Courses

Examines fundamentals of radiative transfer and remote sensing with primary emphasis on the Earth's atmosphere; emission, absorption and scattering by molecules and particles; multiple scattering; polarization; radiometry and photometry; principles of inversion theory; extinction- and emission-based passive remote sensing; principles of active remote sensing; lidar and radar; additional applications such as the greenhouse effect and Earth's radiative energy budget. Same as ATOC 5235. Prerequisites: Restricted to College of Engineering graduate students or Aerospace Engineering Concurrent Degree majors only.

Examines active techniques of remote sensing, with emphasis on radar fundamentals, radar wave propagation, scattering processes, and radar measurement techniques and design. Examines specific radar systems and applications, such as synthetic aperture radar phased arrays for atmosphere, space, land, and sea applications. Restricted to seniors or graduate students in engineering. Prerequisites: Restricted to College of Engineering graduate students or Aerospace Engineering Concurrent Degree majors only.

Reviews the properties and causes of hazards posed by the environment, ranging from atmospheric wind shear to tornadic flows. Involves a multidisciplinary approach, combining analytical, numerical, and scale modeling studies with extensive field measurements, wind energy, and biophysical aerodynamics. Prereq., senior standing in aerospace engineering. Prerequisites: Restricted to College of Engineering graduate students or Aerospace Engineering Concurrent Degree majors only.

Gives students broad exposure to a variety of traditional and modern statistical methods for filtering and analyzing data. Topics include estimation methods, principal component analyses and spectral analyses. Introduces these methods and provides practical experience with their use. Students carry out problem assignments. Prerequisites: Restricted to College of Engineering graduate students or Aerospace Engineering Concurrent Degree majors only.

Introduces students to basic principles behind, and the current practices in, ocean modeling. Discusses different prevailing approaches. Offers students hands-on experience with the use of supercomputers and work stations for model running and pre- and post-processing. Prereqs., graduate standing or instructor consent. Prerequisites: Restricted to College of Engineering graduate students or Aerospace Engineering Concurrent Degree majors only.

Provides an overview of mixing and wave processes in the oceans and the atmosphere. Topics include turbulent boundary layers in the lower atmosphere and the upper ocean, air-sea interactions, and surface and internal waves. Prereq., graduate standing or instructor consent. Prerequisites: Restricted to College of Engineering graduate students or Aerospace Engineering Concurrent Degree majors only.

Examines the components of the solar-terrestrial system and their interactions to provide an understanding of the re-entry and orbital environments within which aerospace vehicles operate. Includes the sun, solar wind, magnetospere, ionosphere, thermosphere, radiation belts, energetic particles, comparative environments (Mars, Venus, etc.), orbital debris, spacecraft charging, particle effects on systems, shielding, and satellite drag. Prereq., senior or graduate standing in engineering or related physical sciences. Prerequisites: Restricted to College of Engineering graduate students or Aerospace Engineering Concurrent Degree majors only.

Two-part graduate-level course on dynamics. Covers both flexible and rigid multibody analytical dynamics and finite element method for dynamics. Emphasizes formulations that naturally lead to easy computer implementation and stability, linearization, and modern rotational kinematics.Prereqs., graduate standing and instructor consent. Prerequisites: Restricted to College of Engineering graduate students or Aerospace Engineering Concurrent Degree majors only.

Provides computational skills and basic knowledge of numerical methods for advanced courses in engineering/scientific computation using Fortran, C, or Matlab. Prereq., APPM 2360 and instructor consent. Prerequisites: Restricted to College of Engineering graduate students or Aerospace Engineering Concurrent Degree majors only.

Same as ASEN 4426 and ECEN 4821/5821. Prerequisites: Restricted to College of Engineering graduate students or Aerospace Engineering Concurrent Degree majors only.

Prereq., graduate standing. Same as ASEN 4436, ECEN 4831/5831. Prerequisites: Restricted to College of Engineering graduate students or Aerospace Engineering Concurrent Degree majors only.

Focuses on current topics related to space habitat systems design and research aimed at understanding the effects of spaceflight on living organisms ranging from humans down to microbes. Literature analysis and scientific presentations are expected. Emphasis is on biophysical mechanisms, comprehensive models, and related technology development. Prerequisites: Restricted to College of Engineering graduate students or Aerospace Engineering Concurrent Degree majors only.

