Aeronautics

Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, <a href="/facts/Design_process/kR4GNeja">design</a>, and manufacturing of air <a href="/facts/Flight/dvWK0PNd">flight</a>-capable machines, and the techniques of operating <a href="/facts/Aircraft/EhC4mBep">aircraft</a> and rockets within the <a href="/facts/Atmosphere/oUpLaGRF">atmosphere</a>. 
While the term originally referred solely to operating the aircraft, it has since been expanded to include technology, business, and other aspects related to aircraft. 
The term "<a href="/facts/Aviation/HX5MHY71">aviation</a>" is sometimes used interchangeably with aeronautics, although "aeronautics" includes <a href="/facts/Lighter-than-air/yfMS1zJw">lighter-than-air</a> craft such as <a href="/facts/Airship/8X3TSBdx">airships</a>, and includes <a href="/facts/Ballistic_vehicle/3WHTox0u">ballistic vehicles</a> while "aviation" technically does not.
A significant part of aeronautical science is a branch of <a href="/facts/Dynamics_(mechanics)/JLk81H71">dynamics</a> called <a href="/facts/Aerodynamics/Cn6Lnl3H">aerodynamics</a>, which deals with the motion of air and the way that it interacts with objects in motion, such as an aircraft.

Aeronautics open-in-new

Aeronautics