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Back to Kinematics: Describing the Motions of Spacecraft

Learner Reviews & Feedback for Kinematics: Describing the Motions of Spacecraft by University of Colorado Boulder

4.9
stars
315 ratings

About the Course

The movement of bodies in space (like spacecraft, satellites, and space stations) must be predicted and controlled with precision in order to ensure safety and efficacy. Kinematics is a field that develops descriptions and predictions of the motion of these bodies in 3D space. This course in Kinematics covers four major topic areas: an introduction to particle kinematics, a deep dive into rigid body kinematics in two parts (starting with classic descriptions of motion using the directional cosine matrix and Euler angles, and concluding with a review of modern descriptors like quaternions and Classical and Modified Rodrigues parameters). The course ends with a look at static attitude determination, using modern algorithms to predict and execute relative orientations of bodies in space. After this course, you will be able to... * Differentiate a vector as seen by another rotating frame and derive frame dependent velocity and acceleration vectors * Apply the Transport Theorem to solve kinematic particle problems and translate between various sets of attitude descriptions * Add and subtract relative attitude descriptions and integrate those descriptions numerically to predict orientations over time * Derive the fundamental attitude coordinate properties of rigid bodies and determine attitude from a series of heading measurements...

Top reviews

SM

Oct 18, 2017

Brilliant classes! Absolutely brilliant, enjoyed every bit of it. All you need is that you should love Physics and Maths to attend these classes. If you do, it is an enriching experience for you.

DM

Nov 9, 2021

Great professor, and the content is interesting. The assignments where you had to write your own code to determine the spacecraft attitudes were very useful for applying what you had learnt.

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26 - 50 of 98 Reviews for Kinematics: Describing the Motions of Spacecraft

By DoÄŸuÅŸ C K

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Aug 31, 2020

I learned much about coordinate frames and had the opportunity to apply what I learned. Professor teaches so well that I am an electronics engineer and I even understood everything. Also, the parts that questions from students are answered were inspiring. Thanks for this amazing course.

By Gabriel N P S

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Sep 20, 2020

The contents of this course are throughly explained in a very didactic way by Prof. Schaub. Also, the assignments are well designed to help assimilate the knowledge. I truly feel that I am learning a new skill and I am eager to start the next module as soon as possible.

By Youssef S E

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Jul 16, 2020

Extremely educational, practical, and useful course, guided by a top-notch instructor from a top-class university, for all those aerospace engineers interested to pursue a career and/or already working in the field of spacecraft dynamics & AOCS/GNC. Thanks Dr. Schaub!.

By Andres M

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Sep 18, 2020

It is a very complete course with many useful examples and tasks that will definitely challenge the skills and methods acquired in class. Besides, the professor is always trying to relate all the conceps with real flight dynamics operations and historical events.

By Thomas M

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Oct 11, 2020

Very well taught and engaging course, I would recommend to anyone looking to further their understanding of kinematics and attitude descriptions. Quite a high level of understanding of matrix maths is required so I would recommend brushing up on that beforehand.

By Gabriel K K

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Jul 17, 2020

Very nice course, on a very good level, to students or professionals alike. Very useful approaches to attitude estimation, with algorithms that can be implemented in real time and describing the trade-offs between each different approach presented.

By Nishanth S

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Jul 7, 2020

The course is beautifully designed. I thoroughly enjoyed this course. This was the toughest Coursera course I have ever taken and was definitely worth the effort. Thank you Prof. Schaub, TAs and my fellow learners for making this course amazing.

By Mehvesh

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Nov 28, 2019

This course was so good that I'm considering a masters at UC Boulder! On my way to finish all the courses in the series and I highly recommend to finish all 4 courses to have sufficient fundamental knowledge in ADCS/GNC field.

By Ull T

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Aug 3, 2020

Great course, with good pace. I like how the concept checks not just simply ask what was already explained explicitly, but require you to apply the concepts in order to find the correct answers. I really learned a lot. Thanks

By Vishnuvardhan S

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Jul 1, 2018

Awesome Course,Professor Hanspeter Schaub is simply awesome, he delivers the concept so perfectly.Course is superb. It was wonderful to take this course. Hoping to take the follow-up courses.Thank you for the course.

By Gregory T

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Oct 8, 2020

Great course for understanding the mathematical framework behind describing spacecraft attitude! You'll need to know Matlab or equivalent and should be good with some of amount of vector math and dynamics.

By L. R C

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Dec 8, 2020

Loved the style of the professor, he is very clear concise and direct, the Concept Checks are very interesting, I think this course is a must for anyone interested in learning about spacecraft kinematics

By Saju T M

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Oct 19, 2017

Brilliant classes! Absolutely brilliant, enjoyed every bit of it. All you need is that you should love Physics and Maths to attend these classes. If you do, it is an enriching experience for you.

By Daniel M

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Nov 10, 2021

Great professor, and the content is interesting. The assignments where you had to write your own code to determine the spacecraft attitudes were very useful for applying what you had learnt.

By Leoluca G

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Jul 28, 2020

Wonderful course taught by a professor that transmits his passion for the subject. The course is spread out evenly and the tests are helpful to review the material.

By Samy E H

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Jul 15, 2020

Amazing class from an amazing teacher. I found it fascinating from the beginning to the end, and cannot wait for next modules, especially the last!

By Aaron B

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Jan 18, 2021

A wonderful course on Spacecraft Kinematics, by a top quality instructor.

Thank you Professor! It was a pleasure to take another course from you!

By Siddhaanth S I

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Apr 14, 2022

A beautiful course by an amzing professor. Everything is just so clear now in Attitude representations. Thank you very much, Professor Schaub.

By María A A B

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Oct 19, 2017

This is a great course for beginners in kinematics, I enjoy it and learn so much. However, you need to have a good math background.

By Kyle R

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Dec 11, 2019

Gives a good introduction to common attitude representations, along with how attitude can be determined from sensor measurements.

By Maria C V

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Jan 7, 2022

Excellent professor, very useful content and very complete. Assignments are precise and well organized. Highly recommended!

By Shubham N

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Sep 13, 2020

Best technical course on coursera. Instructor is full of knowledge and is one of the best teachers i have came across.

By Dhvani M K

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Jul 22, 2020

A good course for those interested aerospace, as well as those just looking to further their mathematical skills.

By Satvik S

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Aug 18, 2020

Amazing and passionate teaching. Not ever boring. Does not feel like an online class. Thanks to the professor.

By Shaun C

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Aug 14, 2021

Excellent, loved the professor's teaching style, found this very informative and applicable to my current job