on a major chapter in the history of space exploration accompanied by an introduction to the relevant technical topics to fully understand these historical developments. During the seven weeks of the course, we will follow the technical, political and cultural contexts that lead to the birth of the space age, uncover the evolution of space exploration from competition to cooperation in the Apollo and post-Apollo era and finally, analyze current trends in space exploration.

By successfully completing this course, you will acquire the critical tools to understand the key events and developments of the Space Age. You will learn to solve basic technical and engineering problems of space travel, rocket propulsion, space systems, and human space flight.

What you'll learn:

- The history of space exploration and its cultural, political, and scientific impact

- Fundamentals of aerospace engineering, including how to move in space and how rockets work

- The key aspects of space systems and the space environment

- Current trends and future projects in space exploration

Syllabus

WEEK 1: The first dreamers and visionaries. Frau im Mond (1929)

Towards space travel. When the story begins. Imagining space travel. Spaceflight literature. Promoting space travel. Pioneers and visionaries. The motion of celestial bodies.

WEEK 2: The first missiles. The vengeance weapon V-2 (1944)

Times of Weimar Republic and the Third Reich. Principles of rocket operation. V-2. Rockets and the birth of the Cold War. Chemical rockets.

WEEK 3: The dawn of the Space Age. Sputnik (1957)

Treaty of Rome and Sputnik. Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. International Astronautical Federation. Rockets and Atmospheric exploration. IGY. The Space Environment. Sputnik and the birth of the space era.

WEEK 4: The Giant Leap. Apollo 11 (1969)

The Giant Leap. First Man in Orbit. Moon Race. Apollo. Introduction to Space Systems I.

WEEK 5: Space Cooperation. Birth of ESA (1975)

Post-Moon-race cooperation. Soyuz-Apollo programme. ESA example of cooperation. The International Space Station (ISS). Introduction to Space Systems II. Life in space. Accessing space.

WEEK 6: Using space for Humankind. The exploitation of space

Today’s life needs space. Telecommunications. Earth Observation. GNSS. Space Situational Awareness. Space technologies back on the Earth.

WEEK 7: Looking ahead. Ambition (2015)

What’s next? Human Exploration of the Solar System. Robotic Exploration of the Solar System. Scientific Exploration of the Universe. Space Tourism. Getting farther and beyond: electric propulsion.