3
This course is a detailed technical and historical exploration of the Apollo project to “fly humans to the moon and return them safely to earth” as an example of a complex engineering system.
FREE
This course includes
Hours of videos
666 years, 7 months
Units & Quizzes
24
Unlimited Lifetime access
Access on mobile app
Certificate of Completion
Emphasis is on how the systems worked, the technical and social processes that produced them, mission operations, and historical significance. Guest lectures are featured by MIT-affiliated engineers who contributed to and participated in the Apollo missions. Students work in teams on a final project analyzing an aspect of the historical project to articulate and synthesize ideas in engineering systems.
Course Currilcum
- Introduction and overview Unlimited
- Apollo as a complex system Unlimited
- Historical/technical analysis of engineering systems Unlimited
- Systems engineering and atlas Unlimited
- Organizing research from NACA to NASA Unlimited
- Sputnik, Mercury, and the Cold War Unlimited
- Kennedy’s decision: From politics to engineering specs Unlimited
- The LOR decision Unlimited
- The Soviet moon program Unlimited
- Gemini and early Apollo engineering Unlimited
- Apollo guidance and control Unlimited
- Astronautical guidance Unlimited
- Engineering the LEM Unlimited
- Designing a landing Unlimited
- NASA’s current moon plans Unlimited
- Apollo software Unlimited
- Apollo 11 Unlimited
- Apollo 14: An astronaut’s view Unlimited
- Apollo 12 and group project freetime Unlimited
- Covering Apollo: The role of the press Unlimited
- Life support and human factors I Unlimited
- Bob Parker: Scientist-astronauts and lunar science Unlimited
- Student presentations wrap-up Unlimited
- Final class Unlimited
