As flight technology advanced to include vehicles operating in outer space, the broader term "aerospace engineering" has come into use.

Consequently, they are usually the products of various technological and engineering disciplines including aerodynamics, air propulsion, avionics, materials science, structural analysis and manufacturing.

[12] In December 1903, the Wright Brothers performed the first sustained, controlled flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft, lasting 12 seconds.

[15] Though intended as an advisory board upon inception, the Langley Aeronautical Laboratory became its first sponsored research and testing facility in 1920.

[16] Between World Wars I and II, great leaps were made in the field, accelerated by the advent of mainstream civil aviation.

Notable military airplanes of this period include the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, Supermarine Spitfire and Messerschmitt Bf 109 from Japan, United Kingdom, and Germany respectively.

A significant development came with the first operational Jet engine-powered airplane, the Messerschmitt Me 262 which entered service in 1944 towards the end of the Second World War.

It saw three astronauts enter orbit around the Moon, with two, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, visiting the lunar surface.

This aircraft made history and became known as the "Jumbo Jet" or "Queen of the Skies"[19] due to its ability to hold up to 480 passengers.

Historically, this empirical component was derived from testing of scale models and prototypes, either in wind tunnels or in the free atmosphere.

A background in chemistry, physics, computer science and mathematics is important for students pursuing an aerospace engineering degree.