Today’s Aeronautics
Aeronautical research has progressed amazingly fast. Only seventy-three years after the Wright brothers’ historic first powered flight, Concorde passengers were relaxing in air-conditioned luxury, flying at twice the speed of sound nearly 11 miles (18 kilometers) above Earth.
There are now military aircraft that can fly without a pilot. Some of them are flown by a pilot in a cockpit on the ground, linked to the aircraft by radio. The latest unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), or drones, are able to fly themselves and carry out missions on their own without a person in control.
Aeronautical research continues in all developed countries today. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is known as the agency that oversees U. S. space exploration, but it is also a world leader in aeronautical design. Large aircraft manufacturers and universities also carry out research in all aspects of aeronautics and aeronautical engineering.