USC Viterbi School of Engineering - News (Nov 2009)
Space:
From Firecrackers to Interstellar Flight
(webcast)
Part 1. The First Thousand Years. (87 min)
Part 2. Space in 21st Century. (84 min)
The
true story ...
Now it can be told
Lecture 1 hr 10 min
The
Road to Space. The First Thousand Years.
Fifty years ago in October
of 1957, the first artificial satellite of the Earth was launched into
space.
The lecture focuses on the history of the events that led us to
the space age.
The video (in high-resolution) can be downloaded to your computer.
GPS - Global Positioning System
Robert Esnault-Pelterie and Astronautics
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics AIAA
Video clips space mission design and spacecraft design
Video clips of interest to space mission design and to spacecraft design.
Astronautics and Spacecraft Design
Mike Gruntman launched this web site on Astronautics and Spacecraft Design on 12 April 1996. The site, also known under the old URL astromike, provides technical information for scientists, engineers, students, space writers, and space enthusiasts. The web site was highlighted in Physics Today and listed as the site of the week by SpaceViews. The total number of visitors exceeded 300,000 in the early 2007. Mike teaches the largest graduate class (100+ graduate students) in spacecraft design in the U.S. and his students also frequently use the site.
The site was moved to the new host at astronauticsnow.com in April 2005.
Books on Astronautics, Spacecraft, and Space Technology
The site provides a list of recommended technical books (textbooks and monographs) in various areas of astronautics, space missions, spacecraft design, and space technology.
Books on History of Astronautics, Rockets, and Space
The site provides a list of recommended important books on history of astronautics and space technology.
Blazing the Trail: The Early History of Spacecraft and Rocketry, 2004
In
2004, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
(AIAA)
published Mike Gruntman's
Blazing the
Trail: The Early History of Spacecraft and Rocketry.
The book received the Luigi Napolitano Award (2006) from the International Academy of Astronautics.
This book presents the fascinating story of the events that paved the way to space. It introduces the reader to the history of early rocketry and the subsequent developments which led into the space age. People of various nations and from various lands contributed to the breakthrough to space, and the book takes the reader to far away places on five continents.
It is a one-stop source of numerous technical details usually unavailable in popular publications. (A prominent historian described the book as an encyclopedic history of rocketry that provides for the first time a modern, comprehensive overview of the subject and offers the best discussions available about some of the key breakthroughs ) The details are not overbearing and anyone interested in rocketry and space exploration will navigate through the book without difficulty. The book also includes many quotes to give readers a flavor of how the participants viewed the developments. There are 340 figures and photographs, many appearing for the first time. The site presents book details.
From Astronautics to Cosmonautics, 2007
84 pages
with 24 photos; 75 references
Nominated (2008) for Emme Award (American Astronautical Society)
Two pioneers of space exploration, Robert Esnault-Pelterie and Ary Sternfeld, introduced the words astronautics and cosmonautics, respectively, into the scientific language. The origin of the term astronautics is well documented. In contrast, the history of the word cosmonautics remains poorly known. Ary Sternfeld is also largely forgotten. The fiftieth anniversary of the breakthrough to space, celebrated in 2007, makes it especially appropriate to remember those visionaries who paved the way to cosmos. The book tells the stories of astronautics and cosmonautics and describes life journeys of space pioneers Robert Esnault-Pelterie and Ary Sternfeld.
Mike Gruntman is the founder of the Astronautics Program at the University of Southern California (USC). The program offers Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Science (Minor), Master of Science, Engineer, and PhD degrees in astronautical engineering and was reorganized in 2004 as a new independent academic unit, operating as a department, Astronautics and Space Technology Division (ASTD) in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering (VSOE). (This is a unique event in space education in the United States - new departments are created very rarely.) The focus of the program is spacecraft engineering and the popular Master of Science degree is available through VSOE's Distance Education Network nation-wide. The USC Viterbi School of Engineering appointed Mike Gruntman the first (founding) Chairman (20042007) of ASTD. The Division experienced spectacular growth during these first three years. The site provides publications on space education in the United States. The recent AIAA paper calls for major structural changes in the U.S. education in astronautical engineering.
In July 2010, the University transitioned the Division into the Department of Astronautical Engineering (ASTE). Mission accomplished! The journey continues Ad Astra!
Energetic Neutral Atoms (ENA) in Space
Measurement of energetic neutral atoms (ENA) in space has emerged as a powerful tool to remotely probe hot plasmas and populations of energetic ions such as planetary magnetospheres and the interstellar boundary of the heliosphere. The original ENA experimental concept was followed by 20 years of development of enabling instrumentation to overcome measurement challenges. Mike Gruntman played a leading role in this development. NASA's IMAGE mission successfully demonstrated the instrumentation and the power of the experimental concept by imaging Earth's magnetosphere. Cassini images the magnetosphere of Saturn in ENA fluxes. Two ENA imagers are launched in 2007 and 2008 on the NASA TWINS mission to conduct, for the first time, stereoscopic imaging of the Earth magnetosphere, while IBEX (launch 2008) will probe the solar system galactic frontier in ENA fluxes.
Solar System Galactic Frontier
Mike Gruntman's scientific interests include the solar system galactic frontier. This region where the expanding solar wind meets the surrounding galactic medium remains poorly explored. Mike is co-investigator on the NASA mission Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) launched in October 2008. It took 25 years from the original vague concept to the space mission. The site presents several key publications on the concept of probing the solar system frontier (1) remotely through imaging in fluxes of energetic neutral atoms and extreme ultraviolet photons and (2) with an interstellar mission.
Mike Gruntman is professor of astronautics and professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Southern California (USC) and the founding director of the USC Astronautics Program focusing on degrees in space engineering. He was honored to serve the first (founding) Chairman (20042007) of the Astronautics and Space Technology Division, a new academic unit in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering., which is now the Department of Astronautical Engineering . Gruntman is involved in a number of R&D programs in space science and technology; he is co-investigator in the current NASA missions TWINS and IBEX. He authored and co-authored more than 200 publications including two books in the areas of astronautics, space physics, space technology, scientific instrumentation, space sensors, space and rocket history, and astronautical education.
Various events, documents, and publications related (and very few unrelated) to history of spacecraft and rocketry.
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