Orbital Mechanics Specialization

[the-space-man]

Hi,

I'm a 4th year undergrad AE major and have been thinking about my career choices and graduate school choices a lot. Out of all the topics covered in my classes so far, I found orbital mechanics/ spacecraft mission design the most interesting.

My question is, is it difficult to find a job in this field? I think I would enjoy anything with satellite tracking, trajectory analysis, or the design phase of space missions (systems engineering). I've been browsing through job search engines and found few matches to those cases.

Also, I am considering graduate school, but I am afraid I might narrow myself too much by specializing in these topics. So far I've considered Stanford for systems engineering (SSDL has students go through the process of designing a CubeSat), Purdue or Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, for astrodynamics/orbital mechanics.

Do you guys think this is a good idea, or am I being too picky?

 

[D H]

(Aerospace) systems engineering is a lot more than spacecraft mission design. A good systems engineer needs to know a little about structures, a little about electrical systems, a bit about avionics, a bit about guidance, navigation & control, a bit about software engineering, a bit about mission design, a bit about what the spacecraft payload, a bit about dealing with people, a bit about project planning, a bit about budgets -- and a lot about at least one of those areas. There's not much worse than a jack of all trades, master of none systems engineer. You need to be a jack of all trades, master of at least one. That can be a tough road to follow, but it can be lead to a potentially lucrative and influential career.

One potential downside of systems engineering If you do become a systems engineer you probably won't be doing down-and-dirty engineering. That is a job for a true specialist; systems engineer are generalists by the nature of their work and by their own nature.

Specializing in orbital mechanics is a technical specialization. It is a very different road than systems engineering, and a more traditional road for the typical somewhat nerdish engineer. BTW, you did not mention guidance, navigation, and control. That is another field (actually, set of fields) somewhat similar to orbital mechanics. You will need to know orbital mechanics quite well if you aim for guidance or navigation. There is also a bit more demand for GN&C skills as opposed to satellite tracking.

So the big question: Are you, by your nature, a generalist or a specialist? Your interests appear to be divided. Let's play out a couple of different Mittyesque scenarios. Scenario A: You dive very deep into some very specific and very important technology, eventually becoming the world-renowned expert in that field. You are a multiple-times invited speaker at the GN&Ski conference, Reno, and elsewhere. Scenario B: You are a very adroit technical manager, eventually becoming the lead system engineer on a very high profile project. Your next step, who knows? CEO?

Which of these appeals to you more? Which (be honest to yourself) better suits your personality, skills, and interests? Which (be real honest with yourself) do you think you would eventually be happy and successful with even if those Mittyesque dreams do not come to pass?Aside: Most of the better aerospace schools now have a systems engineering track. Stanford is far, far from alone in this realm. It is not even the lead in this realm (not even close, IMHO).

 

[the-space-man]

Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply. Yea, I am still thinking a lot about what I like and what kind of skills suit me well. It is hard to determine what specialization I would enjoy and be proficient at just based on my coursework, research, and limited knowledge of the industry.

I chose systems engineering mainly because I do think I prefer research and design rather than hands on engineering (probably because my school is more of a research institute). I chose orbital mechanics because I found it interesting and somewhat logical. The nature of orbits, gravity assists, rocket design, predicting whether a satellite can view a certain area, or when a satellite can communicate with a facility is more logical than something like control theory. Maybe because I haven't spent enough time on it yet, but I currently do not like control theory. I don't like the math dealing with Laplace transforms because it no longer looks logical and therefore becomes very tedious and boring.

What does a typical GNC engineer do at work? Also, can I email or PM you for more questions/concerns? I still want to talk to more people who know a lot about this.

 

[mugaliens]

If you have decent grades and are reasonably healthy, the Air Force will hire you. They need quite a few good folks in Space Systems.