The aerospace industry is a global collection of public institutions and private companies involved in flight-related research, technology, and manufacturing. It has been a defining enterprise of the 20th century, with a range of jobs from assembly line workers to physicists. The industry has evolved from defense concerns to spaceflight and global communications, and has become increasingly globalized. It provides economic cores for entire cities and offers training at all levels.
The aerospace industry is a global aggregation of public institutions and private companies focused on the research, technology and manufacturing of products related to flight, the atmosphere and beyond. While a relatively new industry, its reach in national defense, communications, and commercial air travel has made aerospace one of the defining enterprises of the 20th century, and it promises to be at least as important in the future. Jobs in the aerospace industry range from assembly line workers to physicists. Aerospace industries provide the economic core for entire cities.
From its humble beginning in 1908, when the United States Army awarded a contract for an aircraft to the Wright brothers, to lucrative defense contracts during a series of international wars, the aerospace industry was driven by defense concerns for much of the of the beginning and middle of the 20th century. century. Commercial aviation drew much of its equipment and technology from wartime industrial development. Bombers and military cargo aircraft were converted to civilian use, and military aviation veterans became pilots in civil aviation.
In 1957, with the Soviet Union’s successful launch of Sputnik, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth, aerospace industries redirected their attention to spaceflight. The space race became a major component of the Cold War, and industrialized countries, particularly the Soviet Union and the United States, poured resources into space travel and weapons such as intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Lunar landings, interplanetary exploration and manned orbital satellites became a reality and the scope of the aerospace industry grew.
Since the end of the Cold War, the aerospace industry has changed. Military contracts remain a large part of the economic drive for aerospace, but global communications links have taken on a major role in industry, and communications satellites provide a global network for reliable communications. Commercial and corporate aircraft are now a significant part of product development for companies that were once solely military service providers.
In the early years of the 21st century, the aerospace industry has become increasingly global. Shared government programs like the International Space Station have meant more efficient use of technology and resources. Corporations merged and developed a diminished national identity as military technology receded from its previously dominant role.
The Aerospace Industries Association counts among its members a list of companies, many of them multinationals, from almost every field of technological development, including space travel, aviation and communications. Aerospace industry standards guide grants and research and development programs at major colleges and universities. Aerospace industry jobs are available in every industrialized country, and training is available to prospective aerospace workers at all levels from community colleges, technical schools, major universities, and specialized business training programs.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
