Study Plan for Astronautic Systems

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A junior majoring in math and philosophy is nearing completion of their philosophy degree, focusing on the philosophy of science and epistemology, while also pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics. They have completed calculus and are close to finishing linear algebra, with plans to take differential equations and courses in proofs and macroeconomics next. Despite struggling with chemistry and physics in the past due to immaturity and work commitments, they have since taken the initiative to self-study physics using "University Physics" by Young and Freedman. Their long-term goal is to work in astronautics or propulsion design, and they seek guidance on acquiring the necessary knowledge through books, acknowledging that math may not be as technically oriented as engineering. They express a strong desire for learning and are open to tackling challenging material.
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Hello everyone, I'm a math and philosophy double major currently in my junior year at University. So far, I've spent the better half of two years studying philosophy and have five credits to go before I complete the major (focused primarily on philosophy of science, and epistemology). This quarter I declared a major in mathematics with a Bachelor of Arts options and have completed the calculus sequence, and am a few weeks shy of competing linear algebra. I'm intending to take differential equations next quarter, and intro to proofs along with intermediate macroeconomics. After real analysis I plan on focusing my electives in statistics, and numerical analysis, and have been studying C++ out of the C++ primer for several months now to hone my computer knowledge and have a basic enough understanding to make simple calculators, use strings, and loops.

Since I was a kid, I've had a deep interested in space sciences, and remember watching the first commercial space rocket launch by Space X, and feeling in awe concerning the entire thing. The issue is that I've taken chemistry 142 (first class in the freshman chem sequence), and Physics 121 (freshman calc based physics), and I didn't due to well due to my immaturity at the time (skipping classes and such), along with working as a pizza delivery driver 25-32 hours a week, but still managed to pass although not with the best grades.

I know this is nothing to look highly upon, but since then I've been studying "University Physics" by Young and Freedman by doing example problems and the problems at the end each chapter when I'm at work, or have completed my other homework. I'm good at keeping myself focused my learning goals when I self-study, and make attempts to derive whatever's handed to me. I really want to work in the field of astronautics or propulsion design someday, but I understand that math isn't as technically oriented as other majors such as engineering. Is there a way to get the appropriate knowledge through books on the topics? I won't be discouraged by difficulty and understand it might take a while. I've never really been a fan of light reading, and I have an unquenchable thirst for new knowledge.
 
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Hey, I am Andreas from Germany. I am currently 35 years old and I want to relearn math and physics. This is not one of these regular questions when it comes to this matter. So... I am very realistic about it. I know that there are severe contraints when it comes to selfstudy compared to a regular school and/or university (structure, peers, teachers, learning groups, tests, access to papers and so on) . I will never get a job in this field and I will never be taken serious by "real"...
Yesterday, 9/5/2025, when I was surfing, I found an article The Schwarzschild solution contains three problems, which can be easily solved - Journal of King Saud University - Science ABUNDANCE ESTIMATION IN AN ARID ENVIRONMENT https://jksus.org/the-schwarzschild-solution-contains-three-problems-which-can-be-easily-solved/ that has the derivation of a line element as a corrected version of the Schwarzschild solution to Einstein’s field equation. This article's date received is 2022-11-15...
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