Department of Aerospace Engineering
Department Head: Professor Rani W. Sullivan
Academic Coordinator: Ms. Machaunda Bush
Office: 321 Walker Engineering Building
The Department of Aerospace Engineering at Mississippi State University provides an accredited undergraduate curriculum with the mission of preparing students to enter the workplace as qualified entry-level aerospace engineers or to enter any aerospace engineering graduate program adequately prepared for advanced study. This mission is accomplished by a strong foundation in mathematics and physical and engineering sciences upon which student problem-solving and application skills are developed. The curriculum stresses analytical and communication skills, with particular emphasis placed on engineering design throughout the curriculum. A capstone design experience in the senior year provides the opportunity to integrate design, analytical, and problem-solving skills along with communication skills in a team environment that emulates aerospace engineering practice.
The mission is accomplished by the following educational objectives, which describe the career and professional accomplishments we are preparing our graduates to achieve. Our graduates will:
- Be involved in solving unstructured engineering problems within their organization that will allow them to successfully advance in the engineering profession.
- Be engaged in lifelong learning and pursue professional development through actions such as persistent study of the current literature in the field, participation in graduate education, professional education or continuing education opportunities, attainment of professional licensure, or membership in professional societies.
- Be professionally and ethically responsible to the profession, society, and the environment incumbent on an engineering professional.
- Collaborate successfully and positively on multi-disciplinary, culturally-diverse teams in support of their organizational goals.
- Communicate effectively in various settings and contexts by activities such as writing technical reports and peer-reviewed articles and presenting at technical interchanges.
These objectives are accomplished in two different concentrations in the aerospace engineering curriculum, an aeronautics concentration and an astronautics concentration. The concentration in aeronautics focuses on the analysis and design of aircraft and other vehicles that operate primarily within the earth’s atmosphere, and the concentration in astronautics focuses on the analysis and design of spacecraft and other vehicles that operate primarily outside the earth’s atmosphere. A student in aerospace engineering will choose one of these two concentrations upon choosing the aerospace engineering major.
The B. S. program in Aerospace Engineering is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org, under the commission’s General Criteria and Program Criteria for Aerospace and similarly named engineering programs.
General Education Requirements
| English Composition | ||
| EN 1103 | English Composition I | 3 |
| or EN 1104 | Expanded English Composition I | |
| EN 1113 | English Composition II | 3 |
| or EN 1173 | Accelerated Composition II | |
| Creative Discovery | ||
| Select from General Education courses | 3 | |
| Humanities | ||
| Select from General Education courses | 6 | |
| Social/Behavioral Sciences | ||
| Select from General Education courses | 6 | |
| Quantitative Reasoning | ||
| MA 1713 | Calculus I 1 | 3 |
| MA 1723 | Calculus II 1 | 3 |
| Natural Sciences | ||
| CH 1213 & CH 1211 | Chemistry I and Investigations in Chemistry I | 4 |
| PH 2213 | Physics I 1 | 3 |
| PH 2223 | Physics II 1 | 0,3 |
| Additional Requirements | ||
| MA 2733 | Calculus III 1 | 3 |
| MA 2743 | Calculus IV | 3 |
| MA 3113 | Introduction to Linear Algebra 1 | 3 |
| MA 3253 | Differential Equations I 1 | 3 |
| Math/Science Elective 2 | 3 | |
| CSE 1233 | Computer Programming with C | 3 |
| CSE 1284 | Introduction to Computer Programming | 0,4 |
| Major Core | ||
| ASE 1013 | Introduction to Aerospace Engineering | 3 |
| ASE 2113 | Introduction to Aircraft and Spacecraft Performance | 3 |
| ASE 2711 | Aerospace Laboratory I | 1 |
| ASE 3233 | Aerospace Structural Analysis I | 3 |
| ASE 3313 | Incompressible Aerodynamics | 3 |
| ASE 3333 | Aerothermodynamics | 3 |
| ASE 3721 | Aerospace Laboratory II | 1 |
| ASE 3731 | Aerospace Laboratory III | 1 |
| ASE 3813 | Introduction to Orbital Mechanics | 3 |
