• What is Aerospace?
  
• The Aerospace Product Line
  
• Research and Development
  
• Manufacturing
  
• Choosing a Career in the Aerospace Industry
  
• The Outlook for the U.S. Aerospace Industry

The Aerospace Product Line: Guidance and Control Systems

On-board navigation equipment for manned aircraft and spacecraft ranges from simple compasses in light aircraft to extremely sophisticated, computer-generated navigation displays and receivers for precise positioning using satellite systems.

Missile guidance systems range from heat-seeking devices to advanced television-like equipment that identify landmarks on the ground and correct course-to-target automatically. These advanced guidance systems can control devices to change the course line, altitude, or attitude of a flight vehicle, much like ailerons or elevators in an airplane or rocket thrusters in an orbiting spacecraft.