Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., lunar module pilot, is photographed by Neil Armstrong as he walks on the surface of the Moon. (Image courtesy of NASA.)
Instructor(s)
Prof. David Mindell
Dr. Laurence R. Young
MIT Course Number
STS.471J / 16.895J / ESD.30J
As Taught In
Spring 2007
Level
Graduate
Course Description
Course Features
Course Description
This course is a detailed technical and historical exploration of the Apollo project to "fly humans to the moon and return them safely to earth" as an example of a complex engineering system. Emphasis is on how the systems worked, the technical and social processes that produced them, mission operations, and historical significance. Guest lectures are featured by MIT-affiliated engineers who contributed to and participated in the Apollo missions. Students work in teams on a final project analyzing an aspect of the historical project to articulate and synthesize ideas in engineering systems.