Calendar · Lecture Notes
- Instructors
- Prof. David Miller, Col. John Keesee
- Term
- Fall 2003
- Level
- Graduate
- What's inside
- 1 lecture note · 1 reading · 66 other files · 4 web pages
- Materials open
- MIT OCW
About this course
Source: MIT OpenCourseWare 16.851 Satellite Engineering, Fall 2003, Prof. David Miller, Col. John Keesee — original course page on ocw.mit.edu ↗. License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Study order: MIT's own listing order, section by section. Taken from MIT's published course files, downloaded from ocw.mit.edu on September 23, 2026. How RedLectern is built.
Materials are grouped the way MIT organized them. A verified, course-wide order has not been established here.
Has MIT solutions
Before you start
Prerequisites are not listed here. Check MIT's own syllabus for this course.
How this course was organized
What's here, and what isn't
- A lecture sequence of 24 items is confirmed. Assignment and exam materials exist too, but MIT's own order for them could not be verified, so they're shown as materials below rather than a sequence.
Not included here
5 items from the source could not be safely included:
- MIT's page format for this item wasn't recognized clearly enough to place it safely. (4 items)
- Referenced in a table, but without MIT's own verified order, so it isn't used to claim a sequence.
Materials by section
Grouped by section, as MIT organized them. Not sequenced or ordered.
Syllabus
Lecture Notes
24 files
- Launch Systems Download
- Orbital Mechanics (Courtesy of Raymond Sedwick. Used with permission.) Download
- Spacecraft Power Systems Download
- Propulsion (Courtesy of Raymond Sedwick. Used with permission.) Download
- The Environment of Space Download
- Optics 1: Introduction to Optics (Courtesy of Olivier de Weck and Soon-Jo Chung. Used with permission.) Download
- Optics 2: Introduction to Optics (cont.) (Courtesy of Olivier de Weck and Soon-Jo Chung. Used with permission.) Download
- Optics 3: Adaptive Reconnaissance Golay-3 Optical Satellite (ARGOS) Download
- Attitude Determination and Control (ADCS) (Courtesy of Olivier de Weck. Used with permission.) Download
- Formation Flight 1: Electromagnetic Formation Flight Download
- Formation Flight 2: Optimization of Separated Spacecraft Interferometer Trajectories in the Absence of a Gravity-Well (Courtesy of Edmund Kong. Used with permission.) Download
- Formation Flight 3: Minimum Energy Trajectories for Techsat 21 Earth Orbiting Clusters (Courtesy of Edmund Kong. Used with permission.) Download
- Formation Flight 4: Trajectory Design for a Visible Geosynchronous Earth Imager (Courtesy of Edmund Kong and Raymond Sedwick. Used with permission.) Download
- Structures in Space Systems Download
- Space Systems Cost Modeling (Courtesy of Cyrus Jilla. Used with permission.) Download
- Satellite Systems Software Download
- Software Engineering for Satellites (Courtesy of Katie Weiss. Used with permission.) Download
- Spacecraft Autonomy (Courtesy of Seung Chung. Used with permission.) Download
- Spacecraft Computer Systems Download
- Satellite Telemetry, Tracking and Control Subsystems Download
- Satellite Communication Download
- Reentry Download
- Spacecraft Thermal Control Systems Download
- Ground System Design Download
Assignments
28 files
- Seung Chung Mark Hilstad Dan Kwon · Solutions (Courtesy of Seung Chung, Mark Hilstad, and Dan Kwon. Used with permission.) Download
- ps1_cg_tools.zip (Courtesy of Seung Chung, Mark Hilstad, and Dan Kwon. Used with permission.) Download
- Design a launch vehicle decision tool to provide ease of launch vehicle selection given spacecraft design specifications. Download
- Christopher Hynes Steve Paschall · Solutions Download
- These supporting files courtesy of Christopher Hynes and Steve Paschall (ps1_cs_tools.zip) Download
- Andrew Vaughan David Woffinden · Solutions (Courtesy of Andrew Vaughan and David Woffinden. Used with permission.) Download
- Design a tool that compares a set of feasible orbit transfer and propulsion system combinations for a given mission… (Courtesy of Seung Chung and Namiko Yamamoto. Used with permission.) Download
- Namiko Yamamoto Seung Chung · Solutions (Courtesy of Seung Chung and Namiko Yamamoto. Used with permission.) Download
- ps2_cg_tools.zip (Courtesy of Seung Chung and Namiko Yamamoto. Used with permission.) Download
- Determine the surface area of a solar panel needed to produce enough power to meet the requirements of a given… Download