| ASE 4123 | Aerospace Controls | 3 |
| ASE 4313 | Introduction to Aerospace Propulsion | 3 |
| ASE 4343 | Compressible Aerodynamics | 3 |
| ASE 4623 | Aerospace Structural Design | 3 |
| ASE 4712 | Aerospace Capstone I | 2 |
| ASE 4722 | Aerospace Capstone II | 2 |
| EG 1143 | Graphic Communication | 3 |
| EM 2413 | Engineering Mechanics I 1 | 3 |
| EM 2433 | Engineering Mechanics II 1 | 3 |
| EM 3213 | Mechanics of Materials 1 | 3 |
| EM 3313 | Fluid Mechanics 1 | 3 |
| EM 3413 | Vibrations | 3 |
| Oral Communication Requirement | ||
| Satisfied by successful completion of ASE 4513/ASE 4523 or ASE 4533/ASE 4543, ASE 4623, ASE 4721 and GE 3513. | ||
| Writing Requirement | ||
| GE 3513 | Professional Communication for Engineers | 3 |
| Computer Literacy | ||
| Satisfied by successful completion of ASE 1013, ASE 2113, CSE 1233, or CSE 1284 | ||
| Choose one of the following concentrations: | 15 | |
| Aeronautics Concentration (ARO) | ||
| Aircraft Flight Dynamics | ||
| Aircraft Design I | ||
| Aircraft Design II | ||
| Technical Electives | 6 | |
| Choose from: | ||
| Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics | ||
| Automatic Control of Aerospace Vehicles | ||
| Advanced Performance | ||
| Introduction to Flight Test Engineering | ||
| Structural Anal II | ||
| Combustion Theory and Modeling | ||
| Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics | ||
| Fundamentals of Numerical Grid Generation | ||
| Spacecraft Propulsion | ||
| Engineering Design Optimization | ||
| Introduction to Unmanned Aircraft Systems | ||
| Advanced Orbital Mechanics | ||
| An Introduction to the Finite Element Method | ||
| Mechanics of Composite Materials | ||
| Engineering Design Optimization | ||
| Astronautics Concentration (ASO) | ||
| Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics | ||
| Spacecraft Design I | ||
| Spacecraft Design II | ||
| Technical Electives | 6 | |
| Choose from: | ||
| Aircraft Flight Dynamics | ||
| Automatic Control of Aerospace Vehicles | ||
| Advanced Performance | ||
| Introduction to Flight Test Engineering | ||
| Structural Anal II | ||
| Combustion Theory and Modeling | ||
| Aircraft Propulsion | ||
| Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics | ||
| Fundamentals of Numerical Grid Generation | ||
| Engineering Design Optimization | ||
| Engineering Design Optimization | ||
| Introduction to Unmanned Aircraft Systems | ||
| Advanced Orbital Mechanics | ||
| An Introduction to the Finite Element Method | ||
| Mechanics of Composite Materials | ||
| Engineering Design Optimization | ||
| Total hours | 128 | |
- 1
This course requires a minimum grade of C.
- 2
The department maintains a list of pre-approved math/science electives on its website. Other courses may be selected upon approval of the department.
Aerospace Engineering Courses
ASE 1013 Introduction to Aerospace Engineering: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: credit or co-registration in MA 1713). Three hours lecture. Three hours laboratory. Historical perspectives of aerospace engineering and fundamentals of aerodynamics, the standard atmosphere, computer modeling and manufacturing, information technology, programming environments, computational tools
ASE 1501 Student Design Competition: 1 hour.
(Pre/co-requisite: Aerospace Engineering student with MSU GPA 2.5 or greater or permission of instructor). One hour practicum. Students participate in a department-sponsored design competition, contributing to design and fabrication tasks, writing weekly progress reports, contributing to competitive report and giving presentations
ASE 2013 Astrodynamics, Propulsion and Structures: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: ASE 1013 and a grade of C or better in MA 1713 and credit or registsration in MA 1723 and PH 2213). Three hours lecture. Three hours laboratory. Introduction to space flight (astronautics), propulsion, flight vehicle structures and materials, and hypersonic vehicles, applications of computer modeling, computational tools, with historical perspectives
ASE 2113 Introduction to Aircraft and Spacecraft Performance: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: ASE 1013 and CSE 1233 and grade of C or better in MA 1723 and PH 2213). Three hours lecture. Introduction to general aerodynamics, propulsive and structural considerations of flight mechanics, quasi-steady flight; accelerated and maneuvering flight; launch vehicle performance
ASE 2711 Aerospace Laboratory I: 1 hour.
