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Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches:
aeronautical Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight–capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. The British Royal Aeronautical Society identifies ...
engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is similar, but deals with the electronics side of aerospace engineering. "Aeronautical engineering" was the original term for the field. As flight technology advanced to include vehicles operating in outer space, the broader term " aerospace engineering" has come into use. Aerospace engineering, particularly the astronautics branch, is often colloquially referred to as "rocket science".


Overview

Flight vehicles are subjected to demanding conditions such as those caused by changes in atmospheric pressure and temperature, with structural loads applied upon vehicle components. Consequently, they are usually the products of various technological and engineering disciplines including aerodynamics, Air propulsion, avionics, materials science,
structural analysis Structural analysis is a branch of Solid Mechanics which uses simplified models for solids like bars, beams and shells for engineering decision making. Its main objective is to determine the effect of loads on the physical structures and thei ...
and manufacturing. The interaction between these technologies is known as aerospace engineering. Because of the complexity and number of disciplines involved, aerospace engineering is carried out by teams of engineers, each having their own specialized area of expertise.


History

The origin of aerospace engineering can be traced back to the aviation pioneers around the late 19th to early 20th centuries, although the work of Sir
George Cayley Sir George Cayley, 6th Baronet (27 December 1773 – 15 December 1857) was an English engineer, inventor, and aviator. He is one of the most important people in the history of aeronautics. Many consider him to be the first true scientific aeri ...
dates from the last decade of the 18th to mid-19th century. One of the most important people in the history of aeronautics and a pioneer in aeronautical engineering, Cayley is credited as the first person to separate the forces of lift and
drag Drag or The Drag may refer to: Places * Drag, Norway, a village in Tysfjord municipality, Nordland, Norway * ''Drág'', the Hungarian name for Dragu Commune in Sălaj County, Romania * Drag (Austin, Texas), the portion of Guadalupe Street adj ...
, which affect any atmospheric flight vehicle. Early knowledge of aeronautical engineering was largely empirical, with some concepts and skills imported from other branches of engineering. Some key elements, like
fluid dynamics In physics and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids— liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including ''aerodynamics'' (the study of air and other gases in motion) an ...
, were understood by 18th-century scientists. In December 1903, the Wright Brothers performed the first sustained, controlled flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft, lasting 12 seconds. The 1910s saw the development of aeronautical engineering through the design of World War I military aircraft. Between World Wars I and II, great leaps were made in the field, accelerated by the advent of mainstream civil aviation. Notable airplanes of this era include the Curtiss JN 4, the
Farman F.60 Goliath The Farman F.60 Goliath was a French airliner and bomber produced by the Farman Aviation Works from 1919. It was instrumental in the creation of early airlines and commercial routes in Europe after World War I. Design and development The ''G ...
, and Fokker Trimotor. Notable military airplanes of this period include the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, the
Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...
and the
Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...
from Japan, United Kingdom, and Germany respectively. A significant development in aerospace engineering came with the first operational
Jet engine A jet engine is a type of reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet of heated gas (usually air) that generates thrust by jet propulsion. While this broad definition can include rocket, Pump-jet, water jet, and hybrid propulsion, the term ...
-powered airplane, the Messerschmitt Me 262 which entered service in 1944 towards the end of the second World War. The first definition of aerospace engineering appeared in February 1958, considering the Earth's atmosphere and outer space as a single realm, thereby encompassing both aircraft (''aero'') and spacecraft (''space'') under the newly coined term ''aerospace''. In response to the USSR launching the first satellite,
Sputnik Sputnik 1 (; see § Etymology) was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space program. It sent a radio signal back to Earth for t ...
, into space on October 4, 1957, U.S. aerospace engineers launched the first American satellite on January 31, 1958. The
National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...
was founded in 1958 as a response to the Cold War. In 1969, Apollo 11, the first human space mission to the moon took place. It saw three
astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
s enter orbit around the Moon, with two,
Neil Armstrong Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 â€“ August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aeronautical engineer who became the first person to walk on the Moon in 1969. He was also a naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor. ...
and Buzz Aldrin, visiting the lunar surface. The third astronaut,
Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...
, stayed in orbit to rendezvous with Armstrong and Aldrin after their visit. An important innovation came on January 30, 1970, when the
Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
made its first commercial flight from New York to London. This aircraft made history and became known as the "Jumbo Jet" or "Whale" due to its ability to hold up to 480 passengers. Another significant development in aerospace engineering came in 1976, with the development of the first passenger
supersonic Supersonic speed is the speed of an object that exceeds the speed of sound ( Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 Â°C (68 Â°F) at sea level, this speed is approximately . Speeds greater than five times ...
aircraft, the Concorde. The development of this aircraft was agreed upon by the French and British on November 29, 1962. On December 21, 1988, the Antonov An-225 ''Mriya'' cargo aircraft commenced its first flight. It holds the records for the world's heaviest aircraft, heaviest airlifted cargo, and longest airlifted cargo, and has the widest wingspan of any aircraft in operational service. On October 25, 2007, the Airbus A380 made its maiden commercial flight from Singapore to Sydney, Australia. This aircraft was the first passenger plane to surpass the
Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
in terms of passenger capacity, with a maximum of 853. Though development of this aircraft began in 1988 as a competitor to the 747, the A380 made its first test flight in April 2005.


