Aerospace Industry

THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY in an integral part of the aviation industry. Since 1903, when the Wright brothers flew for the first time at Kitty Hawk, North [Page 9]Carolina, human flight has advanced to moon flights and to daily travel all over the planet.

The aerospace industry handles known carcinogens, such as metals used to make parts resistant to the stresses of space flight.

The rise of the aviation industry from a pioneering flight that was so short that it did not cover the wingspan of a B-52 bomber is one of the great stories of human engineering and management. The advances into space since the first rocket experiments and the use of rockets during World War II have been a testimony to the ability of humans to solve technical problems. The significant costs to develop an aerospace program are relatively small compared with their yields in spinoffs such as satellite communications for television, telephones, and the Internet; advances in medicine; Teflon; and many other areas.

The aerospace segment of the aviation industry serves military, commercial, and industrial needs. It is an expensive business that involves creating rockets, space probes, satellites, and other equipment that must work with near-perfect reliability for the life of the operation to which it is assigned.

In the United States, the space program is run under government control by two sets of agencies. The National Aeronautic and Space Agency (NASA) is a civilian agency, which was assigned the goal of the peaceful exploration of space. However, NASA's counterpart in the Department of Defense has the authority to send out spy satellites from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. At times, NASA can assist and lend its facilities to the military.

The numerous companies working in the aerospace industry produce a great many goods and provide a wide array of services. These companies provide everything from spacesuits, liquid oxygen and hydrogen, food, drinks, and personal hygiene items to engines, rockets, motor parts, communications equipment, telemetry equipment, and much more. Well-known companies engaged in the aerospace industry include Air France, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, United Technologies Corporation, General Dynamics Corp., Honeywell International Inc., and Computer Sciences Corporation. Most of the aerospace industries in the United States are located in Florida, Texas, California, and Washington State. The Department of Defense and NASA are their two biggest customers. The industry employs hundreds of thousands of workers in the United States alone.