What do Aerospace engineers do?

Sphere of Work

Aerospace engineers design, develop, test, maintain, and assist in the manufacture of different types of aircraft, missiles, spacecraft, and other technologically advanced modes of transport. Aerospace engineers in the field of aeronautical engineering work on civilian and military aircraft, which may include helicopters, airliners, fighter jets, missiles, and other airborne craft. Aerospace engineers in the field of astronautically engineering work with satellites, rockets, and similar space-bound technologies. Aerospace engineers focus on aerodynamics, propulsion, hull composition, communications networks, and electrical systems.

Work Environment

Aerospace engineers typically work in government or business offices, where they manage administrative tasks, design models and schematics, and write reports. They also spend time working in laboratories, industrial plants, and manufacturing facilities, where they work with other technicians to assemble systems and aircraft. Those engineers who work in astronautically engineering also work at launch facilities, while aeronautical engineering typically requires spending time at noisy airfields. Aerospace engineers generally work in several complex and busy locations over the course of a project, with many separate activities taking place simultaneously. They work a regular forty-hour workweek, although longer hours may be required as deadlines draw near.

Occupation Interest

Aerospace engineers are part of an exciting industry, one that helps develop high-speed trains, deep-sea vessels, missiles/rockets, commercial airliners, and many other large aircraft and spacecraft. They use the most advanced technology to design, build, test, and maintain these vehicles. Because they have expertise unique to their field and area of specialization, aerospace engineers receive highly competitive salaries. The job market for aerospace engineers is continuously growing, thanks to the sales of new aircraft and missiles, as well as growth in the commercial airline construction industry.

  

A Day in the Life—Duties and Responsibilities

There are two basic types of aerospace engineers aeronautical engineers (who focus on aircraft, missiles, and other “earthbound” technologies) and astronautically engineers (who focus on spacecraft and space exploration technologies). Both aeronautical and astronautically engineers further specialize in certain types of products or product features. Aerospace engineers create conceptual designs of aeronautical or astronautically vehicles, instrumentation, defence systems, guidance and navigation systems, and propulsion systems according to the specifications of the client. They also improve the structural design of existing aircraft and spacecraft. Some engineers specialize in innovating more sophisticated production methods. All of these design and development processes include practical steps such as analyzing production costs, developing quality control standards, and testing methodologies, as well as establishing timelines for project development and completion. During the course of construction and/or assembly, aerospace engineers travel to the production site and conduct inspections and tests on the systems to ensure that they are operating efficiently and according to the needs of the client. Many aerospace engineers assist in the production phase, integrating systems and examining components as they are being built.

When production is complete, the aerospace engineer creates performance and technical reports so that customers have a full knowledge of the vehicle’s capabilities. He or she retains copies of such reports for future reference. In the event that the vehicle or a vehicular system malfunctions, aerospace engineers play an important role in the investigation, examining damaged parts and reviewing performance reports and other documentation to determine the cause of the malfunction.

Work Environment

Immediate Physical Environment. Aerospace engineers spend long hours working at drawing boards in offices but also spend significant amounts of time working in laboratories, manufacturing facilities, test facilities, and airfields. These locations are generally clean, very well organized, and well ventilated. There are physical risks when working with or in close proximity to machines, electricity, manufacturing chemicals, and engines, so safety protocols are strictly enforced.

  

Human Environment

Aerospace engineers work with many other professionals, including engineers with different specialties. They interact with electricians, technicians, construction personnel, forklift and other heavy machinery operators, physicists, chemists, and project managers.

Technological Environment

Aerospace engineers use a variety of analytical tools and sophisticated technology in their daily work. Computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software, as well as a variety of computer modelling and design programs, are used for planning and design. Analytical and scientific software help aerospace engineers to examine thermal patterns, complex mathematical formulas, and other aspects of systems engineering. At test facilities, engineers use such tools as flow meters, lasers, and vibration testing equipment.