Elements

Some of the elements of aerospace engineering are: *
Radar cross-section Radar cross-section (RCS), also called radar signature, is a measure of how detectable an object is by radar. A larger RCS indicates that an object is more easily detected. An object reflects a limited amount of radar energy back to the source. ...
 â€“ the study of vehicle signature apparent to remote sensing by radar. * Fluid mechanics â€“ the study of
fluid flow In physics and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids— liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including ''aerodynamics'' (the study of air and other gases in motion) an ...
around objects. Specifically aerodynamics concerning the flow of air over bodies such as wings or through objects such as wind tunnels (see also lift and
aeronautics Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight–capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. The British Royal Aeronautical Society identifies ...
). * Astrodynamics â€“ the study of orbital mechanics including prediction of orbital elements when given a select few variables. While few schools in the United States teach this at the undergraduate level, several have graduate programs covering this topic (usually in conjunction with the Physics department of said college or university). *
Statics Statics is the branch of classical mechanics that is concerned with the analysis of force and torque (also called moment) acting on physical systems that do not experience an acceleration (''a''=0), but rather, are in static equilibrium with ...
and Dynamics (engineering mechanics) â€“ the study of movement, forces, moments in mechanical systems. *
Mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
 â€“ in particular, calculus,
differential equations In mathematics, a differential equation is an equation that relates one or more unknown functions and their derivatives. In applications, the functions generally represent physical quantities, the derivatives represent their rates of change, an ...
, and linear algebra. *
Electrotechnology Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
 â€“ the study of electronics within engineering. * Propulsion â€“ the energy to move a vehicle through the air (or in outer space) is provided by internal combustion engines,
jet engine A jet engine is a type of reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet of heated gas (usually air) that generates thrust by jet propulsion. While this broad definition can include rocket, Pump-jet, water jet, and hybrid propulsion, the term ...
s and turbomachinery, or rockets (see also
propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
and
spacecraft propulsion Spacecraft propulsion is any method used to accelerate spacecraft and artificial satellites. In-space propulsion exclusively deals with propulsion systems used in the vacuum of space and should not be confused with space launch or atmospheric e ...
). A more recent addition to this module is electric propulsion and ion propulsion. * Control engineering â€“ the study of mathematical modeling of the dynamic behavior of systems and designing them, usually using feedback signals, so that their dynamic behavior is desirable (stable, without large excursions, with minimum error). This applies to the dynamic behavior of aircraft, spacecraft, propulsion systems, and subsystems that exist on aerospace vehicles. *
Aircraft structures A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air flying machine, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using wings that generate lift caused by the aircraft's forward airspeed and the shape of the wings. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinc ...
 â€“ design of the physical configuration of the craft to withstand the forces encountered during flight. Aerospace engineering aims to keep structures lightweight and low-cost while maintaining structural integrity. * Materials science â€“ related to structures, aerospace engineering also studies the materials of which the aerospace structures are to be built. New materials with very specific properties are invented, or existing ones are modified to improve their performance. * Solid mechanics â€“ Closely related to material science is solid mechanics which deals with stress and strain analysis of the components of the vehicle. Nowadays there are several Finite Element programs such as MSC Patran/Nastran which aid engineers in the analytical process. * Aeroelasticity â€“ the interaction of aerodynamic forces and structural flexibility, potentially causing
flutter Flutter may refer to: Technology * Aeroelastic flutter, a rapid self-feeding motion, potentially destructive, that is excited by aerodynamic forces in aircraft and bridges * Flutter (American company), a gesture recognition technology company acqu ...
, divergence, etc. * Avionics â€“ the design and programming of computer systems on board an aircraft or spacecraft and the simulation of systems. * Software â€“ the specification, design, development, test, and implementation of computer software for aerospace applications, including
flight software Embedded software is computer software, written to control machines or devices that are not typically thought of as computers, commonly known as embedded systems. It is typically specialized for the particular electronic hardware, hardware that it ...
, ground control software, test & evaluation software, etc. * Risk and reliability â€“ the study of risk and reliability assessment techniques and the mathematics involved in the quantitative methods. * Noise control â€“ the study of the mechanics of sound transfer. * Aeroacoustics â€“ the study of noise generation via either turbulent fluid motion or aerodynamic forces interacting with surfaces. * Flight testing â€“ designing and executing flight test programs in order to gather and analyze performance and handling qualities data in order to determine if an aircraft meets its design and performance goals and certification requirements. The basis of most of these elements lies in theoretical physics, such as
fluid dynamics In physics and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids— liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including ''aerodynamics'' (the study of air and other gases in motion) an ...
for aerodynamics or the equations of motion for flight dynamics. There is also a large
empirical Empirical evidence for a proposition is evidence, i.e. what supports or counters this proposition, that is constituted by or accessible to sense experience or experimental procedure. Empirical evidence is of central importance to the sciences and ...
component. Historically, this empirical component was derived from testing of scale models and prototypes, either in wind tunnels or in the free atmosphere. More recently, advances in computing have enabled the use of computational fluid dynamics to simulate the behavior of the fluid, reducing time and expense spent on wind-tunnel testing. Those studying hydrodynamics or
hydroacoustics Hydroacoustics is the study and application of sound in water. Hydroacoustics, using sonar technology, is most commonly used for monitoring of underwater physical and biological characteristics. Hydroacoustics can be used to detect the depth ...
often obtain degrees in aerospace engineering. Additionally, aerospace engineering addresses the integration of all components that constitute an aerospace vehicle (subsystems including power,
aerospace bearing Aerospace bearings are the bearings installed in aircraft and aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and mili ...
s, communications, thermal control,
life support Life support comprises the treatments and techniques performed in an emergency in order to support life after the failure of one or more vital organs. Healthcare providers and emergency medical technicians are generally certified to perform basic ...
, etc.) and its life cycle (design, temperature, pressure,
radiation In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes: * ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visi ...
, velocity,
lifetime Lifetime may refer to: * Life expectancy, the length of time a person is expected to remain alive Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Lifetime (band), a rock band from New Jersey * ''Life Time'' (Rollins Band album), by Rollins Band * ...
).


