Aerospace Engineer
The whole curriculum: Core, then Phases 10 through 25.
CapstonesOne design capstone and one build-and-test capstone of your choice.
Free · open source · no lab required
Learn aerospace engineering from first principles. Then test it against reality.
A complete, free curriculum that takes a motivated self-learner from algebra to the work expected of a graduate from a top aerospace program. Derive the physics. Write the solver yourself. Build the experiment at home. Explain the gap between your prediction and your measurement.
27 phases
467 lessons
6 learning paths
14 home projects
10 capstones
$0 required
NACA2412
Phase 10 · lesson 09
Zero-lift angle−2.08°
Lift slope2π / rad
CL at α = 4°0.67
Drawn from the four-digit thickness polynomial; the readouts come from thin-airfoil theory, which you derive and then check against your own panel method and XFOIL in Phase 10.
How a lesson works
Every lesson is the same six steps, from the first falling object to the last design review.
From scratch means understanding the assumptions, the governing equations, the numerical method, and the validation. You write the panel method before you open XFOIL, and the orbit propagator before you touch GMAT. You load a real beam before you trust your beam theory.
The engineering problem
A real physical question or design trade, with constraints and success criteria.
Understand and derive
The physics, the governing equations, the assumptions and where they fail. Worked analytic problems.
Build the computational model
Implement the method yourself in Python, test it, characterize its error, then compare with an established tool.
Experiment, or investigate real data
A safe, low-cost measurement when the physics allows it. An authentic dataset or a defined simulation study otherwise.
Validate and improve
Compare analysis, computation, and measurement. Quantify uncertainty. Explain discrepancies. Iterate.
Defend your work
Calculations, code, raw data, plots, interpretation, limitations, and a concise technical report.
Completion means competence, not finished pages. Each major lesson assesses mathematical and physical reasoning, analytical problem solving, computational competence, and engineering interpretation separately. A passing code test alone does not pass a lesson.
Every lesson ends with adversarial self-checks: what if the load doubles, which assumption fails first, what measurement would falsify this, does the result survive a change of mesh or time step.
Curriculum
Twenty-seven phases, in teaching order.
The scope is the union of the ABET aerospace program criteria and MIT's Course 16 core, so a finished path covers everything each requires. Graduate-level depth is included where top undergraduates routinely reach it, always optional.
Bridge
Optional and placement-tested. A true beginner is never silently expected to know algebra, trigonometry, or chemistry.
B1Precalculus & Trigonometry8 lessons
B2General Chemistry6 lessons
Core
Shared by every path. Computing, mathematics, numerical methods, physics, mechanics, thermodynamics, fluids, signals and control. Home experiments start in Phase 00.
00Setup, Engineering Computing & First Measurements15
01Mathematics I: Calculus & Linear Algebra18
02Mathematics II: ODEs, Transforms & Probability20
03Numerical Methods & Scientific Computing18
04Physics Foundations15
05Statics, Mechanics of Materials & CAD18
06Dynamics & Vibrations19
07Thermodynamics15
08Fluid Mechanics19
09Signals, Systems & Control21
Professional areas
The aeronautical and astronautical disciplines, plus avionics, testing, and systems engineering. Paths pick from here.
10Aerodynamics23
11Compressible Flow, Hypersonics & CFD18
12Aerospace Materials, Manufacturing & Drawings16
13Aerospace Structures21
14Air-Breathing Propulsion16
15Rocket & Space Propulsion16
16Aircraft Performance14
17Flight Dynamics, Stability & Control19
18Estimation, Navigation, Guidance & Autonomy20
19Orbital Mechanics & Astrodynamics20
20Spacecraft Systems & the Space Environment21
21Avionics, Embedded & Flight Software17
22Experimental Methods & Testing14
23Systems Engineering & Professional Practice16
Design and capstones
Each capstone mirrors a senior design or lab course: requirements, verification plan, design review, build or high-fidelity simulation, test, failure analysis, and a defended report.
24Aircraft Design14
25Spacecraft & Mission Design14
26Capstone Projects: one design, one build-and-test10
Status: the roadmap and lesson standard are drafted. Lessons are being written phase by phase, starting with Phase 00.
Every lesson and its status →
Learning paths
Six paths. One shared core. Every path ends in a design capstone and a build-and-test capstone.
Each path contains every mandatory prerequisite of every lesson in it, and a script checks that before any change to the roadmap is merged.
Aeronautical Engineer
Aerodynamics, structures, air-breathing propulsion, performance, flight dynamics, GNC, avionics, testing, aircraft design.
CapstonesDesign a regional electric aircraft, then build and fly a UAV with your own autopilot or build a low-speed wind tunnel.
Astronautical Engineer
Compressible flow, structures, rocket propulsion, GNC, astrodynamics, spacecraft systems, avionics, testing, mission design.
CapstonesDesign a CubeSat mission, a small launch vehicle, or a lunar lander, then an electric thrust stand or a desktop attitude-control demonstrator.
