Career Path

Electrical Engineering

Electrical engineering concerns the generation, supply, distribution, application and control of electrical energy. All the key systems of a spacecraft require electricity.

Also called: Electronic Engineering, Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Electronic & Information Engineering

Electrical engineering concerns the generation, supply, distribution, application and control of electrical energy. Electricity underpins modern technology, and more and more systems are becoming ‘smart’ and electrified.

All the key systems of a spacecraft require electricity, and electrical engineers must design these systems to operate for tens of years in the hostile environment of space without any maintenance or upgrades. Their systems have to be able to handle the effects of radiation, cosmic rays, and plasma, and there must not be any electromagnetic interference from other pieces of equipment or the Earth’s atmosphere.