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Astronautics, or astronautical engineering, is the branch of engineering
Engineering

Engineering is the discipline and profession of applying Technology and science knowledge and utilizing natural laws and physical resources in order to design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices, systems, and process that safely realize a desired objective and meet specified criteria....
 that deals with machines designed to exit or work entirely beyond the Earth's atmosphere
Earth's atmosphere

The Earth's atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by the Earth's gravity. Dry air contains roughly 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.038% Carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere, and trace amounts of other gases....
. In other words, it is the science and technology of space flight.

Overview
The term astronautics was coined by analogy with aeronautics
Aeronautics

File:An-225 Mriya.jpgFile:Atlantis on Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.jpgFile:Typhoon f2 zj910 arp.jpgAeronautics is the science involved with the study, design, and manufacture of flight-capable machines, or the techniques of operating aircraft....
. As there is a certain degree of technology overlapping between the two fields, the term aerospace
Aerospace

Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding outer space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through Aircraft and Space exploration....
 is often used to describe them both.

As with aeronautics, the restrictions of mass, temperatures, and external forces require that applications in space survive extreme conditions: high-grade vacuum
Vacuum

A vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter, such that its gaseous pressure is much less than atmospheric pressure. The word comes from the Latin term for "empty," but in reality, no volume of space can ever be perfectly empty....
, the radiation
Radiation

In physics, radiation describes any process in which energy emitted by one body travels through a medium or through space, ultimately to be absorbed by another body....
 bombardment of interplanetary space, the magnetic belts of low Earth orbit
Low Earth orbit

A Low Earth Orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the Locus extending from the Earth?s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km. Given the rapid orbital decay of objects below approximately 200 km, the commonly accepted definition for LEO is between 160 - 2,000 km above the Earth surface....
.






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Encyclopedia


Astronautics, or astronautical engineering, is the branch of engineering
Engineering

Engineering is the discipline and profession of applying Technology and science knowledge and utilizing natural laws and physical resources in order to design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices, systems, and process that safely realize a desired objective and meet specified criteria....
 that deals with machines designed to exit or work entirely beyond the Earth's atmosphere
Earth's atmosphere

The Earth's atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by the Earth's gravity. Dry air contains roughly 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.038% Carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere, and trace amounts of other gases....
. In other words, it is the science and technology of space flight.

Overview


The term astronautics was coined by analogy with aeronautics
Aeronautics

File:An-225 Mriya.jpgFile:Atlantis on Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.jpgFile:Typhoon f2 zj910 arp.jpgAeronautics is the science involved with the study, design, and manufacture of flight-capable machines, or the techniques of operating aircraft....
. As there is a certain degree of technology overlapping between the two fields, the term aerospace
Aerospace

Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding outer space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through Aircraft and Space exploration....
 is often used to describe them both.

As with aeronautics, the restrictions of mass, temperatures, and external forces require that applications in space survive extreme conditions: high-grade vacuum
Vacuum

A vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter, such that its gaseous pressure is much less than atmospheric pressure. The word comes from the Latin term for "empty," but in reality, no volume of space can ever be perfectly empty....
, the radiation
Radiation

In physics, radiation describes any process in which energy emitted by one body travels through a medium or through space, ultimately to be absorbed by another body....
 bombardment of interplanetary space, the magnetic belts of low Earth orbit
Low Earth orbit

A Low Earth Orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the Locus extending from the Earth?s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km. Given the rapid orbital decay of objects below approximately 200 km, the commonly accepted definition for LEO is between 160 - 2,000 km above the Earth surface....
. Space launch vehicles
Launch vehicle

In spaceflight, a launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket used to carry a payload from the Earth's surface into outer space. A launch system includes the launch vehicle, the launch pad and other infrastructure....
 must withstand titanic forces, while satellites can experience huge variations in temperature in very brief periods. Extreme constraints on mass cause astronautical engineers to face the constant need to save mass in the design in order to maximize the actual payload that reaches orbit
ORBit

ORBit is a Common Object Request Broker Architecture 2.4 compliant Object Request Broker . It features mature C , C++ and Python bindings, and less developed bindings for Perl, Lisp , Pascal , Ruby , and Tcl....
.

