SFL APPRENTICESHIP CURRICULUM
REAL-WORLD MISSIONS AND THESIS
The SFL Apprenticeship Program is a two-year program consisting of a junior and senior year. In the junior year, apprentices take courses related to spacecraft development and begin a thesis comprised of contributions to active projects at SFL.
Senior year is devoted to completing the thesis while gaining experience on a variety of projects, typically involving spacecraft under development or internal technology development projects.
SPECIALIZED SATELLITE SUBSYSTEMS: FROM PROPULSION TO ATTITUDE CONTROL
Apprentices specialize in specific technical areas that correspond to subsystems in spacecraft:
- Command and Data Handling (on-board computers and software)
- Telemetry and Command (radios, antennas)
- Power System (battery, solar arrays, distribution and control)
- Structure (including layout, enclosures, mechanisms, deployables)
- Thermal Control System
- Attitude Control
- Formation Control
- Propulsion
- Ground System Software
- Mission Control Software
There are opportunities to be involved in spacecraft assembly, integration and test. Apprentices
may also contribute to launch campaigns, commissioning and operation of satellites.
Talented apprentices with initiative may be able to be involved in multiple subsystems across
multiple missions.
Apprentices join small tightly integrated teams comprised of both experienced staff and
other apprentices. Project assignments are specified at the outset and adjusted every four
months to reflect the demands of active projects at SFL.
In their junior year, apprentices submit reports and give presentations at the four- and
eight-month mark to a review committee comprised of SFL experts in charge of assessing
progress and making recommendations. The thesis requirement is fulfilled over two years of
being embedded in SFL project teams. Project teams are led by mission managers who are
also systems engineers for their projects.
At the conclusion of their senior year, apprentices write a dissertation and give a presentation
to all staff and apprentices at SFL Missions Inc.
SFL APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM
SFL-1520 Microsatellite Design Project Course 1 (mandatory)
The primary objective of this course is to train apprentices in the early design of spacecraft and space systems following the microspace philosophy. The goal is to have apprentices contribute directly to the development of space missions that exploit the latest commercial technologies and low-cost design approaches. In some cases, course projects are directly related to larger projects organized by SFL to contribute to planned or future space missions.
Apprentices taking the course will join a coordinated design team whose goals are to take mission-level requirements and document a feasible system design to meet those requirements. Each team member will be exposed to satellite system-level analysis and design, and selected subsystem-level analysis and design in one or more of the following areas: Systems Engineering, Mission Analysis, Power, Communications, Radios, Antennas (Tracking, Telemetry, and Command), Thermal Analysis and Control, Structure, Attitude Control, Position Control, and On-Board Computers.
The course is given as a series of team meetings with presentations and reports required from apprentices at stated intervals. Each apprentice will be assigned a specific subsystem area. You will be expected to (a) learn about space mission development through selected readings, (b) attend weekly group meetings, (c) define and complete a project under the guidance and mentorship of staff, and (d) prepare presentations and reports to summarize your work.
SFL-1521 Microsatellite Design Project Course 2 (mandatory)
A continuation of Microsatellite Design Project Course 1, this course will further define the mission and system design from the first course, with greater/finer detail in analysis and design. The course will culminate in a preliminary design review with reports and presentations.
SFL-M101 Mechanical Engineering Practice for Spacecraft (elective)
A seminar on mechanical engineering practice following the microspace philosophy at SFL Missions.
SFL-E101 Electrical Engineering Practice for Spacecraft (elective)
A seminar on electrical engineering practice following the microspace philosophy at SFL Missions.
SFL-506 Orbital Dynamics and Attitude Dynamics (elective)
This course first introduces the kinematics and dynamics of rigid-bodies as a prelude to dealing with spacecraft dynamics and control, which includes two different distinct areas of study: Orbital Dynamics and Control and Attitude Dynamics and Control.
Orbital Dynamics and Control
In the first part of the course, the two-body problem and orbital dynamics are studied, including orbit types, classical orbital elements and orbit determination. This is followed by an examination of orbital perturbations and orbital maneuvers, impulsive, in-plane and out-of-plane. Interplanetary trajectories and the restricted three-body problem are then analyzed.
Attitude Dynamics and Control
In the second part of this course, rigid-body torque-free motions are first considered, followed by the study of spin-stabilization and dual-spin stabilization. The disturbance torques that a spacecraft experiences in space are next considered. Three control approaches for dealing with these torques are then analysed, gravity-gradient stabilization, active spacecraft attitude control, and bias-momentum stabilization.
SFL-1503 Nonlinear Systems, Flexible Spacecraft, State Estimation (elective)
This course covers two advanced topics from the perspective of spacecraft dynamics and control: Nonlinear Systems and Flexible Spacecraft.
Nonlinear Systems
The stability of nonlinear systems is presented from both input-output and Lyapunov points of view, with applications to feedforward, feedback, and adaptive controller design. Linear state-space analysis and observer-based compensator design are studied. In addition, Euler parameters (quaternions) are examined as a means to describe attitude kinematics.
Flexible Spacecraft
Equations of motion, spatial discretization, modal equations, constrained and unconstrained modes, as well as mode selection, are treated in detail. Control system design is examined from an optimal control viewpoint, which is developed using variational calculus. Topics such as control/observation spillover and temporal discretization of linear controllers are scrutinized, with attention to LQR, LQG, H-infinity, and positive real design approaches.
SFL-STK1 Mission Analysis with Systems Tool Kit (STK) (elective)
This course is an introduction to Systems Tool Kit within the context of mission analysis including power, communications, orbits, and orbital maneuvers.