Education, Training, and Advancement

High School/Secondary. High school students who intend to become aerospace engineers should study mathematics, including algebra, applied mathematics, trigonometry, calculus, and geometry. Physics, chemistry, and other laboratory sciences are equally important. Computer science courses expose high school students to design and analytical software, while industrial arts courses expose them to mechanical equipment, such as engines and electrical systems. High school students interested in the field of aerospace engineering must apply to related college or university programs.

  

Postsecondary

All aerospace engineers must have at least a bachelor’s degree in engineering. Most obtain a master’s degree or a doctorate in engineering, mathematics, or natural sciences. Some universities and colleges offer two- and four-year degrees in engineering technology. These programs give students direct exposure to applied engineering, which is useful for future design and production work.

Aerospace Tooling No Longer A Luxury, Now A Necessity

 Most people have never heard of Aerospace Tooling. Even fewer know what exactly an aerospace engineer does, even though it is one of the most exacting disciplines on the face of the planet. Where tolerances are measured in microns and a single mistake can cost millions or billions of dollars in losses of hardware and even human life.

In this article, we will look at some of the aspects of the field of High Tech that allows man to go into outer space and someday set foot on Mars and the rest of the planets.

When you have finished reading you will become aware of just how much the future of America depends on this little know field that put men on the Moon in 1969.

The Wright Brothers started it

Wilbur and Orville were the first Aerospace Engineers, a long line that ran all the way from Kitty Hawk up to Wernher Van Braun and the Saturn 5 rocket. Nowadays the US has outsourced much of its space launch work to Russia and China. We have scaled back to sending unmanned probes to the moon and Mars where small robots are running around the surface and a few days ago both a new American and Indian Space Probe took up orbit around the Red Planet.

Unfortunately, the Martian cities like Helium and the world of Barsoom envisioned by Edgar Rice Burroughs do not exist. There is still a lot of knowledge to be had by going there. The Earth is badly in need of new sources of energy and natural resources. The only place we can get them is from outer space. We have damaged our fragile ecosystem in our quest for energy sources and manufacturing our current way of life.

New Technology

America got its greatest leap forward in the technology field through Aerospace tooling, during the development of the Apollo program. Spinoffs from the Space Program created by those in the Aerospace industry changed the world.

The world is about to get another boost after the Dragon unmanned space vehicle delivered to the International Space station the first in a series of new aerospace tooling machines that may well change the face of manufacturing on the Earth as well as space.

The Dragon delivered a 3D printer, which can build and entire car in 33 hours here on earth. What is its potential for outer space manufacturing. Creating the shells for satellites and assembling them in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) would save millions of dollars on each launch.

New additions to the space station and space habitats can now be assembled via a technology that can create everything from a suitcase to possibly soon your next meal.

 NASA is planning to use this technology to create food for manned missions to Mars and here on Earth it would have a direct impact on the millions who go to bed each night without enough to eat. Global warming is having an impact on the arable land and war is erupting in Africa because of drought and famine.

This new technology has the possibility of changing all that, as already 3D printers can synthesize edible products from the basic molecules of chemicals that make up food. That means we can make food from things that many would now consider inedible. Cellulose that we cannot digest can be processed into a form that is digestible and given a pleasing taste and texture. Insects that devour our crops may become a new source of protein that we can reshape into familiar shapes and flavours though this new technology.

Housing one of the great problems facing the people nowadays can now be solved as a home can be constructed in sections and assembled like a puzzle at a cost of only a few thousand dollars. Already these new houses are being built and put on the market.

Just think of what this would mean to the people who survived super storms like Sandy or the many earthquakes that have occurred in recent month that have left thousands without basic shelter from the elements.

Aerospace tooling is spearheading the development of this and many other forms of technology that are now becoming a necessity rather than a luxury for the survival of the human race as our numbers climb past 6 billion and approach 7 billion in the next few decades.