Aerospace Engineering Fields of Study

Aerospace Engineering (AE) is a specialized discipline that can be applied to numerous engineering systems, such as aircraft, rockets, missiles (aeronautics), spacecraft, satellites (astronautics), ships, deep-diving vessels, submarines and ground transportations (fuel-efficient automobiles and high-speed trains). The broad background of aerospace engineers allows them to deal with all the development phases of new products, ranging from research to design, testing, production and operation. They are sufficiently versatile to work either for the federal government (including NASA centers), aerospace and defense companies, commercial airlines, or spin-off industries like flight testing, simulation, control, robotics, instrumentation, lightweight composite materials, and alternative energy systems.

Aerodynamics How to shape a vehicle in order to increase the lift and reduce the resistance against its motion through air or water.

Guidance, Stability and Control How to maintain continuous stability in any flight condition, guide the vehicle in motion, maneuver and control it safely, either from within the cockpit, or from remote station(s).

Propulsion How to develop combustion devices such as air-breathing engines, rockets, turbo-machinery that can move vehicles efficiently.

Structures and Materials How to design and build a minimum-weight, low-noise craft that is strong enough to withstand the applied loads at takeoff, flight and landing, and is also stiff enough to avoid excessive deformations in bending or twisting.