Question: To do your job do you need to know more about space or engineering?

Jessica Housden answered on 16 Jun 2010:

Great question! Actually, to be a spacecraft engineer a lot of people have trained as engineers, either mechanical, electronic or aerospace. However, to design the missions, you need to be more of a scientist to understand the physics and chemistry of the instruments and what you want to observe. Then, there are areas where the two sides mix which is where I would say I am as a systems engineer – understanding both mechanical and electrical engineering, and the physics of what the mission is doing and how. The reality is that for me there is a lot of cross over but you can choose the part that interests you the most and become an expert in that.
Do ask more questions though if that isn’t specific enough!