Pitt is committed to providing workforce development to meet the growing needs of the US space community, in terms of education and training for the next generation of space engineers and scientists. Many academic programs on campus already provide the opportunity to students for research on space topics, and formal space courses and programs are now in development.
For example, the Swanson School of Engineering is developing two new academic programs in Space Engineering. One is a 10-credit Graduate Certificate, and the other is a 15-credit Undergraduate Minor. Each new program will build upon existing strengths of the various engineering degrees at Pitt to prepare graduates for the space workforce.
In support of both academic programs, five cross-listed (graduate and senior) courses are being offered annually, as of the 2024-25 academic year. Each course provides students with critical background, knowledge, and skills needed in the space workforce and is open to a broad range of engineering and science students at Pitt.
- Introduction to Space Engineering (4 cr., every Fall semester)
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This course is a comprehensive overview of space engineering. Topics covered include the importance and applications of space, space environment, basics of orbital mechanics, spacecraft dynamics, systems engineering, control systems, and spacecraft subsystems (such as communication and data-handling subsystem, electrical power subsystem, environmental control and life-support subsystem, and structures), rocket propulsion, space operations, and space politics and economics. This course will include a lab session in and after Fall 2025, which focuses on simulations of spacecraft orbit control and attitude control.
- Dependable Computer Architecture (3 cr., every Fall semester)
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The focus of this course is the analysis, design, evaluation, and optimization of dependable computers and other complex systems for resilient operation in space and other harsh environments while supporting critical applications. Featuring a mix of theory and practice, novel methods in hardware, information, network, software, and time redundancy are studied and employed to mitigate threats and maximize reliability, availability, performability, and safety.
- Extreme Environment Electronics (3 cr., every Spring semester)
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This course covers the fundamentals of widely used circuits tailored for standard settings and advanced versions specifically engineered for challenging environments, such as those characterized by extreme radiation, temperature, vibration, and vacuum. Topics covered include: the impact of extreme environment on electronics; semiconductor device technologies, digital electronics, and analog electronics for wide temperature range and radiation; electronics for vibration and vacuum; packaging for extreme environments; and real-world applications.
- Space Orbital Mechanics (3 cr., every Spring semester)
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This course presents rigorous treatment of classical mechanical systems pertaining to spaceflight and orbital dynamics. Students will be able to apply mathematical treatments to Newtonian systems and in the process appreciate both physical nature and engineering feats achieved in successful completion of space missions.
- Space Systems Project (3 cr., every semester)
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This course provides students in solo and small teams the opportunity to develop requirements for a notional space mission and then design, construct, test, and optimize a space system and application for that mission.
In addition to these core space courses, another dozen space-related graduate and undergraduate courses are available or in development to expand the options for students in space engineering. A one-page handout is available here. All these courses and programs in development are leveraging the space expertise, facilities, and missions in the NSF Space Center known as SHREC, which is led by Pitt.
In the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences at Pitt, faculty are building upon longstanding strengths in physics, astronomy, and geology to develop new courses and programs in Space Science. Similarly, the six Schools of the Health Sciences at Pitt are building upon their world-renowned strengths to develop new courses and programs in Space Biomedicine.
Through several academic departments, Pitt Space also supports student clubs on space-related topics, including the Society of Astronautics and Rocketry (SOAR), the Survey of Transiting Extrasolar Planets (STEP) team, the Robotics and Automation Society (RAS), and the CubeSat team.
