Technical Committees

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Adaptive Structures Technical Committee 
Scope: Autonomous structural systems which incorporate sensors, processor, and actuators to enable adaptation to changing environmental conditions, thereby enhancing safety, stability, vibration damping, acoustic noise suppression, aerodynamic performance and optimization, pointing accuracy, load redistribution, damage response, structural integrity, etc.  

Design Engineering Technical Committee 
Scope: To promote the development and dissemination of design technologies to assist the design engineer in creating and defining practical aerospace products.  

Materials Technical Committee 
Scope: Prime objective is the systematic application of materials to aerospace, astronautic, missile systems, and support systems, includes interest in an interdisciplinary approach to the development, testing, and evaluation of conventional and custom-designed materials coupled with fabrication and process technology including necessary quality control measures required for manufacture and systems application.  

Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Technical Committee 
Scope: To provide an AIAA forum for those active in development, application, and teaching of a formal design methodology based on the integration of disciplinary analyses and sensitivity analyses, optimization, and artificial intelligence, applicable at all stages of the multidisciplinary design of aerospace systems.  

Non-Deterministic Approaches Technical Committee 
Scope: The NDA Technical Committee supports AIAA technical activities that advance the relevant art, science and cross-cutting technologies required for the successful application of non-deterministic approaches to aerospace systems.  

Spacecraft Structures Technical Committee 
The Spacecraft Structures Technical Committee (SCSTC) is focused on the unique challenges associated with structural systems that operate in space based environments. This committee is particularly interested in the challenges of design, analysis, fabrication and testing of those lightweight structural systems that can be ground tested only in a simulated zero gravity condition, and are subjected to launch loads, deployment loads, and the space environment.  

Structural Dynamics Technical Committee 
Scope: This committee considers the interaction of aerodynamic, dynamic, elastic, damping, inertia, and control forces acting on vehicles and structures. Included are response and stability investigations of linear and nonlinear systems using analytical, empirical, and experimental techniques.  

Structures Technical Committee 
Scope: Development and application of theory, experiment, and operation in creative design of aerospace structures. Continuing assessment of current and future requirements in structures technology. Includes environment and loads definition, utilization of advanced materials and fabrication processes, innovative structural configurations, determination of structural integrity by analysis and test, weight-reliability-life cycle consideration, and adaptive structures.  

Survivability Technical Committee 
Scope: To promote the development of survivability as a design discipline, including both the survivability assessment methodology (analysis and testing) and the survivability enhancement technology, for air and space systems. Survivability involves both susceptibility, the likelihood the system is hit by a damage-causing mechanism, and vulnerability, the likelihood the system is killed due to the hit. Other essential elements of survivability are crashworthiness and repairability, the ability to rapidly repair a damaged system. The threats to system survivability consist of weapons encountered in combat, terrorist weapons, and other hostile environments.

Systems Engineering Technical Committee
Scope: To foster the definition, dissemination, development, understanding and application of system engineering processes, methodologies and tools to aeronautics, space, computer and ground systems.

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Aeroacoustics Technical Committee
Scope: Physics of noise produced by motion of fluids and bodies moving through the atmosphere and by chemical reaction processes; and the response of human beings, structures, and the atmosphere to aerodynamic noise.

Aerodynamic Measurement Technology Technical Committee
Scope: Advanced measurement techniques for aerodynamic research in flight and ground-based facilities. Includes surface and flow field measurements, visualization methods, and related data acquisition techniques for all flow speeds and fluid dynamic environments.

Applied Aerodynamics Technical Committee
Scope: Aerodynamics of vehicles emphasizing the development, application, and evaluation of aerodynamic concepts and methods through correlation with theory, wind-tunnel data, and flight-test data.

Astrodynamics Technical Committee
Scope: The determination, prediction, physical adjustment, and optimization of trajectories in space; space navigation and mission analysis; perturbation theories and expansions; spacecraft attitude dynamics and estimation.

Atmospheric and Space Environments Technical Committee
Scope: The committee encourages and supports the exchange of information and furtherance of knowledge concerning all relationships and interactions between aerospace technological systems and the atmospheric environment.

Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Technical Committee
Scope: Aerodynamic performance, trajectories, and attitude dynamics of vehicles moving through planetary atmospheres, including aircraft, spacecraft, boosters, and entry vehicles; aerodynamic forces and moments acting on such vehicles; stability, response to control, flying qualities, and response to atmospheric disturbances of these vehicles.

Fluid Dynamics Technical Committee
Scope: Behavior of liquids and gases in motion, including momentum and energy transport phenomena and their influence on the behavior of fluids, the forces and moments on objects involved therein, and the interaction with the surface materials of these objects.

