Aerospace engineers have made our world a better place by developing safe and reliable aircraft and spacecraft and by innovations in many other fields. As an aerospace engineer, you might develop the next generation of satellites that monitor the environment and enable global communication and navigation, or build autonomous aircraft to detect pipeline leaks. You might also design clean-burning jet engines, improved plasma displays, or super efficient wind turbines to harvest wind energy. Or, you might use space-age materials to design artificial limbs, invisible braces, or shock-absorbing footwear. The Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering requires 127 semester credit hours (SCH) for completion. Many students can claim credit by exam for some B.S. ASE degree requirements through AP, IB, and entrance exam scores.<br>The field of aerospace engineering developed because of humanity's desire for aircraft systems for military, commercial, and civilian purposes, it was first called aeronautical engineering or aeronautics. When the space age began, it was natural for aeronautical engineers to participate in the development of spacecraft systems for space exploration. This branch of engineering became known as astronautical engineering or astronautics, and the combined field is called aerospace engineering or aeronautics and astronautics. Because of the diverse nature of the work, the aerospace engineer must have a basic knowledge of physics, mathematics, digital computation, and the various disciplines of aerospace engineering: aerodynamics and propulsion, structural mechanics, flight mechanics and orbital mechanics, and control. Because of their extensive education in fundamental disciplines, aerospace engineers can work in areas other than aerospace engineering and are employed in a wide range of careers.