Orbital Mechanics--Careers?
mark jones
After u.g. major in math with lots of physics I'm trying to decide on masters/Ph.d in math or orbital mechanics. What are the opportunities in orbital mechanics and will they still be there in 5 or 6 years. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Reply via net or directly mjo...@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu
My name is Nasser Abbasi
In article <1jqits...@geraldo.cc.utexas.edu>, mjo...@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (mark jones) writes...
since defense and aerospace are not doing too well, one would think
OM area might not be too hot. is there actually an MS in OM? or is
OM studied under control engineering? or mechanical engineering?
if however you study physics, you can do both, OM and math and many other
things too ;-)
\nasser
Srinivas Bettadpur
>In article <1993Jan27....@nntpd.lkg.dec.com> My name is Nasser
>Abbasi, abb...@star.enet.dec.com writes:
>>In article <1jqits...@geraldo.cc.utexas.edu>, mjo...@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu
>
>>(mark jones) writes...
>>>
>>
>>OM area might not be too hot. is there actually an MS in OM? or is
>>OM studied under control engineering? or mechanical engineering?
>
>degree in orbital mechanics.
Since not many places offer even a half-way decent program in
orbital mechanics, I was expecting this thread to die a natural
death. I was kind of surprised to see the number of responses.
A quick summary on the queen of sciences (OM) :
* Almost all Aero departments will offer at least one undergraduate
class in the basics of celestial mechanics (CM).
* I know of UT-Austin, MIT, Stanford, UC-Boulder, VPISU, U. Mich-Ann
Arbor, U. Ill.-UC, Purdue, Auburn U. as offering any significant
graduate programs in CM in the US.
* UT-A is far and away the best (I am biased), with 8 faculty
members in this area, and at least 4 undergrad classes and more than
15 graduate classes. No other university comes even close in terms of
sheer numbers. The largest number in any other place is 3 (I think).
* Typical places for employment might include JPL, NASA-(gsfc and
jsc), Lockheed, Rockwell, Martin Marietta, Aerospace Corp., Hughes STX
and a bunch of other Aerospace companies.
Srinivas
--
Srinivas Bettadpur Internet : bya...@hermes.chpc.utexas.edu
P.O. Box 8520, Austin, Tx. 78713-8520, U.S.A. Tel. (512) 471 4332
BITNET : byab314@uthermes
Michael F. Kamprath
Abbasi, abb...@star.enet.dec.com writes:
Here at U-M's Aerospace deptartment, I am getting my MSE (Aerospace) with a
concentration in flight dynamics, and personally, I am concentrating in orbital
mechanics. It is not "official," i guess, but I would say I was getting my
degree in orbital mechanics. But then again, an MSE can almost be considered
a specialized BSE.
======================================================================
|Michael F. Kamprath | The University of Michigan |
| kamp...@space-grant.sprl.umich.edu | Aerospace Engineering |
| kamp...@engin.umich.edu | Graduate Student |
======================================================================
fred j mccall 575-3539
> * I know of UT-Austin, MIT, Stanford, UC-Boulder, VPISU, U. Mich-Ann
>Arbor, U. Ill.-UC, Purdue, Auburn U. as offering any significant
>graduate programs in CM in the US.
Uh, that's CU-Boulder. Yes, I know the school is called University of
Colorado, but we still abbreviate it CU.
[No, I know nothing about their curriculum wrt. CM; I just happened to
go to school there for something else.]
--
"Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don't have the balls to live
in the real world." -- Mary Shafer, NASA Ames Dryden
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fred....@dseg.ti.com - I don't speak for others and they don't speak for me.
ns...@acad3.alaska.edu
Im not sure, but I think the University of Alaska Fairbanks might have a few
classes in celestial mechanics, after all they do have Poker Flats the only US
University Run Sub-Orbital (snd some Orbital) atmospheric launch site.. Uses
old Nike or Atlas Rockets(I think). Also is the farthest north laucnh site in
the world if I remember right, its a good site for polar orbit launches.
It normally studies pollution and the northern lights..
I have the address for them someplace around here.
Send me email and Ill pass the info I have on it all..
I believe poker flats is either run or owned by NASA or NAsa helps??
Michael Adams
Alias: Morgoth/Ghost Wheel
ns...@acad2.alaska.edu
Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey
>>>>
>>>> etc.... What are the opportunities
>>>>in orbital mechanics and will they still be there in 5 or 6 years.
> jsc), Lockheed, Rockwell, Martin Marietta, Aerospace Corp., Hughes STX
> and a bunch of other Aerospace companies.
This suggests an interesting algorithm for Mr. Jones:
1) Get the proceedings of a recent conference on orbital mechanics.
2) See who's writing the papers. Also note the companies they work
for.
3) Talk to the people in (2). Ask *them* your questions.
4) Apply to the companies for jobs.
To the list Srinivas gave I might add Science Applications
International, Teledyne Brown, and Eagle Engineering. General
Dynamics and McDonnell-Douglas operate launchers and hence employ a
few astrodynamics people. Military services also employ civilians.
