Aerospace Engineers
Have you ever dreamed of traveling into outer space? Do you wish you could become an astronaut someday? First, you need to know what outer space actually is — everything that exists beyond planet Earth, the planet we live on, is called "outer space." We could also say that outer space represents the entire universe except for the globe itself. Humanity's dream of conquering space began stirring back in the 1950s, until the Soviet Union succeeded in 1957 in launching the first spacecraft carrying a satellite, and the following year the United States launched another spacecraft, after which space flights by many other countries followed one after another. Building spacecraft and satellites is extremely difficult and requires precise calculations, since there's no gravity or air in outer space, and space missions can take several years. That's why designing and building spacecraft and satellites requires specialized experts, and the people responsible for handling these tasks are known as "aerospace engineers."
Meet the Writer: Waleed Abo Omiraa
What You'll Actually Do
The core tasks and responsibilities that fill a typical day.
- Direct or coordinate activities of engineering or technical personnel involved in designing, fabricating, modifying, or testing of aircraft or aerospace products.
- Plan or conduct experimental, environmental, operational, or stress tests on models or prototypes of aircraft or aerospace systems or equipment.
- Formulate mathematical models or other methods of computer analysis to develop, evaluate, or modify design, according to customer engineering requirements.
- Write technical reports or other documentation, such as handbooks or bulletins, for use by engineering staff, management, or customers.
- Analyze project requests, proposals, or engineering data to determine feasibility, productibility, cost, or production time of aerospace or aeronautical products.
- Plan or coordinate investigation and resolution of customers' reports of technical problems with aircraft or aerospace vehicles.
- Maintain records of performance reports for future reference.
- Formulate conceptual design of aeronautical or aerospace products or systems to meet customer requirements or conform to environmental regulations.
- Evaluate product data or design from inspections or reports for conformance to engineering principles, customer requirements, environmental regulations, or quality standards.
- Develop design criteria for aeronautical or aerospace products or systems, including testing methods, production costs, quality standards, environmental standards, or completion dates.