Propulsion Specialist
Aerodynamics and compressible flow, materials, air-breathing and rocket propulsion, the orbital mechanics that sizes a launch vehicle, testing.
CapstonesDesign a small launch vehicle. Run an instrumented electric thrust-stand campaign at home.
GNC & Autonomy Specialist
Flight dynamics, estimation, navigation, guidance, orbital mechanics, spacecraft attitude control, avionics and flight software.
CapstonesDesign a lunar lander and its descent guidance. Build and fly a UAV with your own autopilot, or a desktop attitude demonstrator.
Structures & Materials Specialist
Aerodynamic loads, aerospace materials and manufacturing, structures, experimental methods, systems engineering.
CapstonesDesign a composite wing box to certification loads. Build a low-speed wind tunnel and validate your aero codes.
The specialist paths are deliberately narrower than a degree, the way a master's student who already has the core would study.
Home laboratory
A kitchen scale with a known uncertainty teaches more than an uncalibrated wind tunnel.
Equipment is bought at the point of use, never as an upfront kit. Every physical experiment offers a minimum-cost, a recommended, and an enhanced method, with household and phone-sensor substitutions where they are scientifically sound. No lesson requires a 3D printer, a machine shop, proprietary software, or a university lab.
1
Basic engineering lab Phases 00–04
Ruler, tape, digital scale, weights, hand tools, safety glasses, clamps, breadboard, multimeter, a microcontroller and a few sensors, a phone camera. Mechanics, beam deflection, pendulum dynamics, calibration, logging, first feedback control.
2
Prototyping lab Optional · Phases 05–13
Soldering tools with ventilation, small servos and motors, an IMU, a load cell, simple fixtures. A 3D printer or cardboard, foam, and pre-cut parts. Materials testing, instrumented structures, embedded systems, bench aerodynamics.
3
Aerospace experimentation Optional · Phases 10–21
A guarded low-speed bench airflow rig, an instrumented foam glider, a flight-data logger, a desktop attitude platform, a CubeSat bench prototype. Lift and drag, structural validation, sensor fusion, closed-loop control.
Safe, always
- Every hands-on activity opens with a safety box: hazards, controls, supervision, operating envelope, stop criteria.
- No lesson or capstone requires at-home combustion, rocket motor firing, propellant fabrication, pressure vessels, or autonomous outdoor flight. Those happen only at qualified supervised clubs, as optional extensions.
- Every instrument gets a calibration plan, and every report states its uncertainty. Matching one data point does not pass; you must explain the discrepancies.
Fourteen integrated home projects
Cantilever beamSystem identificationHeat transferFluid experimentBench airflow rigAirfoil testInstrumented gliderMaterials comparisonFeedback controllerAttitude demonstratorCubeSat bench prototypeAutonomous flight (sim)Electric thrust standMission trade study
What finishing means, and what it does not
Three claims, kept separate on purpose.
This is a hard course with an honest label. Here is exactly what it does and does not promise.
Curriculum scope comparable to a degree
The subject matter is mapped to the ABET aerospace program criteria and to MIT Course 16. The roadmap's tables establish this claim, and the mapping is versioned and re-verified rather than treated as permanent.
Demonstrated competence comparable to a graduate
Earned by passing independent, demanding assessments and completing validated projects comparable to undergraduate engineering work. It is something each learner demonstrates, never a status conferred by finishing pages.
Credential equivalence
A self-directed roadmap grants no accredited degree, professional authorization, or engineering license, and this one will never claim to. Achievement is reported as practice completed, self-assessed mastery, or externally reviewed mastery.
How long does it take?
We do not know yet, and we will not guess. Per-lesson estimates exist in the roadmap but none has been validated with real learners, so no total is published. Ranges by starting level will appear once pilot learners have measured them. The standard for finishing is demonstrated competence, not hours spent.
Where are the solutions?
Public and free, in their own tree so you can attempt first. Problem sets scaffold hint, then method, then full worked solution. Implementation tests check residuals, conservation laws, and convergence rather than exact output matching.
Free, always
Every required reading is free to access and mapped to the exact section. Paid textbooks appear only in clearly marked optional notes and are never prerequisites.
Safe, always
Every hands-on activity opens with a safety box. The dangerous things happen only at qualified supervised clubs, and only as optional extensions.
Accessible, always
Three equipment tiers per experiment, household and phone-sensor substitutions, and no mandatory 3D printer, machine shop, or proprietary software.
Honest, always
Scope comparable to a degree, no credential, no invented time totals. Lower the equipment barriers, never the standard of reasoning and evidence.
Begin
Phase 00 starts with a falling object, a phone camera, and a prediction you have to defend.
You need a computer, Python, basic hand tools, and a modest, incremental budget. Clone the repository, set up your environment in lesson 01, and make your first calibrated measurement by lesson 14.
# Phase 00, lesson 01 git clone https://github.com/rafael-varela/aerospace-engineering-from-scratch.git cd aerospace-engineering-from-scratch python -m pip install -r requirements.txt pytest # every lesson ships with tests → curriculum/phase-00/lesson-01/lesson.md