Post Graduate Master Course by the First School of Engineering
of Politecnico di Torino
SPACE EXPLORATION AND
DEVELOPMENT SYSTEMS (SEEDS)
Edition VI – 2011/2012
The
course working language will be English.
The
2011/2012 training programme will have an overall duration of 12 months for a total amount of 1684 hours
and 67 credits.
The
course attendance is mandatory and implies full time engagement from Monday to Friday
(9.00-13.00;14.00-18.00).
The
first 4 months (about 634
hours) will be mainly spent
at Politecnico di Torino with the last two weeks at ISAE-Supaero. These
will
mainly consist of class lectures and
exercises providing
the general foundations of the various disciplines related to Space
Exploration. A parallel French class is organized at ISAE Supaero
through the
local TAS-Astro programme (see the SEEDS European website for details).
Visits
to National or European facilities as well as conferences and lectures
of
distinguished personalities are foreseen throughout this phase. The
planned average
class attendance is almost 36 hours/week.
The main
taught subjects may
be divided in two categories:
Understanding Space:
Introduction to Space Basic Concepts
Space
and planetary environment; Orbits and astrodynamics; Mission analysis;
Space
human engineering - Crew safety; Space utilization; Space System
engineering I;
Space programme management; RAMS; Planetary aerothermodynamics.
Learning about Space
Systems: Fundamentals of Space Engineering
Space
System engineering II; Space robotics; Space propulsion; Attitude
determination, guidance and control; Environmental control - Life
support;
Thermal control; Space telecommunication; Power generation; Space
materials and
structures; Space avionics; Space Programme Management - Costs
estimation.
Learning
assessments on all subjects are foreseen at the end of every lecture
phase,
possibly grouped to homogeneous clusters to be evaluated as a whole.
In
the following 8 months
(about 1050 hours) the students
approach the future Project Work
Activities. Then they
extensively develop the SEEDS
Project Work
under the guide of experienced senior tutors. Thanks to its extension
this
Project Work is one of the main characteristic features of SEEDS. It is
divided
into two phases, each one dedicated to a special aspect of the space
exploration. A specific theme is identified every year (past topics
have been,
e.g., the preliminary design of a lunar outpost or a mission to an
asteroid). Each
Project Work phase is dedicated to a specific aspect of the selected
theme,
taking also into account the locally available competences. The two
phases are
hosted in a temporal sequence by universities, industries and centres
of the
associated European towns. During the whole Project Work students from
Torino
and