Ground Testing Technical Committee
Scope: The test evaluation of vehicles, structures, and aerospace systems, subsystems, and components in ground- based facilities such as wind tunnels, environmental facilities, and engine test facilities.

Guidance, Navigation, and Control Technical Committee
Scope: Advance the technology and provide forums for the theoretical and practical consideration of techniques, devices and systems for the navigation, guidance and control of flight vehicles and the control of related aerospace systems.

Meshing, Visualization, and Computational Environments Technical Committee
Scope: To explore the application of computer science to pre-processing, post-processing, and infrastructure in support of computational simulation in the Aerospace Community. Specific topics of interest include mesh generation, visualization technologies, user environments, and application integration.

Modeling and Simulation Technical Committee
Scope: The simulation of atmospheric and space flight conditions in ground-based simulators and special-purpose aircraft for the purpose of aircrew training, or for design, development, and evaluation of aerospace vehicles, systems, and subsystems.

Plasmadynamics and Lasers Technical Committee
Scope: Physical properties and dynamic behavior of fluids in states of ionization and/or population inversion, with emphasis on those features and applications of particular importance to the fields of aeronautics, astronautics, and energy.

Thermophysics Technical Committee
Scope: The study and applications of the properties and mechanisms involved in thermal energy transfer and storage in gases, liquids, and solids, or combinations thereof. These studies include conductive, convective, and radiative models alone or in combination and the effects of the environment.

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Aerodynamic Decelerator Systems Technical Committee
Scope: Development and application of aerodynamic deceleration systems and lifting parachutes, pararotors, and inflatable decelerators for aerodynamic deceleration, sustentation, and landing of crewed and uncrewed vehicles.

Aerospace Lifecycle Management Technical Committee
Scope: To provide an industry-wide forum and expertise on aircraft logistics and support systems in engineering and supply support, reliability-based logistics, aircraft maintenance, mod and repair, reliability and maintainability, aircraft integrity programs, maintenance planning, and fleet management

Air Transportation Systems Technical Committee
Scope: To foster the development of improved air transportation systems and to study the impact of developments in aerospace technology on these systems

Aircraft Design Technical Committee
Scope: The design and optimization of complete aircraft systems, including analysis of their future potential.

Aircraft Operations Technical Committee
Scope: To encourage and foster safe and efficient aircraft operations by facilitating communication and interchange of relevant concerns, ideas, and initiatives throughout the airspace system user community and across the broad spectrum of appropriate government agencies.

Balloon Systems Technical Committee
Scope: Development and application of free floating balloon systems as well as the technologies necessary to achieve buoyant flight in stratospheric and planetary atmospheres.

Electrified Aircraft Technology Technical Committee
Scope: To support the advancement and integration of electrified aircraft systems through the design, evaluation, and application of key technologies, including electrified powertrains, distribution of high voltage electric power, integration of electrified propulsion systems, components for electrified aircraft, thermal management and control systems for electrified aircraft as well as safety and airworthiness.

Flight Testing Technical Committee
Scope: Committee activities shall cover the testing of aircraft, spacecraft, marinecraft, and missiles or other vehicles in their natural environment with regard to research, development, acceptance, and operational testing of these craft and/or associated equipment.

General Aviation Technical Committee
Scope: To foster research and development related to general-aviation technologies and systems, including support systems and safety. It will serve as an advocate for general aviation, promoting improved public understanding and addressing airport, airspace and air-traffic-control issues. It will recommend to TAC policies and procedures relating to matters concerned with technical and professional activities within general aviation.

HyTASP Technical Committee
Scope: The goal of the HyTASP committee is to ensure that our hypersonics knowledge base, advanced over a decade, flourishes and leads to expanded market opportunities in the 21st century. The committee involves government, industry, university, and international members working within the framework and charter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). We will promote continued hypersonic technology progress through both ground-and flight-testing.

Lighter-than-Air Systems Technical Committee
Scope: Stimulate the development of knowledge related to lighter-than-air vehicle systems for transport, surveillance, and utility applications and disseminate such knowledge throughout the aerospace community. Primary emphasis shall be placed on the technical disciplines related to dirigible types, hybrids, and derivatives thereof.

V/STOL Aircraft Systems Technical Committee
Scope: Advancement of the arts, sciences, and technology that are applied to the design and operation of VTOL and STOL aircraft systems, including lift systems, attitude control systems, airframe configurations, subsystems, handling qualities and safety, navigation and air traffic control, noise and pollution suppression, ground handling, and ground time minimization.

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Communications Systems Technical Committee 
Scope: Development, application, and operation of communications systems for point-to-point, mobile, aeronautical, maritime, and space users.  

