Aerospace vs Aeronautical Engineering
There are many students who are desirous of doing aeronautical engineering as they are fascinated by the prospect of getting a chance to be able to fly an aircraft as also know a lot about designing and working of aircrafts. But they get confused by the use of aerospace engineering by many colleges as they cannot make out differences between aeronautical engineering and aerospace engineering. This article attempts to highlight these differences enabling those who want to complete their engineering in either of these two streams.
Aerospace engineering is a broader subject than aeronautical engineering. The inclusion of the word space in the term says it all. While aeronautical engineering is limited to design and development of aircrafts that fly within earth’s atmosphere while aerospace engineering is the study of all aircrafts flying within as well as outside earth’s environment. Thus it includes the study of missiles, rockets, satellites, spacecrafts, space stations and so on. It is clear then that aerospace engineering has a broader spectrum and encompasses much more than aeronautical engineering. As a result, students doing aerospace engineering are rewarded with better and more opportunities to work for organizations such as NASA, ISRO and other space research organizations around the world.
It boils down to your aptitude as well as your objectives. If you have set your eyes on aircrafts and their designing, you would be better off doing aeronautical engineering as this branch provides in depth analysis of aircrafts flying in earth’s environment whereas if you are interested in making a career in space research and have a desire to know about spacecrafts and rockets, then doing aerospace engineering is a better option. Aerospace engineering requires understanding the laws of aerodynamics in outer space which are quite different from these laws applicable in earth’s environment.
However, aerospace engineering is not useful in terms of employment for students in countries that do not have a space research institute or well developed aerospace industry that includes space arms manufacturers and also spacecraft manufacturers. Aeronautical engineering, on the other hand, is a common degree in all parts of the world and students passing it can get absorbed in the aviation industry easily.
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In brief: Aerospace Engineering vs Aeronautical Engineering • Aeronautical engineering is a sub set of aerospace engineering. • Aeronautical engineering pertains to study, designing and flying of aircrafts within earth’s atmosphere whereas aerospace engineering is broader in scope and includes both aircrafts within earth’s atmosphere as well as spacecrafts, missiles, and rockets that go beyond earth’s atmosphere into the space.
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