History


The early history of astronautics is theoretical: the fundamental mathematics of space travel was established by Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton

Sir Isaac Newton, Fellow of the Royal Society was an English people physicist, mathematician, Astronomy, Natural philosophy, Alchemy, and Theology and one of the the 100 in human history....
 in the 17th century in his treatise Principia
Principia

Principia could refer to:*Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, Isaac Newton's three-volume work containing explanations of his laws of motion and his law of universal gravitation...
. Other mathematicians, such as Euler and Lagrange
Joseph Louis Lagrange

Joseph-Louis Lagrange, born Giuseppe Lodovico Lagrangia was an Italy mathematician and astronomer, who lived most of his life in Prussia and France, making significant contributions to all fields of mathematical analysis, to number theory, and to classical mechanics and celestial mechanics....
 also made essential contributions in the 18th and 19th centuries. In spite of this, Astronautics did not become a practical discipline until the mid-20th century. On the other hand, the question of space flight tickled the literary imaginations of such figures as Jules Verne
Jules Verne

Jules Gabriel Verne was a France author who helped pioneer the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Journey to the Center of the Earth , From the Earth to the Moon , Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , and Around the World in Eighty Days ....
 and HG Wells.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky was an Imperial Russian and Soviet Union rocket scientist and pioneer of the astronautics. He is considered by many as a father of theoretical astronautics....
 derived the famous rocket equation, the governing equation
Equation

An equation is a mathematics Proposition, in table of mathematical symbols, that two things are exactly the same . Equations are written with an equal sign, as in...
 for a rocket-based propulsion
Rocket

A rocket or rocket vehicle is a missile, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust by the Reaction of the rocket to the ejection of fast moving fluid exhaust from a rocket engine....
. This equation makes it possible to compute the final velocity of a rocket from the mass of spacecraft, combined mass of propellant and spacecraft and exhaust velocity of the propellant .

For more information on the mathematical basis of space travel, see space mathematics
Space mathematics

Space mathematics may refer to:* Orbital mechanics* Newton's laws of motion* Newton's law of universal gravitation...
.

By the early 1920s, the American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 Robert Goddard was developing liquid-fueled rockets, which would in a few brief decades become a critical component in the designs of such famous rockets as the V-2 and Saturn V
Saturn V

The Saturn V was a multistage rocket liquid-fuel expendable launch system rocket used by NASA's Apollo program and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973....
.

Sub-disciplines


Although many regard Astronautics itself as a rather specialized subject, engineers and scientists working in this area must be knowledgeable about many distinct fields of knowledge.

  • Astrodynamics
    Astrodynamics

    Orbital mechanics or astrodynamics is the application of celestial mechanics to the practical problems concerning the motion of rockets and other spacecraft....
    : the study of orbital motion. Those specializing in this field examine topics such as.
  • Propulsion: how spacecraft change orbits, and how they are launched
    Rocket launch

    A rocket launch is the first phase of the flight of a rocket. For orbital spaceflights, or for launches into interplanetary space, which is usually a fixed location on the ground but may also be on a floating platform such as the San Marco platform, or the Sea Launch launch vessel....
    . Most spacecraft have some variety of rocket engine
    Rocket engine

    A rocket engine or simply rocket is a jet engineRocket Propulsion Elements; 7th edition- chapter 1 that uses only propellant mass for forming its high speed propulsive Jet ....
    , and thus most research
    Research

    Research is defined as human activity based on intellectual application in the investigation of matter. The primary purpose for applied research is discovery , interpretation , and the development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge on a wide variety of scientific matters of our world and the universe....
     efforts focus on some variety of rocket propulsion, such as chemical
    Rocket engine

    A rocket engine or simply rocket is a jet engineRocket Propulsion Elements; 7th edition- chapter 1 that uses only propellant mass for forming its high speed propulsive Jet ....
    , nuclear propulsion
    Nuclear propulsion

    Nuclear propulsion includes a wide variety of propulsion methods that use some form of nuclear reaction as their primary power source. Many military submarines, and, owing to Petroleum prices and Exhaust gas, a growing number of large civilian surface ships, especially icebreakers, use nuclear reactors as their power plants ....
    , or electric propulsion
    Electric propulsion

