Aerospace Architecture

Aerospace architecture is the discipline of designing both habitable and non-habitable structures for aerospace settings, covering the living and working environments found in aerospace facilities, habitats and vehicles. Its designers balance competing demands, optimizing function, production, value and appearance for a structure, while for crewed environments the wellbeing and comfort of the people living inside becomes an increasingly important design factor, especially during long confinement in microgravity or on extended planetary expeditions. The International Space Station is a leading example, incorporating human centered design choices such as pastel wall colors intended to help crew members orient themselves in microgravity, and future Mars transit vehicles are being designed with the same habitability concerns in mind. The field has matured alongside the growth of spaceflight itself: the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics maintains its own Design Engineering Technical Committee to discuss standards and practice, and NASA treats poor vehicle or habitat design as a genuine risk to the health of its crews in space.