AE 485

Fall 2026 Part of Term 1

Part of Term 1
Aug 24-Dec 9

Spacecraft Environment and Interactions

Credit: 3 OR 4 hours.

The course focuses on the theoretical and practical aspects of spacecraft aerodynamics and environment. It covers topics related to free molecular flows. Materials interactions and onboard sensor optical backgrounds caused by spacecraft neutral interactions, chemical reactions of materials with ambient atomic O, spacecraft glow, ion and chemical thrusters are studied. The plasma space environment, its connection to our sun, and the presence of the van Allen Belts and their affect on spacecraft charging for LEO and GEO conditions are discussed. Spacecraft shielding requirements due to plasma interactions and the space radiation environment are examined.

3 undergraduate hours. 3 or 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: AE 311, AE 312, ME 200.

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AE 485 class schedule data for fall 2026
CRN	Type	Section	Time	Day	Location	Instructor	Section Details
72131	Lecture-Discussion	A	10:00AM -11:20AM	TR	174 Wohlers Hall	Levin Fliflet, D	Availability: Closed Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26
77923	Online Lecture	ONC	ARRANGED	n.a.	n.a.	Levin Fliflet, D	Availability: Closed Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Section Info: This section is for students who have time conflicts with the in-person section for this course. To register for this section, undergraduates should email aero-ugrad-advising@illinois.edu and graduates should email ae-grad@illinois.edu to request approval to. Students in this section will be expected to attend on-campus office hours and exams for this course.
72132	Online	ONL	ARRANGED	n.a.	n.a.	Levin Fliflet, D	Availability: Open (Restricted) Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Section Info: Restricted to online non-degree, online MCS, online MSME, online MSCEE, and online MSAE students. For more details on this course section, please see http://engineering.illinois.edu/online/courses/. Non-Degree students may enroll on a space-available basis with consent of the Graduate Program Coordinator (ae-grad@illinois.edu). Restriction(s): Restricted to NDEG:Engineering UG ONL - UIUC, MS: Civil Engr - Online - UIUC, MS:Industrial Engr Online-UIUC, MS:Mechanical Engineerng -UIUC, MS:Env Engr CivilEngr ONL-UIUC, NDEG:Engineering GR ONL - UIUC, MS: Aerospace Engr-Online-UIUC, MENG:Mech Engineering Onl-UIUC, MENG:Elec & Comp Eng ONL -UIUC, MENG:Engr:Energy Sys Onl-UIUC, MENG:Engr:AeroSys Online- UIUC, MENG:ENGR:Digital Ag ONL- UIUC, or MENG:Engr:ChemEngLead ONL-UIUC.