Computer Systems Technical Committee 
Scope: Theoretical and practical considerations involving the applications of computers and information processing techniques to aerospace programs.  

Digital Avionics Technical Committee 
Scope: Development, application, and operation of digital avionics systems and technology for military and commercial aerospace systems.  

Human-Machine Teaming Technical Committee 
Scope: Foster the community, methodologies, and technologies that will enable safe, trusted, and effective integration of humans and complex machines in aerospace and related domains; and contribute to the ongoing redefinition of aerospace.

Information and Command and Control Systems Technical Committee 
Scope: To promote the integrated application of data acquisition, data assessment, and data dissemination functions required for timely and efficient command and control of aerospace, land, and sea assets.  

Intelligent Systems Technical Committee 
Scope: Technical Committee will address the application of Intelligent System (IS) technologies and methods to aerospace systems, the verification and validation of these systems, and the education of the AIAA membership in the use of IS technologies in aerospace and other technical disciplines. The systems of interest include both military and commercial aerospace systems, and those ground systems that are part of test, development, or operations of aerospace systems. Technologies which enable safe and reliable operation of complex aerospace systems or sub-systems with minimal or no human intervention (autonomy), or collaborative synthetic-human agent teams are of interest. These include, but are not limited to: autonomous and expert systems, discrete planning/scheduling algorithms, intelligent data/image processing, learning and adaptive techniques, data fusion and reasoning, and knowledge engineering.  

Sensor Systems and Information Fusion Technical Committee 
Scope: Addresses all aspects of sensor systems and distributed sensor networks for detection, collection, information fusion, storage, retrieval, distribution, and reception of information at the local sensing node and at the distributed sensor network level. Information fusion is interpreted as an embedded system within a sensor network that provides a coherent, comprehensive view of the entities in an environment based on the data obtained from one or more information sources, including sensors, humans, data links, and databases.  

Software Technical Committee 
Scope: To focus attention on software engineering issues for complex and critical systems: from software requirements, design, code, test, evaluation, operation and maintenance.  

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Aerospace Power Systems Technical Committee 
Scope: Application of science and technology to provision of power from chemical, solar, and nuclear energy sources for spacecraft, aircraft, and missiles.  

Scope: Research, development, and application of electric propulsion devices, subsystems, and systems for auxiliary and primary propulsion for satellites and spacecraft.

Energetic Components and Systems Technical Committee
Scope: Design, development and testing of energetic components and system integration into civilian and military applications.

Gas Turbine Engines Technical Committee
Scope: The application of mechanical design, fluid mechanics and thermodynamics to the science and technology of air vehicle gas turbine engines and engine components, including: Compression systems, Combustors and augmentors, Turbines and Auxiliary systems and structures.

High Speed Air Breathing Propulsion Technical Committee
Scope: The application of mechanical design, fluid mechanics and thermodynamics to the science and technology of systems that enable supersonic and hypersonic air vehicle propulsion, including: Ramjets and Scramjets, Combined cycle systems and Unsteady propulsion devices (e.g. Pulse Detonation Engines).

Hybrid Rockets Technical Committee
Scope: Includes the investigation of computational fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, heat transfer, structural mechanics, performance, fabrication, processing, and system integration techniques as applied to the design and test of rocket motors employing hybrid rocket systems.

Inlets, Nozzles, and Propulsion Systems Integration Technical Committee
Scope: The application of mechanical design, fluid mechanics and thermodynamics to the science and technology of air vehicle propulsion and power systems integration, including: Installed performance and controls, Propulsion aerodynamics; inlet and nozzle systems, Power and thermal management and all aspects of propulsion system / airvehicle interface & certification.

Liquid Propulsion Technical Committee
Scope: The application of mechanical design, fluid mechanics, and thermochemistry to the technology of reaction propulsion employing liquid or gaseous propellants. Includes all components of complete engine systems, including pressurant and propellant storage and feed systems.

Nuclear and Future Flight Propulsion Technical Committee
Scope: Conduct activities toward the understanding of physical mechanisms and associated technologies that lead to the implementation and design of nonchemical, high energy propulsion systems other than electric thruster systems. Propulsion systems included are: nuclear thermal, gas core, fusion, antimatter, beamed energy, solar sails, tethers, and electromagnetic launchers.

Pressure Gain Combustion Technical Committee
Scope: The Pressure Gain Combustion Technical Committee seeks to advance the investigation, development, and application, of pressure gain combustion technologies for improving propulsion and power generation systems and achieving new mission capabilities. The PGC TC will do so through the mechanisms afforded by its position within the AIAA including: regular meetings to exchange open information, individual and coordinated conference activities with relevant TCs, channels for raising awareness such as position or status papers, and educational/outreach efforts such as short and web-based courses. The committee is made up of individuals from various disciplines and backgrounds, ranging from fundamental research to combustor design and the development of pressure-gain systems.  