(Corequisites: Credit or registration in EM 3213 and EM 3313). Two hours laboratory. Experimental techniques used in aerospace engineering: Laboratory methods and tools
ASE 2990 Special Topics in Aerospace Engineering: 1-9 hours.
Credit and title to be arranged. This course is to be used on a limited basis to offer developing subject matter areas not covered in existing courses. (Courses limited to two offerings under one title within two academic years)
ASE 3123 Aircraft Flight Dynamics: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: EM 3413). Three hours lecture. Longitudinal, directional, and lateral static stability and control; related aerodynamics; maneuvering flight; introduction to dynamic stability and control analysis methods; general equation of unsteady motion
ASE 3213 Mechanics of Deformable Structures: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite:Grade of C or better in EM 3213 and MA 3113 ).Three hours lecture. Introduction to structural materials and loads. Deflection analysis using energy methods, flexibility-based matrix method, and the finite element method. Influence of design on deflection and vice versa
ASE 3223 Aerospace Structural Analysis: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Grade of C or better in EM 3213). Three hours lecture. Stress analysis of elastic and inelastic structures under different loading conditions. Shear flow distribution in thin-wall structures. Influence of design on stress and shear flow distributions
ASE 3233 Aerospace Structural Analysis I: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Grade of C or better in EM 3213). Three hours lecture. Introduction to elasticity, stress analysis of elastic and inelastic structures under different loading conditions. Shear flow distribution in thin-wall structures. Influence of design on stress and shear flow distributions
ASE 3243 Aerospace Structural Analysis II: 3 hours.
(Prerequisites: ASE 3233 and MA 3113). Three hours lecture. Deflection analysis using energy methods and the finite element method. Influence of design on deflection and vice versa
ASE 3313 Incompressible Aerodynamics: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite:Grade of C or better in EM 3313). Three hours lectures. Potential theory of bodies; airfoil theory and applications; finite wing theory and applications; introduction to Navier-Stokes equations; laminar boundary layers; turbulent boundary layers
ASE 3333 Aerothermodynamics: 3 hours.
(Prerequisites:Grade of C or better in MA 2733 and PH 2213). Three hours lecture. Energy; First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics; Entropy; Properties of Ideal Gases, Gas Power Cycles; Introduction to Heat Transfer
ASE 3721 Aerospace Laboratory II: 1 hour.
(Prerequisite: ASE 2711; Credit or registration in EM 3413 and ASE 3313). Two hours laboratory. Experimental techniques used in aerospace engineering: Incompressible Aerodynamics & Structures
ASE 3731 Aerospace Laboratory III: 1 hour.
(Prerequisite: ASE 2711; Corequisites: ASE 4343 and ASE 3813). Two hours laboratory. Experimental techniques used in aerospace engineering: Compressible Aerodynamics, Propulsion, & Controls
ASE 3813 Introduction to Orbital Mechanics: 3 hours.
(Prerequisities:Grade of C or better in EM 2433, MA 3253 and MA 3113).Three hours lecture. Two-body orbital mechanics;geometry of spatial orbits; fundamental orbits determination;orbital maneuvers; introduction to rendezvous and interplanetary trajectories
ASE 3823 Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: EM 3413). Three hours lecture. Motion of spacecraft about center of gravity. Rigid body dynamics and rotational kinematics. Mission pointing requirements and design of the attitude determination and control system
ASE 4000 Directed Individual Study in Aerospace Engineering: 1-6 hours.
Hours and credits to be arranged
ASE 4113 Aerospace Engineering Laboratory I: 3 hours.
