Provides a foundation in space flight mechanics, to understand why a spacecraft follows suborbital, orbital, and escape trajectories, and the methods used to establish and control these trajectories.
Description:
OPS 104 provides an overview of orbital and attitudinal dynamics. The intent is to provide a meaningful understanding of spacecraft flight dynamics with minimal mathematical emphasis. Thus, the student will gain sufficient knowledge that, when presented with mission profiles from a flight dynamics specialist, they will have a conceptual understanding of the flight profiles and the sequence of events needed to actualize the profile in a simulation environment.
Goals:
The purpose of this course is to provide a foundation in space flight mechanics, so as to understand why a spacecraft follows suborbital, orbital, and escape trajectories and the methods used to establish and control these trajectories. This knowledge will facilitate flight profile execution in the simulators.
Objectives
Upon completing this course, scientist candidates will be able to:
1. Explain the relationship of gravity and velocity in establishing suborbital, orbital, and escape trajectories.
2. Describe vehicle attitude representations and control methods.
3. Describe an orbit around a celestial body using classical Keplerian Elements.
4. Explain the use of velocity changes to change from an existing to a desired trajectory.
5. Demonstrate the use of simplified linearized approximations and their effective use in rendezvous and proximity operations in preparation for docking.
6. Describe profiles for establishing departure, rendezvous, encounters, entry, and landings between planets or other celestial bodies.
Curriculum:
Part 1 provides the astrodynamics foundation, which is 11 weeks of webinar lectures, that provides foundational knowledge of orbital mechanics and attitudinal dynamics to facilitate performance in simulator scenarios.
Part 2 will be a four day Orion spacecraft simulator-based course. Lectures will focus on the practical aspects of flight dynamics, helpful toward executing the simulator scenarios:
1. Launch to ISS orbital intercept/rendezvous using space suits.
2. ISS proximity operations and docking, flight suit environment
3. De-orbit and landing scenarios using space suits
Course Start: Fall Semester
Duration: 6 weeks
All material ©2024 Integrated Spaceflight Services LLC. All rights reserved.
Related Courses
EVA 104: Gravity-Offset EVA Space Suit Evaluation (2025)
August 25, 2025$5,000.00EVA 101: Life Support Systems (2025)
August 25, 2025$995.00FTE 101: Fundamentals of Flight Test Engineering (2025)
June 2, 2025$995.00
IIAS Course Catalog
2022 Course Schedule
march
27mar(mar 27)8:00 am31(mar 31)5:00 pmAST 101: Fundamentals of Astronautics Class 2501
Event Details
For those holding a B.S. Degree from an accredited university, AST 101 'Fundamentals of Astronautics' (PoSSUM) is held at Florida Tech. It is a five-day, fully immersive training program that
more
Event Details
For those holding a B.S. Degree from an accredited university, AST 101 ‘Fundamentals of Astronautics’ (PoSSUM) is held at Florida Tech. It is a five-day, fully immersive training program that will provide the skills required to effectively conduct research on the next generation of commercial space vehicles as part of IIAS’s aeronomy program, Project PoSSUM. Designed and instructed by former NASA astronaut instructors and IIAS team scientists, AST 101 combines three weeks of webinar instruction followed by one-week of intensive training including high-G training, crew resource management training, spacesuit training, high-altitude training, biometric analysis, and ‘PoSSUMCam’ operations. You will also receive comprehensive instruction on noctilucent cloud science, observational history, research methods from some of the world’s leading noctilucent cloud scientists, then learn to use real PoSSUM instruments on customized simulations of actual ‘PoSSUM’ research flights, using the most modern training facilities available.
Time
27 (Thursday) 8:00 am - 31 (Monday) 5:00 pm EDT
Location
Florida Tech
2495 Palm Bay Rd NE, Palm Bay, FL 32905, United States
Organizer
Event Details
Similar to the AST 101 Fundamentals of Astronautics course but taught at a more qualitative level, the Advanced PoSSUM Academy at Florida Tech is a hands-on and immersive program designed
Event Details
Similar to the AST 101 Fundamentals of Astronautics course but taught at a more qualitative level, the Advanced PoSSUM Academy at Florida Tech is a hands-on and immersive program designed for advanced high-school and undergraduate students interested in upper-atmospheric research, bioastronautics, science communication, and human space flight operations. As with all AST 101 graduates, PoSSUM Academy graduates may enroll in all IIAS Graduate Programs.
