Best products from r/AerospaceEngineering

They probably get cited too often as the best fluid mechanics books (at least for aerospace purposes), but John Anderson's books are a really good set to learn from as they have a really nice, linear progression of info. If you get several of them, you'll probably notice a fair bit of overlap in the early chapters since they're written to be pretty self-contained.

Jack Moran's book is also a really good intro and lead-up to computational approaches, with Laney providing a good second step down that line.

I third this. You may find that you learn more in FSAE than you will in class, especially regarding the realities of making designs come to life. It's hard work, but it will pay dividends for the rest of your life. (Just like the rest of college).

No need to restrict yourself to aerodynamics, that's only one of the many areas of study you'll learn in AE. Structures and controls are also core competencies of any respectable AE grad.

To half-answer your latter question, I found myself going down the structures route when my FSAE team needed a guy to do the chassis. I was originally enamored with aerodynamics, but to be honest, I'm quite glad that fate steered me to structures.
Because aerodynamics are so amenable to mathematical description (i.e., Navier-Stokes rules the show), the modern aerodynamicist is chiefly a mathematician. (Or some would say CFD-jockey, but that's perhaps a bit derogatory, haha). Rarely does he get to touch hardware.

Being a person who loves to split time between desk work and getting my hands dirty in the lab, I have found structures to be far more rewarding than other field options. There's still so much we don't understand about how materials fail, how to build stronger or stiffer composites, and how to predict failure, hat the structures engineer will always be kept busy pushing the boundaries of his field both experimentally and analytically. (I'm sure other fields are hard too, but of course I speak unabashedly from the structures perspective.)

As for books, a good place to start is the well-written series by the great Carroll Smith. Engineer to Win is a gem among the FSAE metal-pounders.

>I can't speak for this "Spacecraft Systems Engineering." The recommendations say it's a good supplement to the book I mentioned above-so that's a good sign. Would consider getting it afterward the one above.

I have both the SMAD and this book and I can recommend both. They are both really good books imo and have lots of information for the preliminary design of spacecraft and are definitely very good to learn the basics. I think the main difference between the two books is that the SMAD is originally from the United States and Spacecraft Systems Engineering is originally from the UK, its pretty interesting to see how some problems are approached slightly differently across the globe. The general story is about the same though. However note that if you really want to go into detailed design I think more specialised books/papers are needed.

It depends on exactly what he's interested in(propulsion, structures, controls, launch vehicles or satellites, etc) but check out the new SMAD(or old, for cheaper). It's a thorough book that covers the basics of practically everything and good enough to do initial designs. It could also be good to help find what he's interested in if he doesn't know yet.

Pricey new but not to pricey if bought used. I'd recommend getting it used or getting the older version. Paying the extra 100$ or more isn't worth it imo but as always that's up to you.

https://www.amazon.com/Space-Mission-Engineering-Technology-Library/dp/1881883159

Here are a couple of recommendations and who I would recommend them to.

​

Analytical Mechanics of Space Systems by Schaub and Junkins - I would recommend this to anyone hoping to get into doing actual AD&C for satellites. This book is written by two giants of the field and it shows.

​

Coursera: Spacecraft Dynamics and controls- I would recommend this to someone also hoping to do AD&C, but want a more traditional class instead of self-learning. Taught by Schaub, I would expect this to be an extremely rigorous and good spacecraft dynamics course.

​

Aerospace Dynamics- This is a free MIT open courseware which should go over the basics of satellite dynamics and frames/transformations.

​

​

​

People never believe me, but I constantly tell them we're really good at building planes... as there is a lot of data to infer from, which is why we have several extremely, notable books. Rocket and space craft design are a grey area. The one that is always recommended first to everyone is "Space Mission Analysis and Design". Most colleges use it and it's #1.