Degree programs

Aerospace engineering may be studied at the advanced diploma,
bachelor's A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ye ...
, master's, and Ph.D. levels in aerospace engineering departments at many universities, and in mechanical engineering departments at others. A few departments offer degrees in space-focused astronautical engineering. Some institutions differentiate between aeronautical and astronautical engineering. Graduate degrees are offered in advanced or specialty areas for the aerospace industry. A background in chemistry, physics, computer science and mathematics is important for students pursuing an aerospace engineering degree.


In popular culture

The term " rocket scientist" is sometimes used to describe a person of great intelligence since rocket science is seen as a practice requiring great mental ability, especially technically and mathematically. The term is used ironically in the expression "It's not rocket science" to indicate that a task is simple. Strictly speaking, the use of "science" in "rocket science" is a misnomer since science is about understanding the origins, nature, and behavior of the universe; engineering is about using scientific and engineering principles to solve problems and develop new technology. The more
etymologically Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words an ...
correct version of this phrase would be "rocket engineer". However, "science" and "engineering" are often misused as synonyms.


See also

* American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics * American Helicopter Society International * Flight test * Glossary of aerospace engineering * Index of aerospace engineering articles * List of aerospace engineering schools *
List of aerospace engineers This is a list of notable aerospace engineers, people who were trained in or practiced aerospace engineering and design. __NOTOC__ A * Gerd Achgelis (1908–1991) – helicopter pioneer * Jakob Ackeret (1898–1981) * Bruce Aikenhead (1923†...
*
List of Russian aerospace engineers This list of Russian aerospace engineers includes the designers of aircraft, rocketry and spacecraft, and developers of auxiliary aerospace technologies from the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation. See also the :Russian ...
*
Sigma Gamma Tau Sigma Gamma Tau () is the American honor society in Aerospace Engineering. It seeks to identify and recognize achievement and excellence in the Aerospace field within the United States. Sigma Gamma Tau's collegiate chapters elect annually to m ...
– aerospace engineering honor society *
Space Power Facility Space Power Facility (SPF) is a NASA facility used to test spaceflight hardware under simulated launch and spaceflight conditions. The SPF is part of NASA's Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility, which in turn is part of the Glenn Research Center. The ...


Footnotes


References


Further reading

* Dharmahinder Singh Chand. ''Aero-Engineering Thermodynamics''. Knowledge Curve, 2017. .


External links


NDTAeroTech.com, The Online Community for Aerospace NDT Professionals
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