- Christopher Hynes Kathryn Weiss · Solutions Download
- Supporting files courtesy of Christopher Hynes and Kathryn Weiss (ps2_cs_tools.zip) Download
- Andrew Long Anna Silbovitz Download
- Seung Chung Matthew Richards · Solutions (Courtesy of Seung Chung and Matthew Richards. Used with permission.) Download
- ps3_cg_tools.zip (Courtesy of Seung Chung and Matthew Richards. Used with permission.) Download
- Christopher Hynes Andrew Vaughan · Solutions Download
- Supporting files (ps3_cs_tools.zip) Download
- Seung Chung Steve Paschall Kathryn Weiss · Solutions Download
- Supporting files (ps4_cg_tools.zip) Download
- Christopher Hynes Afreen Siddiqi Thomas Leaute Download
- Christopher Hynes Afreen Siddiqi Thomas Leaute · Solutions Download
- Supporting files. The ZIP file contains: datastorage.xls, and datamassstorage_sizing.m (ps4_cs_tools.zip) Download
- Andrew Long Christine Taylor Thomas Leaute · Solutions Download
- Seung Chung Steve Paschall Alexa Figgess Matthew Richards · Solutions Download
- Supporting files. The ZIP file contains: 3 .xls files, and 19 .m files (ps6_cg_tools.zip) Download
- Christopher Hynes Christine Taylor James Whiting · Solutions Download
- Supporting files (ps6_cs_tools.zip) Download
- Dan Kwon Afreen Siddiqi Andrew Vaughan Bill Nadir · Solutions Download
Projects
- Bill Nadir · Portfolios (PDF 1 of 2) Download
- Bill Nadir · Portfolios (PDF 2 of 2) Download
- Matthew Richards · Portfolios (Courtesy of Matthew Richards. Used with permission.) Download
- Anna Silbovitz · Portfolios Download
Other materials from this course
9 files
- Problem Set 3 Question Definition: Chynes (ps3_cs_ps3.pdf) Download
- Problem Set 4 (Orbits, Power, and Communication): Matthew Richards, and Anna Silbovitz (ps4_rd_solution.pdf) Download
- Supporting Tools File for Problem Set 4: Matthew Richards (ps4_rd_tools.zip) Download
- Problem Set 5 (Structure, ACS and Propulsion): Seung Chung, and Anna Silbovitz (ps5_cg_ps5.pdf) Download
- Problem Set 5 (Structure, Attitude Control, and Propulsion): Chung (ps5_cg_solution.pdf) Download
- Supporting Tools File for Problem Set 5: Chung (ps5_cg_tools.zip) Download
- Problem Set 5 Question: Chynes (ps5_cs_ps5.pdf) Download
- Software Designed to Determine Preliminary Cost Estimate Based on Human Factors and Structural… (ps5_cs_solution.pdf) Download
- Supporting Tools File for Problem Set 5: Chynes (ps5_cs_tools.zip) Download
Course outline
Calendar · Lecture Notes
Lecture 2: Orbital Mechanics
Calendar · Lecture Notes
Lecture 3: Spacecraft Power Systems
Calendar · Lecture Notes
Lecture 4: Propulsion
Calendar · Lecture Notes
Lecture 5: The Environment of Space
Calendar · Lecture Notes
Lecture 6: Optics 1: Introduction to Optics
Calendar · Lecture Notes
Lecture 7: Optics 2: Introduction to Optics (cont.)
Calendar · Lecture Notes
Lecture 8: Optics 3: Adaptive Reconnaissance Golay-3 Optical Satellite (ARGOS)
Calendar · Lecture Notes
Lecture 9: Attitude Determination and Control (ADCS)
Calendar · Lecture Notes
Lecture 10: Formation Flight 1: Electromagnetic Formation Flight
Calendar · Lecture Notes
Lecture 11: Formation Flight 2: Optimization of Separated Spacecraft Interferometer Trajectories in the Absence of a Gravity-Well
Calendar · Lecture Notes
Lecture 12: Formation Flight 3: Minimum Energy Trajectories for Techsat 21 Earth Orbiting Clusters
Calendar · Lecture Notes
Lecture 13: Formation Flight 4: Trajectory Design for a Visible Geosynchronous Earth Imager
Calendar · Lecture Notes
Lecture 14: Structures in Space Systems
Calendar · Lecture Notes
Lecture 15: Space Systems Cost Modeling
Calendar · Lecture Notes
Lecture 16: Satellite Systems Software
Calendar · Lecture Notes
Lecture 17: Software Engineering for Satellites
Calendar · Lecture Notes
Lecture 18: Spacecraft Autonomy
Calendar · Lecture Notes
Lecture 19: Spacecraft Computer Systems
Calendar · Lecture Notes
Lecture 20: Satellite Telemetry, Tracking and Control Subsystems
Calendar · Lecture Notes
Lecture 21: Satellite Communication
Calendar · Lecture Notes
Lecture 22: Reentry
Calendar · Lecture Notes
Lecture 23: Spacecraft Thermal Control Systems
Calendar · Lecture Notes
Lecture 24: Ground System Design
MIT OpenCourseWare, Prof. David Miller, Col. John Keesee, 16.851 Satellite Engineering, Fall 2003.
License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · Edition: Fall 2003 · Open the original course on OCW ↗
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