(Prerequisites: Credit or registration in EM 3413). Six hours laboratory. Experimental techniques used in aerospace engineering
ASE 4123 Aerospace Controls: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: ASE 3123 or ASE 3823). Three hours lecture. Methods of dynamic analysis; stability of steady flight; response to actuation of the controls (open loop); closed-loop control ;human crew/vehicle interactions
ASE 4133 Automatic Control of Aerospace Vehicles: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: ASE 4123). Three hours lecture. Optimization techniques; structural flexibility effects; statistical design; sample-data control systems
ASE 4153 Advanced Performance: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: ASE 2113 or consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. Performance methods use for current aeronautical vehicles. Configurations considered are sailplanes, V/STOL aircraft, subsonic/supersonic transports, and fighters
ASE 4163 Introduction to Flight Test Engineering: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite:ASE 3313,ASE 4123).Three hours lecture. Introduction to the techniques of aeronautical flight test engineering. Supplements Aerospace curriculum Pitot/static systems, and introduces fixed-wing flight test engineering, data reduction,certification, flight-test risk assessment/mitigation, and fligt crew-station analysis procedures
ASE 4233 Structural Dynamics: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: EM 3413). Three hours lecture. Influence coefficients; matrix methods; Lagrange's equations of motion; divergence on an airfoil; introduction to flutter
ASE 4343 Compressible Aerodynamics: 3 hours.
(Prerequisites:ASE 3333 & Grade of C or better in EM 3313). Three hours lecture. Equations of motion for multidimensional flow; oblique shock waves; Prandtl Meyer flow; internal flow; method of characteristics; linearized flows; compressible wing theory; compressible boundary layers
ASE 4353 Combustion Theory and Modeling: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Grade C or better in ASE 3333 or CHE 3113 or ME 3513 or Instructor Consent). Three-hour lecture. Acquisition of theoretical basis of thermodynamics, chemical kinetics, and fluid physics for describing flames and combustion. Exploration of state-of-the-art problem-solving techniques and software tools. (Same as EM 4353/6353)
ASE 4413 Aircraft Propulsion: 3 hours.
(Prerequisites: ASE 3333 and ASE 4343). Three hours lecture. Aerothermodynamics of aircraft jet engines and gas turbine engines components;nozzles;turbines; compressors;diffusers;introduction to piston engines; propellers and propeller performance estimation
ASE 4423 Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. Elementary aspects of computational fluid dynamics (CFD); review of numerical analysis and fluid mechanics as pertinent to CFD; numerical solution to selected fluid dynamic problems
ASE 4433 Fundamentals of Numerical Grid Generation: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. Grid Generation strategies; effects of grid quality on discetization errors; structured and unstructured grid generation algorithms; solution adaptive grid generation; surface grid generation
ASE 4443 Spacecraft Propulsion: 3 hours.
(Prerequisites:ASE 3333 and ASE 4343) Three hours lecture. Nozzles and thermochemistry. Components, design and performance of liquid propellant, solid propellant, hybrid and electric rocket propulsion systems
ASE 4513 Aircraft Design I: 3 hours.
(Prerequisites: ASE 3123; and ASE 3313; and ASE 3243 or ASE 3223). Two hours lecture. Three hours laboratory. Introduction to the principles and techniques of aircraft design. Introduction to systems engineering and requirements analysis; design optimization; layout; weight; performance
ASE 4523 Aircraft Design II: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: ASE 4513 ). One hour lecture. Five hours laboratory. Continuation of ASE 4513. Students make use of principles and techniques covered in ASE 4513 to create a design of an aircraft
ASE 4533 Spacecraft Design I: 3 hours.
(Prerequisites: ASE 3223 or ASE 3243, ASE 3813, ASE 3823). Two hours lecture. Three hours laboratory. Introduction to the principles and techniques of spacecraft and mission design. Systems engineering and requirement analysis, spacecraft system characteristics and mission phases
ASE 4543 Spacecraft Design II: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite:ASE 4533) One hour lecture. Five hours laboratory. Continuation of ASE 4533, Spacecraft Design I. Application of design concepts and principles. Concentration on systems engineering, detail design, life cycle cost, manufacturing and operations
ASE 4553 Engineering Design Optimization: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite:Consent of Instructor).Three hours lecture. Introduction to optimality criteria and optimization techniques for solving constrained or unconstrained optimization problems. Sensitivity analysis and approximation. Computer application in optimization. Introduction to MDO. (Same as EM 4143/6143 and IE 4743/6743)
ASE 4623 Aerospace Structural Design: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: ASE 3223 or ASE 3233). Three hours lecture. Principles of design and manufacture of aerospace structures. General theories of stability and failure with applications. Design optimization, fabrication, and testing of structural members
ASE 4713 Introduction to Unmanned Aircraft Systems: 3 hours.
