Which Engineering Specialization Is Best for a Career in Spacecraft Design?

[sillydude]

Well i have a choice between mechatronics, Solid Mechanics & Machine Design, manufacturing which would be the more enjoyable and more "useful" one of the two.

P.S. i would love to get into a career related to space, or spacecraft design later on in my life.

 

[Maxwell]

Only you can answer these questions. The most useful specialization would be the one in which you are the most interested. The same certainly goes for which one would be most enjoyable.

 

[sillydude]

what if you were wanting to go into the aerospace industry after school, which one would be the most useful or most related to that field.

 

[Maxwell]

Well, what do you want to do in the aerospace industry? There are so many different engineering jobs associated with the industry, it still depends on your preference.

This type of thinking is good for you. Why don't you tell us what your interests are in the aerospace industry?

 

[sillydude]

mostly space related, space-craft design maybe, anything remotely related with anything outside of the Earth's atmosphere.

 

[Cyrus]

Again, it depends on what aspects of space design you want to do. I could even thrown in heat transfer. You are still being too broad.

 

[sillydude]

what aspects of space design are there?, I am sorry if i sound very stupid, but I am young and I am trying to figure this out before I make choices that i regret later on in life.

 

[dontdisturbmycircles]

No one said you're lacking intelligence, it's normal if you are still unsure as to exactly what field of engineering you want to enter.

I think what cyrus and others are getting at is that spacecraft design is a very BROAD idea. Would you be interested in working on the electronic side? Designing the exterior of the spacecraft ? Perhaps you would be interested in designing the on board software for the project, etc.

 

[bravernix]

what aspects of space design are there?, I am sorry if i sound very stupid, but I am young and I am trying to figure this out before I make choices that i regret later on in life.

You might just want to talk to some professors or engineering professionals about this. You can probably also find an abundance of information on what aerospace engineering actually is if you use Google.

 

[hanson]

Are you an undergrad student in any mechanical engineering? or other engineering fields?
Do you have knowledge in mechantronics, solid mechanics, machine design and manufacturing?
As mentioned in the replies above, i think all the fields you mention have certain applications in aerospace industry...
You certainly need mechatronics to control everything in a space-craft.
Knowledge in solid mechanics may be used in designing the machanical parts of the machine..
Machine design...i guess you will need to have some knowledge about different mechanisms, design guidlines of different machine components say gears, bearings etc to design anything mechnical?
Manufacturing...well, when you design something, you have to consider whether it can be manufctured?
It sounds to me all these fields are useful in aerospace industry and as a matter of fact, I guess the industry requires experts in all these fields and of course a lot more than these fields, say heat transfer. (You need to have thermal control)

 

[sillydude]

Thanks a lot that's exactly what I needed to hear.