Aeronautical and astronautical engineers apply their understanding of basic physical phenomena to design and operate aircraft, missiles, and space vehicles. Aeronautics is the design, development, analysis, testing, and production of aircraft for military or civilian markets. Astronautics is the design, development, analysis, testing, and production of rockets, spacecraft, and global space/international systems. As an aeronautics and astronautics student, you’ll follow a curriculum that explores the fundamentals of engineering science and the technologies and design of flight vehicles. Aircraft and spacecraft design courses integrate many engineering fields to provide a mastery of complete flight systems.
Points of Pride:
- Purdue has produced the most aerospace engineering degrees in the U.S. over the past 10 years.
- 22 Purdue alumni have been selected for space flight. 14 of those have been AAE graduates.
- Purdue’s AAE program is consistently ranked among the nation’s top programs (4th by U.S. News & World Report).