The aerospace industry encompasses a worldwide complex of manufacturers who produce airplanes, helicopters, military aircraft, missiles, rockets, spacecraft, and satellites. These manufacturers employ a vast number of supplier firms who make a variety of products ranging from avionics and hydraulic systems to rubber gaskets and adhesives. History From its beginning--from the Wright brothers' primitive wind tunnel--aerospace has depended on scientific research for the knowledge that could be translated into airborne and space-going machinery. The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA; established 1915) began the first important programs in aeronautic research in the United States. Work done by NACA, and in the laboratories of aircraft manufacturers, culminated in the 1930s in a new generation of efficient and reliable metal airliners. The now classic DC-3, with its wing flaps, retractable gear, and controllable pitch propellers, set the standard for air travel for many years. On the eve of World War II, American manufacturers had already produced pressurized, four-engine airliners whose availability in the early postwar era lengthened the U.S. lead in the field of transport design. World War II forced the urgent development of many technologies that would characterize the aerospace industry of the postwar years. Rocketry, for example, grew dramatically (see \Trockets and missiles\t), along with advanced electronic technologies, such as \Tradar\t, a British invention, and jet-powered aircraft, which were first used during the war by both Britain and Germany (see \Tjet propulsion\t). In order to mass-produce such highly complex aircraft as the B-29, the United States developed systems for coordinating the work of thousands of contractors and suppliers. Moreover, these systems, which grew into the fields of \Tsystems engineering\t and \Toperations research\t, became essential for manufacturing the complex and interdependent products that would soon be required of the industry. Research and development continued in the postwar era not only within NACA and in many aerospace firms, but also in research facilities established by the military services. Universities also conducted research under contract. Entities such as the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of the California Institute of Technology were almost entirely government funded. In 1958, NACA became the \TNational Aeronautics and Space Administration\t (\TNASA\t), underscoring the interrelated aspects of the growing aerospace field, which now included \Tspace exploration\t vehicles and the development of long-range \Lballistic missile\ls (see also \Tspace programs, national\t). New generations of civilian jet transports not only utilized advanced electronic instrumentation, but also created new demands for navigational equipment and air-traffic control; new systems were evolved using advanced electronic techniques. Jet fighters and bombers, now flying at supersonic speeds, were equipped with increasingly sophisticated electronics, becoming integrated weapons systems. The Industry Today The space race and the cold war both created incentives for the United States and the \TUSSR\t to promote their aerospace industries, and in the 1980s the led the world in overall accomplishment, although Japan and several European nations possess equal technological skills in many areas. The global aerospace market grew steadily in the 1980s, despite slowed U.S. space sales caused by the \TSpace Shuttle\t accident that destroyed the Challenger in 1986 and the failures of the \TDelta\t and \TTitan\t boosters in succeeding months. In fact, the United States decided, in 1991, to end its reliance on Shuttle launches. Thus, although some U.S. and European launch programs experienced setbacks in the 1980s due to temporary booster failures, rocket-based space launches have become more vital than ever to the global industry. China and Japan expanded their space programs as well. They may move into markets opened by the U.S. Shuttle program's decline and the Soviet space program's uncertain future as the result of political tumult. Private firms have begun to enter the space-launch business with such international, private-public projects as the joint Soviet-U. S. Space Commerce Corporation development of a new, commercial mobile launch vehicle based on the Soviet SS-20 medium-range missile. Both \TNASA\t and the Pentagon plan to hire commercial rockets for some government-sponsored space launches. In early 1990, for example, the privately constructed Pegasus rocket, carrying a Navy satellite and a \TNASA\t science project, was launched into space from an Air Force B-52 flying at 12,200 m (40,000 feet). (See also \Tspace exploration, commercial\t). With cold-war hostilities fading, those parts of the industry devoted to military aerospace began to shrink slowly in the 1980s, but industry analysts were confident that the loss would be compensated by a healthy growth in the market for civilian aircraft, spurred by a projected rise in air traffic, by the need to replace aging aircraft, and by new regulations that call for modifications on existing aircraft to achieve lower noise levels. The Role of Governments in Aerospace Of the principal