Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is similar, but deals with the electrical side of aerospace engineering.

Aeronautical engineering was the original term for the field. As flight technology advanced to include craft operating in outer space (astronautics), the broader term "aerospace engineering" has largely replaced it in common usage. Aerospace engineering, particularly the astronautics branch, is often colloquially referred to as "rocket science"

Some of the elements of aerospace engineering are:

• Radar cross-section – the study of vehicle signature apparent      to Radar remote sensing.

• Fluid mechanics – the study of fluid flow around objects.      Specifically aerodynamics concerning the flow of air over bodies such as wings      or through objects such as wind tunnels Astrodynamics – the study of orbital      mechanics including prediction of orbital elements when given a select few      variables. While few schools in the United States teach this at the      undergraduate level, several have graduate programs covering this topic      (usually in conjunction with the Physics department of said college or      university).

• Statics and Dynamics (engineering mechanics) – the study of      movement, forces, moments in mechanical systems.

• Mathematics – in particular, calculus, differential      equations, and linear algebra.

• Electrotechnology – the study of electronics within      engineering.

• Propulsion – the energy to move a vehicle through the air      (or in outer space) is provided by internal combustion engines, jet      engines and turbomachinery, or rockets. A more recent addition to this      module is electric propulsion and ion propulsion.

• Control engineering – the study of mathematical modeling of      the dynamic behavior of systems and designing them, usually using feedback      signals, so that their dynamic behavior is desirable (stable, without      large excursions, with minimum error). This applies to the dynamic      behavior of aircraft, spacecraft, propulsion systems, and subsystems that      exist on aerospace vehicles.

• Aircraft structures – design of the physical configuration of      the craft to withstand the forces encountered during flight. Aerospace      engineering aims to keep structures lightweight and low-cost, while      maintaining structural integrity.

• Materials science – related to structures, aerospace      engineering also studies the materials of which the aerospace structures      are to be built. New materials with very specific properties are invented,      or existing ones are modified to improve their performance.

• Solid mechanics – Closely related to material science is solid      mechanics which deals with stress and strain analysis of the components of      the vehicle. Nowadays there are several Finite Element programs such as      MSC Patran/Nastran which aid engineers in the analytical process.

• Aeroelasticity – the interaction of aerodynamic forces and      structural flexibility, potentially causing flutter, divergence, etc.

• Avionics – the design and programming of computer systems      on board an aircraft or spacecraft and the simulation of systems.

• Software – the specification, design, development, test,      and implementation of computer software for aerospace applications,      including flight software, ground control software, test & evaluation      software, etc.

• Risk and reliability – the study of risk and reliability      assessment techniques and the mathematics involved in the quantitative      methods.

• Noise control – the study      of the mechanics of sound transfer.

• Aeroacoustics – the study of noise generation via either      turbulent fluid motion or aerodynamic forces interacting with surfaces.

• Flight test – designing and executing flight test programs      in order to gather and analyze performance and handling qualities data in      order to determine if an aircraft meets its design and performance goals      and certification requirements.