Time
March 31 (Monday) 8:00 am - April 4 (Friday) 5:00 pm EDT
Location
Florida Tech
2495 Palm Bay Rd NE, Palm Bay, FL 32905, United States
Organizer
april
03apr(apr 3)8:00 am07(apr 7)5:00 pmAST 101: Fundamentals of Astronautics Class 2502
Event Details
For those holding a B.S. Degree from an accredited university, AST 101 'Fundamentals of Astronautics' (PoSSUM) is held at Florida Tech. It is a five-day, fully immersive training program that
more
Event Details
For those holding a B.S. Degree from an accredited university, AST 101 ‘Fundamentals of Astronautics’ (PoSSUM) is held at Florida Tech. It is a five-day, fully immersive training program that will provide the skills required to effectively conduct research on the next generation of commercial space vehicles as part of IIAS’s aeronomy program, Project PoSSUM. Designed and instructed by former NASA astronaut instructors and IIAS team scientists, AST 101 combines three weeks of webinar instruction followed by one-week of intensive training including high-G training, crew resource management training, spacesuit training, high-altitude training, biometric analysis, and ‘PoSSUMCam’ operations. You will also receive comprehensive instruction on noctilucent cloud science, observational history, research methods from some of the world’s leading noctilucent cloud scientists, then learn to use real PoSSUM instruments on customized simulations of actual ‘PoSSUM’ research flights, using the most modern training facilities available.
Time
3 (Thursday) 8:00 am - 7 (Monday) 5:00 pm EDT
Location
Florida Tech
2495 Palm Bay Rd NE, Palm Bay, FL 32905, United States
Organizer
june
Event Details
This course covers the requirements and design considerations for EVA systems and tools for conducting planetary field geology. Included are an introduction to field science in the context of geology;
more
Event Details
This course covers the requirements and design considerations for EVA systems and tools for conducting planetary field geology. Included are an introduction to field science in the context of geology; an overview of the processes that shape the surface environments of Mars and Earth’s moon; a survey of historical planetary surface geologic exploration by robots and humans; and a survey of historical EVA systems and tools used for human surface science. Emphasis will be on analyzing the constraints placed by human factors, the EVA environment, science tasks, etc. upon the design and implementation of EVA suits, tools, and procedures for effective and efficient field science operations on planetary surfaces..
The online portion of the EVA 103 course will be followed by a ~1-week capstone field experience in the San Francisco Volcanic Field (SFVF), just north of Flagstaff, AZ. This area has been used extensively in the past for a number of NASA analog mission simulations and NASA-funded geologic research related to planetary field exploration. Students will be introduced to basic field science practice in the context of geologic observations and sample collection. Field work will also involve testing of prototype surface EVA suits and tools in the scientifically relevant analog setting of the SFVF.
Time
5 (Thursday) 8:00 am - 8 (Sunday) 3:00 pm AST
Location
San Francisco Volcanic Fields (SFVF)
Flagstaff, AZ
august
Event Details
AST 102 provides a foundation in the microgravity environment, microgravity research campaign planning and operations, microgravity experiment and payload design and development, and science communication and public outreach. Students in the
more
Event Details
AST 102 provides a foundation in the microgravity environment, microgravity research campaign planning and operations, microgravity experiment and payload design and development, and science communication and public outreach.
Students in the course will apply their knowledge and skills learned in the webinars in a parabolic flight campaign with Integrated Spaceflight Services and the National Research Council of Canada. The flight campaign will take place at the NRC Flight Research Lab (FRL) located in Ottawa, Canada. The address is 1920 Research Private, Ottawa, ON K1V 1J8, Canada and is suited within walking distance of the Ottawa International Airport. Students should plan to arrive at 8AM each day. A typical day will end by 6PM. Students should plan to stay until 6PM on the last day of the campaign. Additional details of the flight campaign will be provided in the webinars.
