, with the
F-1 engines of the
Saturn V first stage at the
US Space and Rocket Center spacecraft engineered for descent by parachute Some of the elements of aerospace engineering are: •
Radar cross-section – the study of vehicle signature apparent to
remote sensing by
radar. •
Fluid mechanics – the study of
fluid flow 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). •
Astrodynamics – 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 and
Dynamics (engineering mechanics) – the study of movement, forces, moments in mechanical systems. •
Mathematics – in particular,
calculus,
differential equations, and
linear algebra. •
Electrotechnology – the study of
electronics within engineering. •
Propulsion – the energy to move a vehicle through the air (or in outer space) is provided by
internal combustion engines,
jet engines and
turbomachinery, or
rockets (see also
propeller and
spacecraft propulsion). A more recent addition to this module is
electric propulsion and
ion propulsion. •
Control engineering – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – the interaction of aerodynamic forces and structural flexibility, potentially causing
flutter, divergence, etc. •
Avionics – the design and programming of
computer systems on board an aircraft or spacecraft and the
simulation of systems. •
Software – the specification, design, development, test, and implementation of
computer software for aerospace applications, including
flight software,
ground control software, test & evaluation software, etc. •
Risk and reliability – the study of risk and reliability assessment techniques and the mathematics involved in the quantitative methods. •
Noise control – the study of the mechanics of sound transfer. •
Aeroacoustics – the study of noise generation via either turbulent fluid motion or aerodynamic forces interacting with surfaces. •
Flight testing – 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 for aerodynamics or the
equations of motion for
flight dynamics. There is also a large
empirical 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 often obtain degrees in aerospace engineering. Additionally, aerospace engineering addresses the integration of all components that constitute an aerospace vehicle (subsystems including power,
aerospace bearings, communications,
thermal control,
life support system, etc.) and its life cycle (design, temperature, pressure,
radiation,
velocity,
lifetime). ==Degree programs==