= Aerospace engineering
{wiki}
<Aerospace engineering> concerns aircraft and spacecraft, linking aerodynamics, structures, propulsion, control and thermal design. Aircraft operate through <forces> exchanged with the atmosphere; spacecraft also require orbital dynamics and operation in vacuum. A low-mass structure can reduce propulsion requirements but may be more flexible, affecting control and vibration. Coupling these subsystems makes performance a system-level property: improving one component's isolated efficiency does not necessarily improve the complete vehicle.
Back to article page
