first flight space shuttle

Education:

Bachelor of Science in Aerospace, Electrical or Mechanical Engineering or another field of science related to aerospace systems

Employment Opportunities:

Jobs in designing spacecraft, aircraft, satellites and missiles are a few of the areas of employment opportunities.

Job Outlook:

There is a 7% increase in employment predicted from 2012 to 2022.

Aerospace Engineering Timeline

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Impacts on Society

Over the past century, the invention of flight has impacted society in various ways. It has brought political, social, and economic change. These changes have taken place throughout the world.

Through the invention of flight, Aerospace Engineers opened up a whole new industry that has an economic impact on society. Many people in all different fields have gained employment because of flight. Employees are needed to design, build, and maintain airports around the world. Air traffic controllers are needed to direct planes. Careers for pilots, flight attendants, and other employees who are needed to run an airline would not exist without the invention of flight. Airports require maintenance crews, custodians, and numerous other employees. The restaurants and stores that are in the airports need employees to run them. People are needed to build the conveyor belts that move the baggage, kiosks, airplanes, and countless other things that are used by the flight industry. Even taxis have gained business because of flight.

Aerospace Engineering does not just benefit the economy with flight within Earth’s atmosphere; the economy is also benefitted by space flight. Space centers around the world employ engineers, mathematicians, scientists, historians, artists, human resources personnel, public relations workers, physicians, accountants, and more.

Besides the economic benefits, flight has also brought the global community closer together. Flight has made it easier for people to experience and learn about other cultures firsthand. Heads of State from different nations are able to sit face-to-face to discuss issues more easily now that there are planes.

Travel has become more convenient and faster because of flight. Unfortunately, it has also allowed transmitted diseases to travel faster and farther. In the past, not as many people traveled abroad so it was easier for an epidemic to stay contained within a certain region.

It has only been a little over a century since the first powered, manned, heavier-than-air, controlled flight took place. Less than a century has passed since the first transatlantic flight. Because of the technology that Aerospace Engineers have developed, people are able to jet around the world and work together towards common goals, bringing the global community closer together.