Category: Courses
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Courses
STIA 4406: Space Security and Exploration
Satellites provide a foundation for Earth and space science, weather forecasting, treaty verification, strategic and military intelligence, global communications and navigation, and projection of military power. This course will focus on intersections between space and international security, with additional discussion about modern space exploration and new private companies. We will cover four broad areas: fundamentals […]
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Courses
GOVT 3679: Interstellar Politics
Authors writing in the Science Fiction/Speculative Fiction (SF) genre have long explored political themes— such as the rise and decline of empires, the impact of technological change on individual liberty, the nature of revolutionary struggles, the workings of totalitarianism, and the impact of socio-political collapse on humankind. This seminar approaches SF as social-scientific and social-theoretic […]
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Courses
STIA 4321: Rocket Economics
A new generation of reusable rockets and smaller more powerful satellites are revolutionizing the space business. Rocket Economics will examine the fundamentals of the rapidly expanding space economy driven by applications for commercial, civil, and national security customers around the globe. The goal is to educate future business, government, and science leaders on next generation […]
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Courses
BIOL 4948: Pop Up Astrobiology Lab II
Welcome to Pop-Up Labs! In the second semester of this course, we will follow the whole arc of scientific inquiry and engagement–from project design and sample collection through data generation, analysis, and interpretation. In the fall semester, we designed our project around a planetary analog environment in Iceland. We inventoried samples and extracted DNA. In […]
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Courses
BIOL 5170: Astrobiology Journal Club
This journal club provides a relaxed setting for students to present their research for peer review and discuss the most recent topics in astrobiology and planetary sciences. Course information
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Courses
MSFS 5590: Space Policy and Diplomacy
This course provides an overview of key space topics and explores how they intersect with the complex landscape of space policy, diplomacy and international affairs. This course will examine contemporary civil, commercial, and national security space policy issues. Topics include U.S. space policy, international space law and governance, the role of space in international development, […]
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Courses
STIA 4417: National Lab Space Research Forum
This seminar offers students a guided introduction to the cutting-edge space research conducted at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Over the course of the semester, participants will hear from prominent LLNL scientists and engineers working on topics such as spacecraft instrumentation, remote sensing, astrophysics, planetary defense, small sats, earth system science, and astrobiology. Students will […]
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Courses
STIA 4418/PHYS 2020: Astronomy and Astrophysics
This class will introduce students to a variety of active research topics in astrophysics today as well as the context and basics of the particular area of study from the Big Bang to the formation of stars and planets. The course will also provide an overview of different astronomical techniques and observatories as well as […]
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Courses
STIA 4410: Governing the Next Frontier—Cislunar Space
Cislunar governance concerns the rules for the region of space extending from Earth’s orbit out to and including the orbit and surface of the Moon. This zone is fast becoming a crossroads for science, commerce, and security, yet no agreed playbook exists for how countries and companies should operate there, or how existing treaties and […]
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Courses
STIA 4408: Justifying Space—The Changing Ethics and Values behind Space Exploration Dreams
This will be a seminar class about the changing visions and motivations for space exploration, historically and to the present day. Readings will include historical perspectives such as those of K. Tsiolkovsky, Arthur C. Clarke, Gerard O’Neil, and Carl Sagan, the poetry of Diane Ackerman, the newsletters of space enthusiast organizations such as the National […]