government agencies involved in U.S. aerospace activities, \TNASA\t plans, directs, and conducts nonmilitary research and development in the design, construction, and navigation of aircraft and spacecraft. \TNASA\t also has a special relationship with the Department of Defense in regard to space activities and aeronautical research that might apply to military aircraft. At its nine major installations, \TNASA\t engages in extensive research and development. Although production of \TNASA\t projects, such as the Space Shuttle, is accomplished by contractors across the country, the principal management decisions are coordinated by \TNASA\t personnel at the lead center for each project. Johnson Space Center in Texas, for example, was responsible for the Orbiter of the Space Shuttle; the prime contractor was Rockwell International. The large solid-propellant boosters and the liquid propellant tank were the responsibility of the Marshall Spaceflight Center in Alabama, and the prime contractors were the Morton Thiokol Chemical Corporation and Martin Marietta Aerospace. \TNASA\t headquarters in Washington, D.C., carried out overall planning. Very similar arrangements are made by the Department of Defense and other government agencies. Defense, in addition to the acquisition of missiles and military aircraft, also funds a number of research and development projects for communications and surveillance satellites and for related technologies, including launch vehicles. The Department of Commerce operates weather and environmental satellites. The Department of Energy has been involved in nuclear-powered electric generators for \TNASA\t and Defense missions, as well as studies for solar-energy satellites. The Department of the Interior manages a variety of satellite data systems for resource management and cartography. The Federal Aviation Administration engages in extensive aeronautical research as well as monitoring the safety of the nation's airways. It should be noted that the International Civil Aviation Organization, operating under the authority of the United Nations, establishes worldwide guidelines for aircraft navigational and communications procedures, and thus influences the development of certain types of equipment, such as the new microwave landing system that will be installed at all U. S. international airports during the 1990s. Partly in an effort to compete with the United States in aerospace, the British, French, and Italians in the 1970s established nationalized industries (British Aerospace Corp., Aerospatiale, Aeritalia), which have assumed a primary role in aerospace development. Western Europe has also developed consortia, the largest of which, the \TEuropean Space Agency\t (ESA), has built the 3-stage Ariane launch vehicle. By agreement with \TNASA\t, ESA has also produced the \TSpacelab\t, a laboratory module that was carried into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle on some flights prior to the Challenger disaster. Program changes following the disaster called for a cutback in many Spacelab flights that had been planned aboard the Shuttle during the 1990s. Great Britain, Germany, Spain, and Italy have also united to form the European Fighter Aircraft program to develop a fighter plane. The Soviet aerospace industry has maintained separate ministries for astronautics and aeronautics, with manufacture taking place at plants run by a separate production ministry. In 1985 the Soviet Union also established a space commercialization organization named Glavkosmos, its purpose being to sell Soviet space services to foreign customers. The nation's political upheavals in the 1990s may eventually lead to most or all of its space systems being offered for sale. Research and Development The evolution of most aerospace products relies heavily on applied research. In the case of an aircraft, designers use computers to generate mathematical models that are then used to simulate hundreds of different flight patterns. When a successful design has emerged from this process, extensive wind-tunnel research, using scale models of the plane and its components, verifies the final configuration. A full-scale vehicle is then fabricated. Its wings, fuselage, landing gear, movable surfaces, and other assemblies are subjected to simulated flight loads and operational requirements. The findings of the simulated flights are incorporated into one or more operational aircraft, which undergo flight testing. For large airliners, testing may take several months. A complex military aircraft may require several years. When the aircraft finally enters production, the prime contractor assembles it from components and subsystems supplied by hundreds of subcontractors. Specifications relating to the function of the aircraft also play a large role in its design. For a military fighter, designers must consider the types of targets to be attacked, the desired speed, fuel capacity, and range of the vehicle, and its weaponry, which will differ in planes intended for high- or low-altitude combat. A low-level combat plane will generally carry heavier armor plate, more specialized weapon-control systems, and equipment to reduce the threat of ground-based heat-seeking missiles. The manufacturer of the craft