    Electric propulsion is a form of spacecraft propulsion used in outer space. This type of rocket-like reaction engine utilize electric energy to obtain thrust from propellant carried with the vehicle....
    .
  • Spacecraft design
    Spacecraft design

    The design of spacecraft covers a broad area, including the design of both robotic spacecraft , and spacecraft for human spaceflight . The design of spacecraft is somewhat related to the design of rockets and missiles....
    : a specialized form of systems engineering
    Systems engineering

    Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering that focuses on how complex engineering projects should be designed and managed....
     which centers on combining all the necessary sub-systems for a particular launch vehicle
    Launch vehicle

    In spaceflight, a launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket used to carry a payload from the Earth's surface into outer space. A launch system includes the launch vehicle, the launch pad and other infrastructure....
     or satellite
    Satellite

    In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an Physical body which has been placed into orbit by human endeavor. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
  • Controls
    Control engineering

    Control engineering is the engineering discipline that applies control theory to design systems with predictable behaviors. The engineering activities focus on the mathematical modeling of systems of a diverse nature....
    : keeping a satellite or rocket in its desired orbit (as in spacecraft navigation) and orientation (as in attitude control).
  • Space environment
    Space environment

    Space environment is a branch of astronautics, aerospace engineering and space physics that seeks to understand and address conditions existing in space that affect the operation of spacecraft....
    : although more a sub-discipline of Physics
    Physics

    Physics is the natural science which examines basic concepts such as energy, force, and spacetime and all that derives from these, such as mass, charge, matter and its Motion ....
     rather than Astronautics, the effects of space weather
    Space weather

    Space weather is the concept of changing environmental conditions in outer space. It is distinct from the concept of weather within a Celestial body atmosphere, and deals with phenomena involving ambient Plasma , magnetic fields, radiation and other matter in space....
     and other environmental issues constitute an increasingly important field of study for spacecraft designers.


Related fields of study


  • Aeronautics
    Aeronautics

    File:An-225 Mriya.jpgFile:Atlantis on Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.jpgFile:Typhoon f2 zj910 arp.jpgAeronautics is the science involved with the study, design, and manufacture of flight-capable machines, or the techniques of operating aircraft....
     and aerospace
    Aerospace

    Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding outer space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through Aircraft and Space exploration....
  • Mechanical engineering
    Mechanical engineering

    Mechanical Engineering is an engineering discipline that involves the application of physics#branches of physics for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of machine....
  • Physics
    Physics

    Physics is the natural science which examines basic concepts such as energy, force, and spacetime and all that derives from these, such as mass, charge, matter and its Motion ....

See also

  • Aerospace
    Aerospace

    Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding outer space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through Aircraft and Space exploration....
  • Atmospheric reentry
    Atmospheric reentry

    Atmospheric reentry refers to the movement of human-made or natural objects as they enter the atmosphere of a planet from outer space, in the case of Earth from an altitude above the "edge of space." This article primarily addresses the process of controlled reentry of vehicles which are intended to reach the planetary surface intact, but th...
  • Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
    Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

    Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky was an Imperial Russian and Soviet Union rocket scientist and pioneer of the astronautics. He is considered by many as a father of theoretical astronautics....
  • Space Race
    Space Race

    File:Space race1.jpgThe Space Race was a competition of space exploration between the Soviet Union and the United States, which lasted roughly from 1957 to 1975....
  • Robert Goddard
    Robert H. Goddard

    Robert Hutchings Goddard , U.S. professor of physics and scientist, was a pioneer of controlled, liquid rocket rocketry. He launched the world's first liquid-fueled rocket on March 16, 1926....
  • Wernher von Braun
    Wernher von Braun

    Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun , a Germans rocket physicist and astronautics engineer, became one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Germany and the United States....
  • Spacefaring
    Spacefaring

    Spacefaring societies or nations are those capable of building and launching vehicles into space. A more strict criteria defines spacefaring nations as those that can build, launch and return human spaceflight missions....
  • Frank Malina
    Frank Malina

    Frank Joseph Malina In 1935, while a graduate student at the California Institute of Technology , Malina persuaded Professor of Aeronautics Theodore von K?rm?n to allow him to pursue studies into rocketry and rocket propulsion....