Aerospace Research Lab Curriculum

Aerospace Research Lab Curriculum

  • Early aircraft designs
  • Classification of aircraft based on various factors of
    their operations, design, propulsion, usage & wing type

Exercise: Design Analysis of Different Aircraft.

  • Runways, Taxiways, Airport Signs and Lighting systems
  • Landing Aids at airports
  • Lighting | Airport Beacons | Visual Approach Slope Indicator (VASI) | Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) | VFR and IFR | Instrument Landing System (ILS)
  • Airspace at a glance
  • Classes of airspace
Exercise: Design Analysis of Different Aircrafts.
Inspired from AA100 Introduction to Aeronautics and Astronautics – Stanford University BS Program in Aeronautics & Astronautics
  • Introduction to the fundamental concepts of Physics
    • Air Pressure | Mass, Volume and Weight | Force | Density | Temperature | Fluid Friction | Drag Altitude | Sea level conditions

Inspired from AA141 Atmospheric Flight – Stanford University BS Program in Aeronautics & Astronautics

  • Aerodynamics of flight
    • Forces acting on an aircraft | How do wings generate lift?
    • Newtonian Physics I Bernoulli’s principle I Coanda Effect
  • Airfoil Design
    • Introduction | Airfoil Terminology | NACA Airfoil and 4 digit series | Different types of an airfoil | Angle of attack and its impact on lift | Center of pressure & its impact on flight control | Wingtip vortex | Lift Coefficient


Exercise: Designing an Airfoil with Maximum Lift and Minimum Drag.

Inspired from AA173 Flight Mechanics and Controls – Stanford University BS Program in Aeronautics & Astronautics

 

  • Introduction to terminologies in Aeronautics
    • Airplane axis and degree of freedom I Pitch, Yaw & Roll
  • Control surfaces on an aircraft
    • Vertical & Horizontal Stabilizer I Aileron I Flaps & Slats I Airbrake/Spoilers I Rudder
  • IForces acting on an aircraft, Moment of Force
  • Lift formula, Lift coefficient and angle of attack
  • Drag forces and its classification I Stall & Coffin Corner
  • Principles of flight | Aspect Ratio | Angle of Attack
  • How does an aircraft fly, climb and turn?
  • Load factor of an aircraft I How helicopters fly?


Exercise: Designing & Building a Remote-controlled Aircraft.

Inspired from AA131 Space Flight – Stanford University BS Program in Aeronautics & Astronautics

  • What is the Space and Karman line?
  • Satellites | A Day in the Life of a NASA Satellite Team
  • A tour of International Space Station (ISS)
  • Can an airplane fly into space?
  • Introduction to Orbital Dynamics —
  • Part 1 (Going to moon) I Part 2 (Hohmann Transfer) I
  • Part 3 (Interplanetary Travel) I Part 4 (The Oberth Effect)
  • Spacecraft Attitude determination


Exercise: Designing a ‘Hybrid’ Plane which has Propulsion to Fly in Atmosphere as well as in Space.

Inspired from AA103 Air and Space Propulsion — Stanford University BS Program in Aeronautics & Astronautics

 

  • Rockets 101 | The rocket science — All about Rockets
    • Rocket systems: Structural | Propulsion I Payload | Guidance I Brief history of rockets | Rocket staging
  • An introduction to jet engine
  • Rocket propulsion and types of rocket propulsion
    • Liquid | Solid | Hybrid | Multistage | Air breathing
  • Future of propulsion
    • Electric Plasma Jet Engine | Nuclear Propulsion | Ion Engine | Plasma Thrust Experiment 1 & 2 | Solar sails | Laser Assisted Propulsion


Exercise: Designing a futuristic propulsion system.

Inspired from AA172 Guidance & Navigation – Stanford University BS Program in Aeronautics & Astronautics

 

  • An introduction to spacecraft Guidance, Navigation and Control Systems (GN&C)
  • Case study: Missile Guidance System

Exercise: Designing a Navigation & Guidance Instruction Set.