Reflects upon specialized aspects of aerospace engineering sciences. Course content is indicated in the online Class Search. Prereq., varies. Prerequisites: Restricted to College of Engineering graduate students or Aerospace Engineering Concurrent Degree majors only.

Study of special projects. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.

Grants credit to foreign visiting graduate students for conducting research within the Aerospace Engineering Sciences department. Credits can be transferred to the student's home institution. CU-Boulder students may also receive credit for conducting research outside of the university, either overseas or in the US. Restricted to students in final year of undergraduate work and graduate students from CU-Boulder or foreign institutions. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.

Exploration of principles and methods related to the design and construction of trajectories for interplanetary mission design. Some topics covered include: two-and three-body motion, gravity assists, maneuver computation, navigation, numerical integration, and construction of orbits. The main focus is on simple ballistic mission designs, such as Galileo or Cassini, however, libration point trajectories will also be covered. Prereq., ASEN 5050 or instructor consent. Prerequisites: Restricted to College of Engineering graduate students or Aerospace Engineering Concurrent Degree majors only.

Presents research and developments in each department's focus areas. Prerequisites: Restricted to College of Engineering graduate students or Aerospace Engineering Concurrent Degree majors only.

Studies the dynamic modeling and control of spacecraft containing multiple momentum exchange devices, and/or flexible spacecraft components. Will develop nonlinear feedback control algorithms, explore singularity avoidance strategies. The second half of the course derives analytical methods (D'Alembert's equations, Lagrange's equations, Boltzmann Hamel equations) to model a hybrid rigid/flexible spacecraft system. Restricted to Engineering (ENGR) graduate students or Aerospace Engineering-Concurrent Degree (C-ASEN) students. Prereq., ASEN 5010 or equivalent or instructor consent. Repeatable for credit up to 6 total credit hours. Prerequisites: Restricted to Engineering (ENGR) graduate students or Aerospace Engineering-Concurrent Degree (C-ASEN) students.

Covers air-breathing and rocket propulsion cycles, their relative performance trade-offs, and how they fit within the context of a vehicle system. Specific emphasis will be placed on fundamental cycle analyses, component level design, and propulsion/airframe integration for rockets, turbojets, ramjets, scramjets, combined cycles, and other advanced propulsion concepts. Prereq., ASEN 4013 or instructor consent. Prerequisites: Restricted to College of Engineering graduate students or Aerospace Engineering Concurrent Degree majors only.

Studies the dynamic modeling and control of spacecraft formations orbiting about a planet. Investigate linear and nonlinear relative motion descriptions, rectilinear and curvilinear coordinates, orbit element difference based descriptions, J2-invariant relative orbits, as well as Lyapunov-based relative motion control strategies. Prereq., ASEN 5050 or equivalent, or instructor consent. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours.

Introduces the theory and practice of trajectory optimization. The general theory behind optimization and optimal control will be introduced with an emphasis on the properties of optimal trajectories. The main application will be to space trajectories, but other applications will also be considered. Prereq., ASEN 5050 or instructor consent. Recommended prereq., ASEN 5014. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.

Studies low Reynolds number flows, including incompressible and compressible laminar boundary layer theory; similarity theory; and separation, transition, and turbulent boundary layers. Prereq., ASEN 5051 or equivalent, or instructor consent. Prerequisites: Restricted to College of Engineering graduate students or Aerospace Engineering Concurrent Degree majors only.

Introduces the analysis and control design methods for nonlinear systems, including Lyapunov and Describing Function methods. Prereq., ASEN 5014. Prerequisites: Restricted to College of Engineering graduate students or Aerospace Engineering Concurrent Degree majors only.

Exposes MS and PhD students to leadership positions in project management and systems engineering while working a complex aerospace engineering project as part of a project team. The project team may perform some or all of the following project activities during this second semester of the two-semester course sequence: requirements definition, design and design review, build, test, and verification. Prereq., ASEN 5018. Recommended prereq., ASEN 4138, or 5148, or 5158. Prerequisites: Restricted to College of Engineering graduate students or Aerospace Engineering Concurrent Degree majors only.

Studies turbulent closure methods and computational procedures used to solve practical turbulent flows. Emphasizes multi-equation models used with time-averaged equations to calculate free-turbulent shear-flows and turbulent boundary layers. Employs spectral methods in direct and large-eddy simulation of turbulence. Prereq., ASEN 5051 or equivalent. Prerequisites: Restricted to College of Engineering graduate students or Aerospace Engineering Concurrent Degree majors only.