Space Studies

A free, self-paced curriculum — no accreditation, just the material

Curriculum Complete

Learn Space, One Module at a Time

Modeled on a real undergraduate Space Studies certificate, rebuilt as a self-directed curriculum with no accreditation attached. Five courses, each broken into short modules sized for one sitting, built from primary sources rather than paraphrased summaries.

All five courses are complete, start to finish — 35 modules from the first "what is space studies" question through the instruments looking past the edge of the solar system.

Curriculum

Five Courses, One Path

Complete

SSA-01

Introduction to Space Studies
A broad-brush survey of the whole field — astronautics, astronomy, policy, economics, and exploration as one interdisciplinary subject.

7 modules →
Complete

SSA-02

Introduction to Space Flight
The engineering layer: rocket propulsion, launch vehicles, orbital mechanics, applied satellite systems, and living and working in space.

6 modules →
Complete

SSA-03

History of Space Flight
A chronological survey from humanity's early fascination with the heavens through the commercial era — treated as history, not triumph narrative.

7 modules →
Complete

SSA-04

Space Policy
Space law, resource rights, militarization, and environmental policy — what each rule says, who it benefits, and the competing positions, stated fairly.

7 modules →
Complete

SSA-05

Planetary and Space Exploration
How missions actually explore: the Moon, Mars, the outer planets and small bodies, space station operations, and commercial logistics.

8 modules →
By Subject

Browse by Topic

  • Start here — the full path through all five courses, in order
  • Astronomy and Space Exploration — From ancient astronomy to Hubble and JWST, and the missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond.
  • Rockets and Orbits — Propulsion, launch vehicles, Kepler's laws, transfers between orbits and satellite systems.
  • Space Law and Policy — The Outer Space Treaty, space resources, military space, debris and competing lunar coalitions.
  • Space History — Early rocketry, the Space Race, Apollo, the Shuttle, the ISS and the commercial era.
  • Living and Working in Space — Life support, spacewalks, the ISS partnership and how stations are run and resupplied.
Format

How This Works

📖

Self-Paced

No schedule, no enrollment. Each module is sized for one sitting (the pages estimate 20 to 35 minutes) — work through one course or jump to a single topic.

📚

Primary Sources

Built from agency documentation, treaty texts, and mission archives — with citations, not paraphrased trivia.

⚖

No Accreditation

Modeled on a real university certificate's scope and sequence, but this carries no credit, degree, or institutional affiliation.

Start Learning

Every module is published — start at SSA-01, or jump straight to whichever course covers what you're curious about.

Start with SSA-01 Dev Journal   All Projects