This course provides an overview of and introduction to the fundamentals of aeronautics, using the history of aviation as a story line. The course uses examples from the very beginning of aviation (the Montgolfier brothers' balloon flight in 1783 and the Wright brothers' heavier-than-air flight in 1903) and continues all the way through to the current Airbus A380 and future aircraft. This trajectory will start with a general introduction to aeronautics, to be followed by a closer look at aerodynamics and flight performance.

Lectures are frequently accompanied by related exercises and demonstrations. The course also incorporates (design) challenges/competitions, based on the knowledge obtained through the lectures.

This first part of the course Introduction to Aerospace Engineering presents an overall picture of the aeronautics domain. This overview involves a number of different perspectives on the aerospace domain, and shows some basic principles of the most important concepts for flight. Then the basic aerodynamics are covered, followed by flight mechanics.Study GoalsHave an overview of the history of flightApply basic/constitutive principles of mechanics of fluids - a.o. Bernoulli.Apply control volume approachesExplain flow regimes (viscous/non-viscous; compressible/incompressible aerodynamics) and to estimate viscous and thermal effects Compute lift/drag of simple configurationsDescribe reference frames and derive general equations of motion for flight and orbital mechanicsApply equations of motion to determine aircraft performance in steady gliding, horizontal and climbing flightDerive aircraft performance diagram and flight envelope, in relation to aircraft morphology, lift-drag polar and engine performance

This part of the course Introduction to Aerospace Engineering is focused on two aerospace disciplines: "space and orbital mechanics" and "structures and materials". These topics are discussed in detail and will provide an understanding for both aircraft and for spacecraft/space missions. Study Goals- List/describe the reasons for going into space and the principles of rockets, including their trajectories.- Motivate the selection of spacecraft configurations depending on the mission and identify the main elements of a satellite.- Describe the features of the space environment and their consequences for space activities.- Determine elementary satellite orbits, transfer orbits and maneuvers- Describe and work with elementary space propulsion aspects: launch, velocity budget and rocket equation- List the characteristics of typical aerospace materials & structures and describe their meaning and relevance- List the main structural elements of an aerospace vehicle and describe their functions and performance