Bill Higgins, Beam Jockey | "Enough marshmallows
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory | will kill you
Bitnet: HIG...@FNAL.BITNET | if properly placed."
Internet: HIG...@FNAL.FNAL.GOV | --John Alexander, leader of
SPAN/Hepnet: 43011::HIGGINS | "disabling technologies"
[*Aviation Week*, 7 Dec 1992, p. 50] | research, Los Alamos
tomas o munoz 283-4072
|> In article <1993Jan28....@chpc.utexas.edu>, bya...@chpc.utexas.edu (Srinivas Bettadpur) writes:
|> >>>(mark jones) writes...
|> >>>>
|> >>>> etc.... What are the opportunities
|> >>>>in orbital mechanics and will they still be there in 5 or 6 years.
|> > * Typical places for employment might include JPL, NASA-(gsfc and
|> > jsc), Lockheed, Rockwell, Martin Marietta, Aerospace Corp., Hughes STX
|> > and a bunch of other Aerospace companies.
|>
|> This suggests an interesting algorithm for Mr. Jones:
|>
|> 1) Get the proceedings of a recent conference on orbital mechanics.
|>
|> 2) See who's writing the papers. Also note the companies they work
|> for.
|>
|> 3) Talk to the people in (2). Ask *them* your questions.
|>
|> 4) Apply to the companies for jobs.
|>
|> To the list Srinivas gave I might add Science Applications
|> International, Teledyne Brown, and Eagle Engineering. General
|> Dynamics and McDonnell-Douglas operate launchers and hence employ a
|> few astrodynamics people. Military services also employ civilians.|>
In addition to looking at these companies, I would suggest you
call some NASA centers such as JSC, KSC, LaRC, MSFC, etc...
[I think there is a total of 7 centers and some labs].
You can call the operator at each center and ask for the
personnel office - the switchboard at JSC in Houston is
[713] 483-0123. Good luck.
--
========================================================================
Thought for the day [plagiarized from someone else's posting]:
Engineers think equations are an approximation of reality.
Physicists think reality is an approximation of the equations.
Mathematicians never make the connection.
========================================================================
Jim Haynes
Which subject reminded of an item that came over the wire service news
immediately after Sputnik went up. Said something like
scientists are feverishly working to calculate the orbit of
the new satellite. People who do this kind of work are called
celestial mechanics.
--
hay...@cats.ucsc.edu
hay...@cats.bitnet
"Ya can talk all ya wanna, but it's dif'rent than it was!"
"No it aint! But ya gotta know the territory!"
Meredith Willson: "The Music Man"
John O. Bell II
>
>> * I know of UT-Austin, MIT, Stanford, UC-Boulder, VPISU, U. Mich-Ann
>>Arbor, U. Ill.-UC, Purdue, Auburn U. as offering any significant
>>graduate programs in CM in the US.
If you ever get the chance, take a very close look at the Aero Engineering
grad program at the U of Illinois... especially for concentration in the
field of Orbital/Celestial Mechanics. The university is getting gobs of
money poured into it, the dean (Prof. Solomon) is on a mission to make it
the top AAE grad school in the country, and if you're lucky and say your
prayers :-) you'll get to work with either Prof. J. E. Prussing or
Prof. B. A. Conway, both highly respected contributors to the field and
quite pleasurable to work with.
I know, I know, my check's in the mail... :-)
(but believe me, they are _excellent_ teachers at an excellent school).
John Bell
Applied Computing Devices, Inc.
jb...@hdfs1.acd.com
P.S. Yes, I graduated from U of I with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering
(how did you _ever_ guess :-) ).
kje...@gothamcity.jsc.nasa.gov
: If you ever get the chance, take a very close look at the Aero Engineering
: grad program at the U of Illinois... especially for concentration in the
: field of Orbital/Celestial Mechanics. The university is getting gobs of
: money poured into it, the dean (Prof. Solomon) is on a mission to make it
: the top AAE grad school in the country, and if you're lucky and say your
: prayers :-) you'll get to work with either Prof. J. E. Prussing or
: Prof. B. A. Conway, both highly respected contributors to the field and
: quite pleasurable to work with.
I concur. I took my MS in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering
at the University of Illinois/Champaign-Urbana. Dr. Prussing has done
outstanding work in the field of hyperbolic cycloids for point-to-point,
non-elliptical orbits in a gravity well. Dr. Conway s one of the best
instructors I've ever had.
UIUC is consistently ranked #3 in the country for engineering schools.
(MIT is always #1, and Stanford and Berkeley vie for #2, depending on
who's doing the survey.) And it's a state school, with reasonable
tuition. (Not as reasonable as Univ. of Houston, but that's another
story and another degree.)
-- Ken Jenks, NASA/JSC/GM2, Space Shuttle Program Office
kje...@gothamcity.jsc.nasa.gov (713) 483-4368
BS: CS, UIUC '85; MS: AAE, UIUC '87; PhD: ME, UH '95(?)
"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.
Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men
with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a
proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated
derilicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the
problems of the human race." -- Calvin Coolidge