Grossmont College will offer a brand-new “Fundamentals of Aerospace Science” course next fall, after it was approved by the Governing Board during its April regular meeting.
The class, officially designated PSC-123, was created by Grossmont Physical Science Professor Philip Blanco as the main project behind his recent sabbatical leave. Blanco said the class is designed specifically for those who are curious about engineering and careers in aerospace, featuring engaging laboratory activities and take-home projects.
“This is a course where you can get your feet wet,” Blanco said. “You’re going to have fun, that’s my guarantee.”
Developing the Course
During his sabbatical report to the district’s Governing Board, Blanco demonstrated a paper helicopter activity, which he plans to include in the new class. Another proposed activity involves water bottle rockets, in which students will record acceleration data using in-flight sensors.
PSC-123 is a one-unit class with a 0.5-unit lecture and a 0.5-unit lab. Blanco said that the coursework involves plotting and interpreting data, so students must either complete or be concurrently enrolled in MATH-171 to take the aerospace class.
Blanco added in an email that the new class “will be articulated to AE123, The Aerospace Engineer at SDSU, starting Fall 2026.” This means not only that Grossmont students can earn transferable units for SDSU, but also that SDSU students can earn these units at Grossmont.
Brodney Fitzgerald, the director of Grossmont’s MESA Program — which offers support to STEM students in the form of tutoring, workshops and internship opportunities — said his students in the program have expressed a lot of excitement about the new class.
“When the announcement came out that we were going to do an aerospace class, then like five were like ‘Oh, we gotta sign up for that,’” Fitzgerald said.
“MESA is also exploring the possibility of hiring a dedicated physical science tutor to support students in the new class,” he added.
Fitzgerald said the recent Artemis II mission, which flew by the moon and landed off the San Diego coast this past April, has been a major driver of curiosity and excitement among students now looking to pursue careers in STEM.
Blanco said he hopes to tap into students’ “childhood sense of wonder” sparked by recent programs like Artemis, which promise a future in space. He said a similar dream captivated him when he watched Apollo astronauts “bouncing around” on the moon in the 1970s.
“The interest and the passion in the community is so much bigger than me,” he said. “It’s up to our students to carry the fire and be the next generation of scientists and explorers.”
Blanco added that aerospace has deep roots in San Diego, reaching back to America’s early days of space exploration. The Atlas missile that launched the first American into Earth’s orbit in 1962 was manufactured by Convair in Kearny Mesa. Additionally, Apollo 8 astronaut and the photographer behind the famous “Earthrise” photograph, Bill Anders, was a former La Mesa resident and even attended Grossmont High School.
“Everyone knows somebody who’s involved in the aerospace industry in San Diego,” he said.
Course Developments
Blanco said he spent a lot of his sabbatical leave talking with industry experts and local educators to create a new class “from the ground up.”
He said San Diego State’s Aerospace Engineering Chair informed him their one-unit aerospace courses were “overloaded,” and that sophomore students were returning to the introductory class in order to meet the major requirements.
While already spending time developing new lab activities that would not fit into his existing classes, Blanco said the apparent need for an aerospace course at the community college level was a perfect opportunity to create a hands-on experience for curious students.
Despite all the excitement surrounding the class, getting it approved through the proper channels at Grossmont did not happen without criticism.
During the district meeting in which the course was approved, Cuyamaca College representatives expressed concerns about curriculum alignment with Grossmont and long-term content maintenance, even requesting that the board not approve the class.
“We’re gonna start splitting the enrollment between two colleges, lowering our efficiency, lowering our alignment,” said Kenan Murray, co-chair of the Engineering & Physical Sciences Department at Cuyamaca College.
While boasting a dedicated engineering department full of classes articulated for transfer to San Diego State, Cuyamaca College does not currently offer an equivalent to the new Grossmont class.
With the lack of a dedicated engineering program at Grossmont, students looking to transfer will be sent to Cuyamaca or another institution that offers the required courses.
For this reason, Blanco said that the class will be “indirectly supporting Cuyamaca’s amazing engineering program.”
Blanco said the class has something to offer anyone with an interest, whether or not they are an aerospace major.
“If in doubt, this is one case where you should just give it a try,” he said. “You’re going to be amongst a group of people who just love aerospace, and we’re all going to come together as a learning community.”
As of now, a 16-week section, PSC-123-1030, is available to students on Self-Service for Fall 2026 and will be held on Thursdays from 2 p.m. to 3:50 p.m.
