NOTE: The 2023-24 course has been canceled.
Welcome to the EPFL class on concurrent engineering for space mission and systems. This course will be first held in Spring 2023 as part of the EPFL Minor in Space Technologies.
Here you will find a basic description of the course together with all the material from and resources used during the class.
Important! Availability for half a day during the 2 weeks of design sessions is required to fulfill the course requirements.
Keep in mind registration for maximum-capacity courses within minors (like ENG411) won't open until 2 weeks prior to the start of the semester (i.e., Feb 5, 2024)
All the information about the course and how to register can also be found here.
Credit: ESA
Credits: 2
Semester: Spring
Language: English
Exam: Oral
Workload: 60 h
Weeks: 2
Lecture: 8h total over 2 weeks
Practical work: 50h (40h/week long intensive workshop + 10 h debriefs and final presentation/exam)
Number of positions: max 15, min 8.
The main objective of this course is to teach the students the fundamentals of concurrent engineering for space missions and systems. The course is built around a similar framework to that of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Concurrent Engineering Challenge.
Students are teamed up to design a space mission together in an intensive 2-week-long workshop, using the tools and process of Concurrent Engineering. During the course they will be at all times supported by experts from eSpace. This is a cooperative challenge, meaning team members will share progress at the end of every day and collaborate to design a mission or system. Course ends with a final presentation of the mission/system designed by the team. By the end of the course students shall become familiar with the foundation, benefits, and application of concurrent engineering practices when applied to solving complex engineering problems.
Some practical engineering team project experience is also recommended.
By the end of the course, the student must be able to:
Project-based learning
Design work during intensive workshop, final presentation and report.
Final grade is based on five elements:
The upcoming course will take place between March 11-28, 2024 with:
The following is a tentative schedule and lecture list for the upcoming Spring 2024 course. Topics, and times may be subject to change.
Only one team will be created for the Spring 2024 course.