USC Viterbi Department of Astronautical Engineering

Watch Intro Video: Gaurav Sukhatme, Dean (Interim), USC Viterbi School of Engineering
From USC Viterbi graduate student to dean: Sukhatme reflects on his 35-year Trojan journey.
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Astronautical Engineering News
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USC Rocket Propulsion Lab’s third successful spaceshot, Daybreak, carried payloads for other student organizations and validated new technologies that expand the team's ability to return to space on repeat. 
At the 7th Summit for Space Sustainability in Paris, USC PhD student José Pedro Ferreira raised awareness of the potential impacts of space activities in the atmosphere and the need for emerging research to be reflected in global governance.
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USC Engineers to Present 32 Papers in Robotics: From Safer Autonomous Navigation and Dexterous Manipulation to VLMs and AI-Driven Learning for Robots
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How to follow the peak experience of a lunar landing? Earn a graduate degree from USC.
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A 4.5-meter dish antenna on the USC campus will join 33 other ground stations contributing to a study of how spacecraft signals behave at lunar distance.

Astronautical Engineering at USC Viterbi

Astronautical Engineering encompasses the dynamic and cutting-edge fields of advanced science and space technology. Space engineers design, build and operate rockets and missiles, space launchers, communications and direct broadcasting satellites, space navigational systems, remote sensing and reconnaissance satellites, space vehicles for human spaceflight, and planetary probes.

There is no better academic major than Astronautical Engineering in which to obtain the education and to acquire the skills needed for space engineers.

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Space Shuttle
Astronauts

Trojans in Space

Do you know how many Trojan astronauts were in space?
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Astronautical Engineering News and Media Coverage

After 21 years as dean of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, Yannis C. Yortsos sat down to reflect on family, leadership, engineering, and the future.

Twenty-One Years. Twenty-One Questions. A Q&A with USC Viterbi’s longest serving dean.

Launch of Daybreak from the rocket launch site in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada.

USC Rocket Propulsion Lab’s third successful spaceshot, Daybreak, carried payloads for other student organizations and validated new technologies that expand the team’s ability to return to space on repeat. 

2023 IEEE Simon Ramo Medal recipient Azad Madni

The prestigious award recognizes educators who have contributed significantly to the industrial and systems engineering profession through teaching, research and innovation.

USC at ICRA 2026 (Credit: Dall-E)

USC Engineers to Present 32 Papers in Robotics: From Safer Autonomous Navigation and Dexterous Manipulation to VLMs and AI-Driven Learning for Robots

Azad Madni Honored as Fellow of Canadian Academy of Engineering

Professor Azad Madni is one of 56 highly accomplished engineers from around the world selected as 2026 Fellows of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.


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Published on February 23rd, 2017Last updated on July 1st, 2026