Three-hour lecture. This course provides an introduction to various aspects involved in design and operation of unmanned aircraft systems. With the increasing use of UAS in civilian and military roles, future engineers will benefit from a systems perspective of unmanned aircraft systems
ASE 4721 Aerospace Engineering Laboratory II: 1 hour.
(Prerequisite: ASE 4113). Three hours laboratory. Experimental techniques used in aerospace engineering
ASE 4800 Undergraduate Research: 1-13 hours.
The purpose of this course is to provide a student with the opportunity to participate in research and/or creative project beyond the traditional undergraduate experience, while allowing the university to track undergraduate participation in these activities. Hours, credits and deliverables to be arranged
ASE 4813 Advanced Orbital Mechanics: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: ASE 3813). Three hours lecture. Orbital mechanics; perturbations and numerical integration. Global positioning system, launch performance and optimization
ASE 4990 Special Topics in Aerospace Engineering: 1-9 hours.
Credit and title to be arranged. This course is to be used on a limited basis to offer developing subject matter areas not covered in existing courses. (Courses limited to two offerings under one title within two academic years)
Engineering Mechanics Courses
EM 2413 Engineering Mechanics I: 3 hours.
(Prerequisites: Grade of C or better in MA 1723 and PH 2213).Three hours lecture or three hours recitation with online content delivery. Concepts of forces, moments and other vector quantities; analysis of force systems; conditions of equilibrium; friction; centroids and moments of inertia
EM 2433 Engineering Mechanics II: 3 hours.
(Prerequisites:Grade of C or better in EM 2413 and MA 2733). Three hours lecture. Kinematics of particles and rigid bodies, kinetics of particles and rigid bodies using force-mass-acceleration, energy, momentum methods
EM 2990 Special Topics in Engineering Mechanics: 1-9 hours.
Credit and title to be arranged. This course is to be used on a limited basis to offer developing subject matter areas not covered in existing courses. (Courses limited to two offerings under one title within two academic years)
EM 3213 Mechanics of Materials: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite:Grade of C or better in EM 2413 and MA 2733). Three hours lecture. Free body diagrams, equilibrium of simple structures; shear and bending moment diagrams; analysis of stress and strain; deflections of beams
EM 3313 Fluid Mechanics: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Grade of C or better in EM 2413 and MA 2733). Three hours lecture. Fluid statics; analysis of fluid motion using the continuity, momentum and energy relationships; introduction to viscous flows
EM 3413 Vibrations: 3 hours.
(Prerequisites:Grade of C or better in EM 2433, MA 3253 and MA 3113).Three hours lecture. Fundamentals of free vibration, energy methods; forced and damped vibration, single degree of freedom; two degrees of freedom
EM 4000 Directed Individual Study in Engineering Mechanics: 1-6 hours.
Hours and credits to be arranged
EM 4123 An Introduction to the Finite Element Method: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Consent of Instructor). Three hours lecture. Introduction to the mathematical theory, formulation, and computer implementation of the finite element method. App- lication to one-and two-dimensional problems in engineering mechanics
EM 4133 Mechanics of Composite Materials: 3 hours.
(Prerequisites: EM 3213 and MA 3253.) Three hours lecture. Stress, strain, constituative relations for anisotropic material, lamina properties, laminate properties, composite beams and plates
EM 4143 Engineering Design Optimization: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite:Consent of instructor ) Three hours lecture. Introduction to optimality criteria and optimization techniques for solving constrained or unconstrained optimization problems. Sensitivity analysis and approximation. Computer application in optimization. Introduction to MDO. (Same as ASE 4553/6553 and IE 4743/6743 )
EM 4213 Advanced Mechanics of Materials: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: EM 3213). Three hours lecture. Stress, strain, stress-strain relationships, strain energy, failure theories, curved beams, unsymmetrical bending, shear center, torsion of noncircular sections, energy principles, Castigliano's theorem, inelastic behavior
EM 4990 Special Topics in Engineering Mechanics: 1-9 hours.
Credit and title to be arranged. This course is to be used on a limited basis to offer developing subject matter areas not covered in existing courses. (Courses limited to two offerings under one title within two academic years)