Design-build-launch: a hybrid project-based laboratory course for aerospace engineering education

Abstract

A project-based course involving the design, analysis, manufacturing, testing, and launching of mid-power solid-propellant rockets over a ten-week period has been developed and taught as an approach to enhance the education and preparation of aerospace engineers at the university level. The course consists of a sequence of structured laboratory assignments that expose students to common software tools, aerospace materials, manufacturing techniques, and testing methods that directly inform and run parallel to the project. Teams of four to five students complete the project (and portions of the labs) collaboratively within an engineering competition framework. Individual students within each team are assigned specific engineering roles (e.g. design engineer, manufacturing engineer) to create an interdependence that reflects a typical integrated product team in industry and exposes students to realistic social dynamics. Student teams conduct design reviews as progressive milestones for assessment, in addition to laboratory assignments. At a per-student cost on the same order as a textbook, the project-based course combines theoretical content from several subjects with a high-order learning approach (create, evaluate, analyze) to advance the engineering skills of university students.