I can't speak for this "Spacecraft Systems Engineering." The recommendations say it's a good supplement to the book I mentioned above-so that's a good sign. Would consider getting it afterward the one above.

usually you start aircraft design by taking something existing and then scaling that design towards some goal, like maximum aerodynamic efficiency or minimal weight. true clean sheet aircraft...are only conceptual, and even those require stuff like initial sizing studies and regression plots that are usually based on previous somewhat similar mission aircraft for the job.

get andersons aircraft design. also this one is one of my favorite reads https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Combat-Aircraft-Design-Technology/dp/0870214268

Has your friend read the book Skunk Works? I'd recommend it. If your friend likes building models, you can also run down to your local hobby shop and buy a plane or spacecraft kit to build one. Some may come pre-assembled if your friend isn't into building them.

One great book to learn about jet engines specifically, which I find incredibly interesting, is "The Jet Engine", which is written by the engineers at Rolls-Royce. It's also pretty easy to understand and isn't too expensive, especially if you get an older edition.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1119065992/

That’s really sweet of you to do that for your boyfriend. Some universities have an “Intro to Aerospace Engineering” course where they use John Anderson’s Introduction to Flight textbook. It’s a really great read as it tries to sum up all of the field in one book while also being really enjoyable to read both actively and casually.

https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Flight-John-Anderson-Jr/dp/0078027675/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=introduction+to+flight&qid=1563239666&s=gateway&sprefix=introduction+to+flight&sr=8-1

It’s a little pricey (approx $130, but that’s normal for engineering textbooks), but I think it’s worth it for what it provides at a base level for a fresh aerospace student.

I’d actually recommend “history of aerodynamic” also by John D. Anderson if you are reading for inspiration. It’s a fun read as he methodically step you step by step how aerodynamics as a science came to be. This is the same author that everyone is recommending, fundamentals of aerodynamics. I think history is better since it’s more of a story and have some maths in there to give you a taste without the undergrad level of calculus and differential equations that looks daunting and would be completely unfamiliar to you without the mathematical foundation you need.

Added link for ref: https://www.amazon.com/History-Aerodynamics-Machines-Cambridge-Aerospace/dp/0521669553

For flight dynamics, I've got Modern Flight Dynamics by Scmidt on my bookshelf. The book by Stengel looks pretty good too. I've got one of his other books called Optimal Control and Estimation that I like.



For structures of flight vehicles, I don't have any references I like on the subject unfortunately. The books I used for it in school were alright, but not great in my opinion. Lots of books on Amazon will let you have a preview, so you could skim a few there and then secure a copy from your library.

Fantastic book, highly recommended.

I'd also recommend Failure is Not an Option, by Gene Krantz, a flight director during the Apollo missions.

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Failure-Not-Option-Mission-Control/dp/1439148813

From a fiction standpoint, read The Martian. It is a great book.

From a non-fiction perspective read Chuck Yeagers autobiography and Skunk Works.

From a textbook perspective, Understanding Aircraft Structures https://www.amazon.com/dp/1405120320?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share is good. It gives a very top level view of a lot of aerospace engineering issues and is a great starting point for your studies. It’s not technical at all, but it gets you a lot of the initial terminology.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porkchop_plot

​

Find one of these for the earth-moon system, if you haven't already.

​

Did your prof say how much they weigh delta-v vs time of flight? Knowing how they are going to grade is probably better for making a cost function than assuming how much consumables/fuel you need.

​

There is this, I have no idea how helpful it will be: https://www.nasa.gov/offices/ocfo/nasa-cost-estimating-handbook-ceh

​

A copy of SMAD may be available at your local uni library: https://www.amazon.com/Mission-Analysis-Design-Technology-Library/dp/1881883108

​

Barring that, you could assume a rate for consumption of well, consumables (food, air, etc) and use that to find a mass budget for that. You can then assuming a launch cost per lb. Do something similar for your propulsion system, but assuming an engine with a certain ISP/propellant.

There is a fairly standard set of data called "two-line elements", which describes the main orbital elements of the satellite. Wikipedia

Orbital elements describe the orbit of the satellite. "Fundamentals of Astrodynamics" by Bate, Mueller, and White is the best book for understanding this stuff. Amazon

A lot of satellites broadcast this information in plain Morse code, which you can listen to if you really want. There are lots of resources out there that aggregate this information for you already. CelesTrak, OSSI, SatObs

SMAD.

https://www.amazon.com/Mission-Analysis-Design-Technology-Library/dp/1881883108/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1535934282&sr=8-3&keywords=smad