must also consider the man-hours required to supply and maintain the vehicle, as well as the training required for maintenance crews. Maintenance costs and training are also considerations in the design of civil aircraft, in addition to the other requirements peculiar to airline operations. The length of runways and their load-bearing weight may influence the proposed gross weight of the plane, the design of its wings, and the configuration of its landing gear. Allowances must be made for different seating patterns for high-density and low-density routes. Performance requirements will vary for operations from airports in hot climates at sea level or cold climates above 1,500 m (5,000 ft). The Internationalization of the Industry Because of the immense costs of developing and producing aircraft, risk-sharing agreements have become increasingly common. The acquisition of a foreign partner can be vital, for the U.S. market, in itself, may not produce enough sales to insure profitability. For foreign partners such investment means new jobs, visibility in a high-technology field, and the acquisition of advanced aerospace technologies, in addition to the potential for profits. Boeing's twinjet wide-body airliner, the 767, demonstrated current risk-sharing practice. In 1978, Boeing signed risk-sharing agreements with two foreign partners, making them major participants in the development and production of the 767. Italy's Aeritalia designed and manufactured the moving surfaces for the 767's wings and tail, as well as the vertical fin and the nose radome, using advanced composites incorporating graphite and kevlar. A consortium of Japanese manufacturers produced the 767's body panels. (An additional 1,300 firms in 26 U.S. states and 7 countries also contributed to the 767, not including "second-tier suppliers" who provided parts to the subcontractors.) Several other major U.S. aerospace firms have entered into substantial collaborative ventures. In the mid-1970s General Dynamics concluded arrangements with the governments of Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands for co-production of the advanced F-16 fighter. In this case the plane was completely designed in the United States, but the Europeans built large numbers in their own factories. In the mid-1980s, McDonnell Douglas agreed to co-produce the MD-82 jet with Chinese aircraft manufacturers. The European aircraft sector itself is becoming increasingly multinational. Airbus Industrie, a European consortium embracing France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Spain, has gained an increasingly large share of the international air transport market. The company has produced the A300 and A311 wide-body transports, the A320 regular model, and the A330 and A340 longe-range jets. In Canada, a nationalized organization, Canadair, produces aircraft and aerospace components. Israel's aerospace firms market both military and civil aircraft as well as electronic equipment. Brazil has successfully marketed a twin-engine commuter aircraft. Japan's versatile aerospace industry produces U.S. aircraft under license and works independently and with U.S. firms in the development of launch vehicles and satellites. In the late 1980s, however, the U. S. industry began to question such cooperative arrangements, fearing that sharing of technological advances might create formidable competitors in the future. Aerospace Contributions to Other Technologies Artificial satellites (see \Lsatellite\ls, \Tartificial\t) have had a profound impact on earth science, agriculture, and communications. The spread of materials--paints, adhesives, fabrics, fasteners, and alloys--that were first developed in space research can be traced throughout almost every major manufacturing area. \TNASA\t's research has broadened to include such projects as electricity generation through giant windmills and more economical fuel-burning and electrically powered automobiles. \TNASA\t experiments with ferrofluids (magnetic liquids) have led to advances in the fabrication of semiconductor chips and other industrial applications. \Tcosmic\t, the Computer Software Management and Information System, represents a comprehensive library of computer programs developed by \TNASA\t and other federal agencies with high-technology activities. \Tcosmic\t's programs are available to industry at a fraction of their original cost and have been used in the design of hydroelectric equipment, valves for nuclear generators, oil-refinery turbines, and other advanced machinery. Other spinoffs from the aerospace industry include a wide range of devices for monitoring or controlling complex processes in physiology, astronomy, and materials science. Roger E. Bilstein Bibliography: Aerospace Industries Association, Aerospace Facts and Figures (annual); Aviation Week & Space Technology (special annual issue, "Aerospace Forecast and Inventory"); Bilstein, Roger, Flight in America: From the Wright Brothers to the Astronauts (1984); Gidwitz, Betsy, The Politics of International Air Transport (1980); National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Aeronautics and Space Report of the President (annual) and Spinoff (annual); Young, A. D., ed., Progress in Aerospace Studies, vol. 21 (1986).