Inspired from AA279A Space Mechanics – Stanford University BS Program in Aeronautics & Astronautics

  • Gravity and how it enables orbits | Orbit types
  • Satellite orbit types & how satellite stay in the orbit
  • Kepler’s Laws I Launch, Propulsion and Re-entry
  • Orbital Rendezvous and launch window:

 

Exercise: Designing a satellite system for 24×7 connectivity

Inspired from AA136A Spacecraft Design – Stanford University BS Program in Aeronautics & Astronautics

  • Introduction to Spacecraft Subsystems

Inspired from AA136A Spacecraft Design – Stanford University BS Program in Aeronautics & Astronautics

  • What is a CubeSat? | Space 2.0 and CubeSat
  • Challenges in CubeSat Engineering — Propulsion
  • An example of innovative CubeSat Propulsion
  • Hardware and Software Design Challenges in a Spacecraft — a study with an example of SpaceX Falcon 9 & Dragon

Inspired from AA146A Aircraft Design – Stanford University BS Program in Aeronautics & Astronautics

  • A tour of aircraft structure, systems and avionics
  • Aircraft Fuselage I Structure Types | Frames
  • Aircraft design process | Requirement | Function | Wings & other surface geometry | Dimensions | Engines
    • Engineering Drawing and weight calculation 
    • Control Surface Finalization I Aircraft wing design


Exercise: Designing the Most Efficient Airplane in the World.

  • Introduction to Avionics and Fly by Wire system:
    • Principle drivers of avionics systems requirements
    • Avionics systems on a multipurpose aircraft
  • Cockpit Display Systems | Primary Flight Display (PFD) | Multi-Function Display (MFD) | Engine Instrument and Crew Alert System (EICAS) | Case study: Boeing 737 and Gulfstream 6550 Flight deck
  • Future of Cockpit Display System

 

Exercise: Designing a Cockpit Display System to Prevent Human Error which could lead to Plane Crash.

  • Flight Management System (FMS)
  • Traffic Alert Collision Avoidance System (TCAS)
  • Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS)
    • Mode 1: Excessive Descent Rate
    • Mode 2: Excessive Closuretoterrain
    • Mode 3: Altitude loss after takeoff
    • Mode 4: Unsafe terrain clearance
    • Mode 5: Excessive Glideslope Deviation
    • Mode 6: Advisory Callout/Bank Angle
    • Mode 7: Windshear Alerting


Exercise: Designing a ‘Flying Bike’ for Urban Transportation.

Hisham Ahmad - CMO

I am a 14-year-old freshman attending Brighter Horizons Academy in Garland, Texas. I have extensive experience with marketing, as I have been a part of various companies and mentorships. I graduated from the DiscoverStem program, allowing new doors to open up for me, and change the way I see things. The DiscoverStem program has also given me more experience with concepts such as patents, invention, and innovation, as well as inspiration to use these skills to help the world around us.

DiscoverSTEM founders Mirza Rizwan and Mirza Faizan have made history by becoming the first Indian to win the coveted George Washington Honor Medal from the Freedoms Foundation – USA.

Started in 1949 by former US President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Freedoms Foundation honors exceptional contributions of Americans towards communities in the USA. Generally reserved for the US citizens, the awarding organization made an exception to recognize the stellar research work and its impact of India’s Mr. Rizwan in designing and implementing a unique STEM & Innovation program for American children, thereby revolutionizing the education system in the USA.

Few of the other notable non-US citizens who have received George Washington Honor Medal include Ms. Margaret Thatcher (Former Prime Minister of United Kingdom), Lech Walesa (Former President of Poland and Noble Prize winner) and world-renowned Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. As the latest recipients of this prestigious honor, Mirza brothers join historically acclaimed group of citizens whose work and dedication advance the American ideals, the award letter says.

Some of the distinguished US citizens who have received this award for their stellar contributions in their field are Walt Disney, Astronauts Sally Ride and John Glenn, Capt. Sully Sullenberger, Athletes like Arthur Ashe, George Foreman and Tiger Woods and famous US educator Jaime Escalante.