Aerospace engineering

Aerospace engineering is the principal branch of engineering that is involved with the design and development of aeroplanes and space vehicles. Aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering are the two most important and overlapping disciplines of the field. Avionics engineering is related to aerospace engineering, except it focuses on the electronic aspect of the industry.

The term "aeronautical engineering" was also used to define the discipline. As flight technology has progressed to incorporate vehicles that can go to and from outer space, the phrase "aerospace engineering" has been more widely used. Aerospace engineering, and especially the astronautics component of it, is commonly referred to as "rocket science" in popular speech.