Students will need to provide the following information one month prior to the flight campaign:
• Full legal Name
• Date of Birth
• Nationality
• Passport Number and scan of passport photo page
• Students are advised to monitor the travel restrictions regarding the US/Canada border.
• Students in need of travel visas should contact the Instructor as early as possible.
What to expect
Participating members should allow for four to five days. Upon arrival, each members will receive a safety briefing and instruction on research protocol as part of the Test Readiness Review (TRR). Members participate in egress tests and system testing. All teams will rehearse until they reach a level of proficiency in 1G conditions before their flight. Once the mission is approved by both test director and NRC flight safety officer, the flight will commence.
.
Mission Plan:
Each sortie is planned for 18 parabolas, but flights may be terminated for reason. A flight may be terminated for any of the following reasons:
- Test participant vomiting in the suit or bio-monitor data in excess of established limits
- Excessive vomiting by any flight team member.
- Failure of essential equipment
- Any condition created by a flight team that violates any safety protocol
Time
11 (Monday) 8:00 am - 15 (Friday) 5:00 pm EDT
Location
National Research Council Flight Research Laboratory
1920 Research Private, Ottawa, ON K1V 1J8, Canada
Organizer
october
Event Details
OPS 102 is the first professional education course on the landing and post-landing phase of human spacecraft missions. this course covers nominal and contingency landing scenarios, post-landing planning, rescue and
more
Event Details
OPS 102 is the first professional education course on the landing and post-landing phase of human spacecraft missions. this course covers nominal and contingency landing scenarios, post-landing planning, rescue and recovery architecture design, egress systems and operational procedures, deconditioning and post-landing survivability, generalized egress skills, and emergency egress bottle use. OPS 102 also provides instruction on spacesuit use in nominal and off-nominal post-landing environments. Students demonstrate reliable functionality of parachute release, life preserver unit (LPU), and snorkel functionality in varying sea and lighting conditions. Students also learn the effective use of radios, beacons, signal flares, and other signaling devices in water and egress bottle use for egress operations.
Learning Objectives:
Spaceflight-Specific Topics of Study:
- Planning for Nominal and Contingency Landings
- Nominal Rescue Operations
- Contingency Rescue Operations for Land Landing Spacecraft
- International Program-Specific Agreements
- Global SAR Response Resources supporting Contingency Landings
- Contingency Rescue Operations for Water Landing Spacecraft
- Pad Egress Failure Environments, Pad Egress Design and Operations
- Early De-orbit scenarios
- Post-Landing Contingencies
- Egress Systems
- Egress Procedures and Operations
- Assessing Probabilities and Effects of Injuries and Deconditioning
- Assessing the Effects of Deconditioning on Egress Operations
- Incapacitation through Entrapment
- Egress and Post-Landing Operations in the Age of Commercial Manned Spaceflight
- Emergency Post-Landing Survival Kits, Medical Resources.
Sea Survival Skills:
- Safety and survival equipment utilization and deployment
- Introduction to hypothermia mitigation and sea survival
- Personal rescue techniques and use of life rafts and signaling devices
- Characteristics of personal flotation devices and aviation jackets
Spacecraft Egress Skills:
- Safety and survival equipment utilization and deployment
- Coping with physiological and psychological stress
- Demonstrate stable flotation for various size test subjects
- Demonstrate reliable functionality of parachute release in varying sea conditions
- Demonstrate reliable functionality of snorkel system in varying sea conditions
- Demonstrate raft ingress in varying sea conditions
- Qualitative assessments of suit functionality and comfort with LPU
- Demonstrate effective use of radios, beacons, signal flares, and other signaling devices in water
- Demonstrate effective use of egress bottle for egress operations
OPTIONAL: Fundamental Egress Skills:
- Introduction of rescue devices and simulated rescues;
- Preparation for emergency landing situations;
- Evacuation through an emergency exit;
- Physics and physiology for use of compressed air;
- Preflight inspection, egress considerations, and clearing procedures using an EBD
- Conducting an emergency egress on breath hold utilizing the Shallow Water Egress Trainer
- Conducting an emergency egress with an EBD utilizing the Shallow Water Egress Trainer
- Evacuation and escape training utilizing the Modular Egress Training Simulator (METS™) with and without utilizing an EBD
On-Site Curriculum (4-5 days):
Classroom instruction: Suit (Pressure suit system description, Analog suit differences), Parachute components, Ejection (sequence, components), Post-ejection, Post-departure through crew/seat separation, Descent (Post seat separation through canopy open and canopy descent, Proper position, CVSPSR, Landing), Survival/signaling, Survival gear descriptions and use, Signaling ops, Water Operations (Psychological, Practical), Rescue Operations, Safety
Sea Survival: Life raft deployment/entry and simulated emergency scenarios, Introduction to individual and group sea surface formations, Introduction to search and rescue resources and equipment.
