AIAA - American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

www.aiaa.org

One Remarkable Fact Says It All Since 1963, members from a single professional society have achieved virtually every milestone in modern American flight. That society is the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

AIAA’s vision is to be the shaping, dynamic force in the aerospace profession – the forum for innovation, technical excellence, and global leadership.

AIAA’s mission is to address the professional needs and interests of the past, current, and future aerospace workforce and to advance the state of aerospace science, engineering, technology, operations, and policy to benefit AIAA global society.

For more than 70 years, AIAA has been the principal society of the aerospace engineer and scientist. But AIAA haven’t always been AIAA, or even one organization.

In 1963, the two great aerospace societies of the day merged. The American Rocket Society and the Institute of Aerospace Science* joined to become AIAA. Both brought long and eventful histories to the relationship – histories that stretched back to 1930 and 1932 respectively, a time when rocketry was the stuff of science fiction and the aviation business was still in its infancy.

Each society left its distinct mark on AIAA. The merger combined the imaginative, risk-taking, shoot-for-the-moon outlook of Project Mercury-era rocket, missile, and space professionals with the more established, well-recognized, industry-building achievers of the aviation community. The resulting synergy has benefited aerospace ever since.

Today, with more than 31,000 members, AIAA is the world's largest professional society devoted to the progress of engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. The Institute continues to be the principal voice, information resource, and publisher for aerospace engineers, scientists, managers, policymakers, students, and educators. AIAA is also the go-to resource for stimulating professional accomplishment and standards-driven excellence in all areas of aerospace for prominent corporations and government organizations worldwide.

* The two societies were originally the American Interplanetary Society and the Institute of Aeronautical Science.

The first edition of the American Interplanetary Society's monthly Bulletin came out in June 1930. The publisher? An AIAA predecessor. Since then, AIAA’ve earned an international reputation as the primary publisher of innovative aerospace literature and the best source of aerospace industry archives, which date back to the early 1900s. Over the past 70+ years, AIAA and its predecessor organizations have published more than 1000 titles and 300,000 meeting papers. AIAA current publications include seven journals, two magazines, three book series, national and international standards, growing numbers of electronic products, and a full-service, interactive web site.