AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

Aerospace Engineering



Aerospace Engineering

Introduction

Aerospace engineering is the branch of engineering concerned with the design, construction, production and maintenance of vehicles and objects for use within and beyond the atmosphere. Aerospace engineering has broken into two major branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. The former deals with craft that stays within Earth's atmosphere, and the latter deals with craft that operates outside of Earth's atmosphere. While "aeronautical" was the original term, the broader "aerospace" has superseded it in usage, as modern flight technology advanced to include craft operating in outer space. Aerospace engineering is a growing field with applications in areas as diverse as military and civilian aircaft, rockets, unmanned aerial vehicles, control and guidance systems, spacecraft, satellites, hang gliders and hot air balloons. The environment in which aerospace engineers work can vary widely, from an office to a laboratory or an airfield or even outer space.

Career Prospects

A large proportion of aerospace engineering occupations are defense related, so employment opportunities with the government will be limited unless there is an increase in defence and space exploration. Faster growth for this field is expected in the civilian related occupations as modern airliners are replaced with quieter and more fuel efficient aircraft. New technologies are expected to be used on new commercial aircraft. This should increase the demand for aerospace engineers. Although the workforce is small, employment opportunities for aerospace engineers are good. (Stanzione, 1989)

Propulsion

Propulsion involves the analysis of energy required move a vehicle through the air or outer space, provided by various devices such as combustion chambers, diffusers and turbochargers. A vehicle's propulsion system is the primary force responsible for performance. New propulsion technology like the ion thruster are being developed and used on spacecraft. It has a much higher propellant efficiency than conventional spacecraft propulsion while using minimal energy.

Ethics and Engineering

All engineers have legal and moral obligations to consider the safety and health impacts of their designs and can be held responsible if something goes wrong. Aircraft maintenance engineers must ensure that an aircraft is safe and fully operational before every flight. New aircraft design has to meet certain standards before it can be manufactured. Issues such as environmental impact, health impact of the materials used must be considered. Aerospace engineers must be aware of the ethical ramifications of their decisions and developments. When aircraft was first invented, it was intended to be used as a transport. However during World ...