Capsule Egress Operations: Unsuited Capsule Egress (Side Hatch, Top Hatch, Life raft ops/ingress, Raft ops/signaling), Suited Capsule Egress (Side Hatch, Top Hatch, Life raft ops/ingress, Raft ops/signaling)
Suited Parachute lift and drop: dry (Lift, Position, Canopy check, Visor, Seat kit, Prepare, Release), Suited Parachute lift – wet ((Lift, Position, Canopy check, Visor, Seat kit, Prepare, Drop, Release, Canopy extraction, Hoist ops (Horse collar, Forrest Penetrator, Mail hook)
Time
17 (Friday) 8:00 am - 21 (Tuesday) 5:00 pm EST
Location
Survival Systems USA
144 Tower Ave #5326, Groton, CT 06340, United States
Organizer
Event Details
Objectives: EVA 105 extends upon the introductory life support system curriculum presented in EVA 101 to include specific EVA space suit systems and test and validation procedures in an underwater
more
Event Details
Objectives: EVA 105 extends upon the introductory life support system curriculum presented in EVA 101 to include specific EVA space suit systems and test and validation procedures in an underwater analog environment. The course covers a historical analysis of specific US and Russian EVA space suit development programs, EVA space suit systems, laboratory test protocols, terminology and etiquette, EVA space suit test development, and design drivers of future EVA space suit systems. Students will be responsible to develop testing procedures based on tools and procedures developed in EVA 102 (Operational Space Medicine), EVA 103 (Planetary Field Geology), or for microgravity operations.
Goals: To provide entry-level familiarization of operations and tasks associated with in-space EVA.
Curriculum:
- Introduction to the Underwater Environment (neutral buoyancy)
- Human Performance and Limitations (diving and saturation diving medicine)
- Underwater Procedures and Operations
- Testing Tools (performance, ergonomy)
- Testing Suits (movement, sensors, design)
- EVA training (NBL, NBF, Hydro Lab)
- Airlock and NBL Operations
- Vehicle Utilization
- Reduced Mobility and Movement
- Underwater Habitats and Isolation (building, performance)
- Special Topic: Saturation and Hyperbaric Medicine
- Special Topic: NAUI and Scientific Diving
- Underwater Science and Marine Biology
Time
22 (Wednesday) 8:00 am - 25 (Saturday) 1:00 pm EDT
Location
Survival Systems USA
144 Tower Ave #5326, Groton, CT 06340, United States
30oct(oct 30)8:00 am03nov(nov 3)5:00 pmAST 101: Fundamentals of Astronautics Class 2503
Event Details
For those holding a B.S. Degree from an accredited university, AST 101 'Fundamentals of Astronautics' is held at Florida Tech. It is a five-day, fully immersive training program that will
more
Event Details
For those holding a B.S. Degree from an accredited university, AST 101 ‘Fundamentals of Astronautics’ is held at Florida Tech. It is a five-day, fully immersive training program that will provide the skills required to effectively conduct research on the next generation of commercial space vehicles as part of IIAS’s aeronomy program, Project PoSSUM. Designed and instructed by former NASA astronaut instructors and IIAS team scientists, AST 101 combines three weeks of webinar instruction followed by one-week of intensive training including high-G training, crew resource management training, spacesuit training, high-altitude training, biometric analysis, and ‘PoSSUMCam’ operations. You will also receive comprehensive instruction on noctilucent cloud science, observational history, research methods from some of the world’s leading noctilucent cloud scientists, then learn to use real PoSSUM instruments on customized simulations of actual ‘PoSSUM’ research flights, using the most modern training facilities available.
