Aerospace engineering is a thriving sector for decades. Since the dawn of human development, humans have strong eager to fly like birds. So the development of flying machines made human beings develop to the next level.
We can’t define an exact starting point of aerospace engineering from history because before wright brothers invented the first flying machine and before Robert Hutchings Goddard and Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky, the pioneers in modern rocketry developed the concept of modern rockets it was used in various forms in history.
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#1 Development of Other Technologies
By the development of other technologies like electronics, communication, material science, etc. The aerospace engineering sector also achieved significant development. In modern times the industry is going for a leap to the next level.
#2 Development of Flying Vehicles
The civil, commercial transportation, and the logistics sector are highly dependent on the development of flying vehicles. The majority of current jobs do not exist in the future due to the emergence of smart technologies like artificial intelligence and robotics.
#3 Development of Atmospheric & Space Vehicles
The future development of both atmospheric and space vehicles may be integrated with these kinds of smart technologies. The futurists are predicting that the emergence of smart drones will wipe out ninety percent of the delivery jobs in the logistics sector.
#4 Modern Trends in the Aerospace Sector
Choosing a career in any of these distractible technologies will help you in future survival. The following are some of the modern trends in the aerospace sector and this will speak why aerospace engineering is a good choice for a career in the future.
#5 Solar-Powered Aircraft
This concept of zero fuel aircraft can be used in Unmanned Ariel Vehicles to various uses like delivery, defense, agricultural sector, Ariel photography, and providing internet access to remote places. This will be a thriving sector in future aerospace engineering.
Two experimental solar-powered aircraft called solar impulse1 and solar impulse 2 has been already been developed and tested. Both aircraft has completed its test flight and crossed county borders.
The unmanned vehicles are widely used in defense sectors, but the fuel efficiency and flight time is a big problem. By the emergence of this solar-powered technology, the sector is expecting more reliable and fuel-efficient unmanned Ariel vehicles in the future.
Nowadays, unmanned vehicles are widely used for spraying pesticides and fertilizers in the field. By developing the solar-powered UAV, the process will be more cost-effective and will take only less time than conventional Ariel vehicles.
#6 Advanced Materials
Building materials of an aircraft or any flying vehicles is important. The strength to weight ratio should be at its optimum to achieve maximum fuel efficiency and performance.
The recent development in composite materials made the aircraft materials more efficient and reliable. In earlier days almost seventy percent of an aircraft was build using aluminum the recent development in composite material like carbon fiber reinforced polymer and other advanced material made the percentage of aluminum to twenty.
Rigorous researches are going on the aerospace field to find adequate material for space flight also, so the material science sector in aerospace engineering has a prosperous future.
#7 Advance space Propulsion
Due to the recent development in the aerospace propulsion sector, new technologies like Electric propulsion and advancement in the chemical propulsion system and increase in storage of energy is going to bring a new era in space exploration.
Many space agencies even from the private sector are planning for interplanetary explorations and setting up technologies for building up bases in neighboring planets. These things can only be achieved with highly efficient propulsion technology.
The Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) is one of the best examples of this advancement in aerospace engineering. VASIMR is a plasma rocket developed by NASA and can be very useful in interplanetary travel.
#8 Passenger Drones
Many large cities are taking measures to solve their traffic problems, the drone taxi or the passenger drones are one of the intelligent solution put forward by the aerospace engineering sector. Many busy cities like Los Angeles and Dubai are already started investing in this future aerospace engineering technology.
Volocopter, Ehang 184, Uber Elevate, CityAirbus, Lilium Jet, Bell Helicopter are some of the major companies and groups actively researching in commuter drone projects. Most of these companies have presented their projects in CES 2018m, an international technology exhibition.
The flying commuters are not only going to solemnly develop in the aerospace sector, but it will also integrate with artificial intelligence and robotics. So the smart passenger drones will be similar to a driverless flying car.
#9 Data Handling in Aerospace
Data is considered the new oil in the modern world. Because of the development in IoT sector and its integration with aerospace industries by the use of sensors and other IP devices make the industry to use big data to increase the performance and efficiency of aircraft and space vehicles.
#10 Communication Technologies
In aerospace engineering, the avionics sector has an enormous future. Communication is important both for atmospheric vehicles as well as space vehicles. So the development and improvement of communication technologies will be one of the future.
In recent years aerospace engineering sector has achieved a brand new technology by the innovation of intercommunicating drone sector.
The unmanned vehicles will fly in the desired pattern by communicating each one’s position with others. In the future, this technology will come to passenger aircraft and space vehicles.
#11 Aerospace and Mining
A layman may wonder while hearing about the role of aerospace engineering in the mining industry.
The mineral-rich places can be found out by using Ariel mapping or satellites but these technologies are using for decades here the key for the future is an asteroid and other celestial bodies mining.
Already some companies are started investing and developing technologies for asteroid mining. US government passed a bill for legalizing asteroid mining for the private sector.
Based on The Space Resource Exploration and Utilization Act of 2015 passed by the US government many aerospace companies are established their asteroid mining divisions.
Deep Space Industries, Planetary Resources, Moon Express, and Kleos Space are the foremost names in asteroid mining companies.