--- title: Spacecraft Design description: Spacecraft design covers the systems engineering process of creating satellites, probes, and crewed vehicles. You will understand how to integrate thermal control, power systems, communications, and payloads to survive the harsh environment of space. category: engineering subcategory: aerospace-engineering difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced url: /subject/spacecraft-design --- # Spacecraft Design Spacecraft design covers the systems engineering process of creating satellites, probes, and crewed vehicles. You will understand how to integrate thermal control, power systems, communications, and payloads to survive the harsh environment of space. ## Available Resources 3 Books • 4 Websites ## Websites ### 1. NASA Technical Reports Server - Materials NASA's public repository of technical reports, conference papers and journal articles produced or funded by the agency. Searching it for topics such as composites, superalloys or thermal protection gives free access to primary test data and research on aerospace materials. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://ntrs.nasa.gov/ **Tags:** nasa, technical-reports, aerospace-materials, composites, research-database ### 2. aiaa.org American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for aerospace engineers and students. The site provides industry news, research publications (journals and conference proceedings), standards, education resources, events, and career tools for learning and advancing in aerospace engineering. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://aiaa.org **Tags:** websites, engineering-manufacturing, aerospace-engineering ### 3. nasa.gov NASA.gov is the official site of the U.S. space agency, offering mission news, research results, data, and STEM education resources. It features engineering articles, technical briefs, simulations, multimedia, and classroom materials for students and educators. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://nasa.gov **Tags:** websites, engineering-manufacturing, aerospace-engineering ### 4. Space.com Established news and explainer site covering spaceflight and astronomy. It reports on crewed and robotic missions, launches, space agencies, telescopes and night-sky events, and publishes background features that help readers follow current exploration programmes and understand their scientific goals. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://space.com **Tags:** space-news, spaceflight, space-missions, astronomy, launches ## Books ### 1. Spacecraft Systems Engineering **Author:** Peter Fortescue, John Stark, Graham Swinerd A standard Wiley textbook on spacecraft engineering that moves from the space environment, mission analysis, and systems engineering to subsystems: structures, propulsion, attitude control, power, thermal, and communications. Readers learn how subsystem choices interact and how a complete spacecraft design is assembled. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0471619515?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, engineering-manufacturing, aerospace-engineering ### 2. Elements of Spacecraft Design **Author:** Charles D. Brown An AIAA textbook by a veteran Martin Marietta spacecraft engineer covering conceptual design of spacecraft subsystems: propulsion, attitude control, power, thermal, structures, and telemetry. Worked examples drawn from real missions show how to size each subsystem and produce a first-cut design from mission requirements. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/1563475243?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, engineering-manufacturing, aerospace-engineering ### 3. Space Vehicle Design **Author:** Michael D. Griffin, James R. French An AIAA Education Series text by Michael Griffin and James French that treats spacecraft design as a whole, covering mission design, orbital mechanics, launch vehicles, atmospheric entry, attitude control, structures, thermal, power, and communications. Readers learn the engineering trade-offs that drive vehicle-level design decisions. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0930403908?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, engineering-manufacturing, aerospace-engineering --- *This content is part of Dantes.io - Your Treasure Map to Knowledge* *Curated by humans at Dantes.io. Personal study use welcome; republishing this curation requires permission (team@dantes.io).* View this page online: https://dantes.io/subject/spacecraft-design