Time
October 30 (Thursday) 8:00 am - November 3 (Monday) 5:00 pm EDT
Location
Florida Tech
2495 Palm Bay Rd NE, Palm Bay, FL 32905, United States
Organizer
november
03nov(nov 3)8:00 am07(nov 7)5:00 pmAST 101: Advanced PoSSUM Academy - Blue Jet Group (Fall 2025)
Event Details
Similar to the AST 101 Fundamentals of Astronautics course but taught at a more qualitative level, the Advanced PoSSUM Academy at Florida Tech is a hands-on and immersive program designed
Event Details
Similar to the AST 101 Fundamentals of Astronautics course but taught at a more qualitative level, the Advanced PoSSUM Academy at Florida Tech is a hands-on and immersive program designed for advanced high-school and undergraduate students interested in upper-atmospheric research, bioastronautics, science communication, and human space flight operations. As with all AST 101 graduates, PoSSUM Academy graduates may enroll in all IIAS Graduate Programs.
Time
3 (Monday) 8:00 am - 7 (Friday) 5:00 pm EDT
Location
Florida Tech
2495 Palm Bay Rd NE, Palm Bay, FL 32905, United States
Organizer
06nov(nov 6)8:00 am10(nov 10)5:00 pmAST 101: Fundamentals of Astronautics Class 2504
Event Details
For those holding a B.S. Degree from an accredited university, AST 101 'Fundamentals of Astronautics' is held at Florida Tech. It is a five-day, fully immersive training program that will
more
Event Details
For those holding a B.S. Degree from an accredited university, AST 101 ‘Fundamentals of Astronautics’ is held at Florida Tech. It is a five-day, fully immersive training program that will provide the skills required to effectively conduct research on the next generation of commercial space vehicles as part of IIAS’s aeronomy program, Project PoSSUM. Designed and instructed by former NASA astronaut instructors and IIAS team scientists, AST 101 combines three weeks of webinar instruction followed by one-week of intensive training including high-G training, crew resource management training, spacesuit training, high-altitude training, biometric analysis, and ‘PoSSUMCam’ operations. You will also receive comprehensive instruction on noctilucent cloud science, observational history, research methods from some of the world’s leading noctilucent cloud scientists, then learn to use real PoSSUM instruments on customized simulations of actual ‘PoSSUM’ research flights, using the most modern training facilities available.
Time
6 (Thursday) 8:00 am - 10 (Monday) 5:00 pm EDT
Location
Florida Tech
2495 Palm Bay Rd NE, Palm Bay, FL 32905, United States
Organizer
Event Details
EVA Space Suit Evaluation Program: Day 1: EVA space suit donning, Assisting donning of EVA space suits. Chest control board operations, cooling, communication and lighting system operations. Introduction to gravity offset
more
Event Details
EVA Space Suit Evaluation Program:
Day 1: EVA space suit donning, Assisting donning of EVA space suits. Chest control board operations, cooling, communication and lighting system operations. Introduction to gravity offset systems (Lunar, Martian, and microgravity operations).
Day 2-4: Surface EVA Evaluation, lunar and Martian gravity (scooper, drill, hammer, soil sampler, spectrometer, remote rover operations). Microgravity operations (drill and ‘Task Board 3’ panel removal and maintenance, hatch operations, camera mounting and operation, translation using handrails and carabiners). MCC operations, medical monitoring, and gravity offset system operations. Comparative evaluation of finger, hand, and upper body strength in unsuited, suited and unpressurized, and suited and pressurized environments.
Instructors: Ken Trujillo, Chris Lundeen
Time
13 (Thursday) 8:00 am - 16 (Sunday) 5:00 pm EDT
Location
Florida Tech
2495 Palm Bay Rd NE, Palm Bay, FL 32905, United States