This is an exciting time to be an aerospace engineer! Scientific breakthroughs in battery technology, machine learning, 3-D printing, and materials science are changing the way we design aircraft and rockets. These technologies have ushered in a new era in aerospace engineering, which will see transformations in the way we travel locally and to space.

As a university researcher, I interact with many engineers who are working on exciting projects—from fundamental research in university labs to moon-shot projects in industry. I created the Aerospace Engineering Podcast so that aerospace enthusiasts around the world can listen in on these conversations and catch a glimpse of what the future holds. In each episode, I interview aerospace pioneers about their latest work and the engineering that makes their ideas fly.

What can you expect from the Aerospace Engineering Podcast? Avionics technician Brandon Sanders has written a comprehensive review of the show (and many other engineering podcasts), and in his words:

Rainer tends to accomplish a rare feat in making some of the most complex engineering concepts accessible to even the least educated or experienced, while not watering it down or making them more amateur friendly. — Brandon Sanders

In the Renaissance, many artists received patronage from wealthy families and friends. Much of the glorious literature and paintings of the time would not have been possible without this source of funding. Thanks to the internet and crowdfunding, patronage is now easier than ever. If you would like to become a patron of the Aerospace Engineering Podcast and receive exclusive content in return, then head over to our Patreon page.

If you’ve enjoyed the catalogue of episodes below, and don’t want to become a regular supporter of future episodes through Patreon, then please consider making a one-off donation below. Thank you!

Show notes, links and resources for each episode

Below you can find the full archive of previous episodes, listed from newest to oldest. The embedded links will take you to each episode’s show notes, which provide details of the topics discussed and links to further material.

#49 – 9T Labs is Producing High-Performance Composite Materials Through 3D Printing

#48 – Engineering Complex Systems for Harsh Environments with First Mode

#47 – Möbius Aero and MμZ Motion: a Winning Team for Electric Air Racing

#46 – Tow-Steered Composite Materials with iCOMAT

#45 – Industrialising Rocket Science with Rocket Factory Augsburg

#44 – Airflow is Building an eSTOL Aircraft for Middle-Mile Logistics

#43 – Dr John Williams on Air-Breathing Rocket Engines

#42 – Autonomous Helicopters with Near Earth Autonomy

#41 – Alpine Advanced Materials and the Ultralight Nanocomposite Material HX5™

#40 – Earth-observation Satellite Constellations with SatRevolution

#39 – Exosonic is Developing a Low Boom Supersonic Passenger Aircraft

#38 – Momentus is Developing a Transfer Vehicle for Space

#37 – Anomalous is Using AI to Make Inspection More Accurate

#36 – ZeroAvia is Powering Sustainable Aviation with Hydrogen

#35 – Astroscale’s Pioneering Mission to Clean-Up Space Debris

#34 – Aerospace Startups and the ATI Boeing Accelerator

#33 – Black Arrow’s Vision for a Seaborne Launch Capability and STEM Engagement

#32 – Air-to-Air Refuelling and Higher Education Engineering Reform with Dr Steve Bullock

#31 – Virtual Reality in Aerospace with Mbryonic Founder Tom Szirtes

#30 – Digitisation at Rolls Royce and the Information Vanguard Conference

#29 – Samson Sky is Building the First Truly Useful Flying Car

#28 – Natilus: the Startup Building Large Autonomous Cargo Drones

#27 – A Masterclass on Friction Welding with TWI’s Bertrand Flipo

#26 – How AERALIS is Designing a New Family of Military Trainer Aircraft

#25 – Vertical Aerospace CCO Michael Darcy on the UK’s First Full-Scale eVTOL and the Growing Urban Mobility Market

#24 – Veronica Foreman on Small Satellites and Virgin Orbit’s Air-Launched Rocket System

#23 – Samy Libsig on eXalt Aircraft’s Vision of Designing a New Breed of Sport Airplanes

#22 – Mark Crouchen on Rockwood Composites and Manufacturing Complex Composite Components

#21 – Prof. Paul Withey on Single-Crystal Superalloys for Jet Engine Turbines

#20 – Airbus Engineer Oliver Family on the E-Fan X Demonstrator

#19 – Manuel Schleiffelder on the Hound Project and Metal Matrix Composites for Rockets

#18 – Prof. Wenbin Yu on the Structure Genome

#17 – Alba Orbital Engineer Andrew Dunn on PocketQubes

#16 – Max Haot and Launcher’s Ten-year Journey to Deliver Small Satellites to Orbit

#15 – Nick Sills on Contra-Rotating Electric Propulsion

#14 – Dufour Aerospace Co-Founder Thomas Pfammatter on the aEro2 VTOL Electric Aircraft

#13 – Skyrora’s Lead Engineer Robin Hague on Scotland’s New Satellite Launch Capability

#12 – The Perlan Project: Soaring to the Edge of Space

#11 – Dr Priyanka Dhopade on Jet Engine Optimisation and Women in Engineering

#10 – Kitty Hawk Roboticist Dr Mark Cutler on UAVs, Machine Learning and Personalised Flying

#9 – Faradair Founder Neil Cloughley on the Bio-Electric Hybrid Aircraft and Regional Aviation

#8 – Rocket Lab’s Lachlan Matchett on Democratising Access to Space and the Rutherford Rocket Engine

#7 – Dr Valeska Ting on Smart Nanomaterials for Hydrogen Storage

#6 – Oxford Space Systems Founder Mike Lawton on Deployable Space Structures

#5 – Concorde Chief Engineer John Britton on Supersonic Flight

#4 – Kim-Tobias Kohn on Electric Aviation

#3 – Airbus Senior Expert Ian Lane on the A350, Innovation in Aerospace, and Diversity in Engineering

#2 – Prof. Paul Weaver on Shape, Stiffness and Smart Aerospace Structures

#1 – Dr Chauncey Wu on NASA, Rocket Science and Advanced Composite Materials

#0 – Introduction to the Aerospace Engineering Podcast