Propellants and Combustion Technical Committee 
Scope: Physics and chemistry of reactants and working fluids for reaction propulsion, including properties of propellants, aerothermodynamics processes, and thermal energy conversion in propulsion. Does not include systems component technology.  

Solid Rockets Technical Committee 
Scope: The application of fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, heat transfer, structural mechanics, fabrication, and processing techniques to the design of rocket motors and associated pyrotechnics employing solid or combined action of solid and liquid (hybrid) or fluidized power combinations of propellants. This shall include all components of the motor subsystem.  

Terrestrial Energy Systems Technical Committee 
Scope: Application of engineering sciences and system engineering to the production, storage, distribution, and conservation of energy for terrestrial uses.  

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Life Sciences and Systems Technical Committee 
Scope: The advancement of the science and technology related to the requirements for, and the utilization of, humans in the design and operation of marine, surface, aero, and space systems.  

Microgravity and Space Processes Technical Committee 
Scope: Facilitate professional advancement and public awareness of microgravity and space processing in the physical, materials, and biological sciences and related applications.

Missile Systems Technical Committee
Scope: Rationale for development and operation of tactical and strategic, offensive, and defensive missile systems.

Reuseable Launch Vehicles TC
Scope: The Technical Committee on Reuseable Launch Vehicles (RLVs) will work to coordinate and focus RLV activities across the AIAA, foster interaction and integration across technical disciplines and assure timely dissemination of results from national and international R&D efforts supporting RLV development in appropriate forums.

Small Satellite Technical Committee
The Small Satellite Technical Committee has interests in all aspects of small satellites and related and supporting technologies, applications and missions. This includes, but is not limited to, MicroSats, NanoSats, CubeSats, hosted payload satellite subsystems (propulsion, communications, ground support, etc) and related supporting systems and technologies.

Space Architecture Technical Committee
Scope: To encompass architectural design of living and working environments in space related facilities, habitats, and vehicles. These environments include, but are not limited to: space vehicles, stations, habitats and lunar and planetary bases; and earthbased control, experiment, launch, logistics, payload, simulation and test facilities. Earth analogs to space applications may include Antarctic, airborne, desert, high altitude, underground, undersea environments and closed ecological systems. Designing these forms of architecture presents a particular challenge: to ensure and support safety, habitability, human reliability, and crew productivity in the context of extreme and unforgiving environments.

Space Automation and Robotics Technical Committee
Scope: Support and promote informed AIAA decisions and actions on automation and robotics in space program applications including design, development, fabrication, application, and operation of SAR systems and components, and consideration of SAR technology development needs and human-machine interfaces. Includes programmatic aspects, such as the role of SAR in achieving U.S. program objectives, international activities, and SAR relationship to terrestrial automation and robotics.

Space Logistics Technical Committee
Scope: Foster the definition and development of near-term, integrated space logistics capabilities that enable safe, affordable, and routine spacefaring operations throughout the central solar system and provide example innovative logistical architectures and related system concepts to support future mission planning and improved public understanding.

Space Operations and Support Technical Committee
Scope: Concerns itself with operations and its technology developments for crewed and uncrewed missions both in earth orbital and planetary operations and with all the issues associated with space operations and support. Such support includes training, servicing, mission planning, flight dynamics, telemetry transmission, command and control, and data handling, processing, analysis, and storage.

Space Resources Technical Committee
Scope: Promote the identification and development of advanced concepts, science, technology, and systems that will support, enhance and enable the identification, verification, recovery, processing, and use of space resources on the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere in space to support automated and crewed activities.

Space Settlement Technical Committee
Scope: Promote the identification and development of advanced concepts, science, and technology that will support, enhance and enable permanent human presence in space.

Space Systems Technical Committee
Scope: Foster the development, application, and operation of general space systems, and address and provide informed positions on emerging space system issues.

Space Tethers Technical Committee
Scope: Provide a forum for the application and development of space tethers including electrodynamic tether propulsion, tether based momentum transfer systems, remote sensing tether based systems, tether based space structures and related supporting systems and technologies.

Space Transportation Technical Committee
Scope: To foster continuous improvements in existing space transportation systems, access the impact of new technology for the next generation of space transportation systems, and provide a forum for educating the members, the government, and the public on space transportation issues for civil, commercial, and military applications.

Weapon System Effectiveness Technical Committee
Scope: To develop and promote the science and technology of predicting, measuring, evaluating, and improving the lethality, or effectiveness, of weapon systems.