List of aerospace engineers

This is a list of notable aerospace engineers, people who were trained in or practiced aerospace engineering and design.

A

Talbert Abrams (1895–1990) – aerial photography and plexiglas pioneer, designer of the Abrams P-1 Explorer
Gerd Achgelis (1908–1991) – helicopter pioneer
Jakob Ackeret (1898–1981)
Clément Ader (1841–1925) – early aviation pioneer
Bruce Aikenhead (1923–2019) – Avro Canada, NASA
Buzz Aldrin (born 1930) – astronaut, mechanical engineer and second person to walk on the Moon
Rostislav Alexeyev (1916–1980) – ground effect vehicle designer
Edmund T. Allen (1896–1943) – engineer, test pilot
Harry Julian Allen (1910–1977) – NASA, inventor of blunt body re-entry vehicles
Gwen Alston (1907–1993) – aerodynamicist
Björn Andreasson [sv] (1917–1993)
Oleg Antonov (1906–1984) – founder of the OKB-153 Antonov design bureau
Neil Armstrong (1930–2012) – astronaut, aeronautical engineer and first person to walk on the Moon
Yuri Artsutanov (1929–2019) – space elevator pioneer
Holt Ashley (1923–2006) – researched aeroelasticity
Lee Atwood (1904–1999) – North American Aviation engineer

B

Brunolf Baade (1904–1969) – lead designer of the Baade 152
Erich Bachem (1906–1960) – designer of the Bachem Ba 349 Natter rocket plane
Leonard Bairstow (1880–1963) – National Physical Laboratory (United Kingdom) researcher
Herman Barkey (1909–2005) – led the design team for the McDonnell Aircraft F-4 Phantom
V. P. Barmin (1909–1993) – designer of the rocket launch complex
Frank Barnwell (1880–1938) – chief engineer Bristol Aeroplane Company
Robert Ludvigovich Bartini (1897–1974) – designer of the Bartini Beriev VVA-14 and other experimental projects, founder of the OKB-86 design bureau
L. E. Baynes (1902–1989) – designer of the Baynes Bat tank glider
Ermanno Bazzocchi [it] (1914–2005) – Aermacchi MB-326 designer
Jim Bede (1933–2015)
Rex Beisel (1893–1972) – lead engineer at Curtiss and Vought
Giuseppe Mario Bellanca (1886–1960) – aircraft pioneer, blended wing designer
Dwight Henry Bennett (1917–2002) – developed Fly-by-wire technology, helped design the F2Y, F-102, F-4 Phantom, F/A-18
Thomas W. Benoist (1874–1917) – early airline entrepreneur
Igor Bensen (1917–2000) – autogyro designer
Max Bentele (1909–2006) – jet engine pioneer
Aleksandr Bereznyak (1912–1974) – designer of the BI-1 rocket plane
Georgy Beriev (1903–1979) – founder of the OKB-49 Beriev design bureau
J. D. Bernal (1901–1971) – invented the Bernal sphere for space habitation
Albert Betz (1885–1968) – designer and researcher
Paul Bevilaqua (born 1945) – lift fan inventor
Ronald Eric Bishop (1903–1989) - chief designer of the de Havilland Mosquito
Matus Bisnovat (1905–1977) – missile designer
Robert Blackburn (1885–1955) – aviation pioneer
Louis Blériot (1872–1936) – aviation pioneer
George Eugene Bockrath (1911–1998) – researched fracture mechanics
Hendrik Wade Bode (1905–1982) – NASA advisor
Jenny Body – former President of the Royal Aeronautical Society^[1]
William Boeing (1881–1956) – founder of Boeing
Charles Bolden (born 1946) – NASA Administrator
Viktor Bolkhovitinov (1899–1970) – lead designer of the Bolkhovitinov DB-A bomber, founder of the OKB-293 design bureau
Ludwig Bölkow (1912–2003) – aerodynamicist for the Me 262
Alan Bond (born 1944) – designed spaceplanes and an SST
Philip Bono (1921–1993) – space launcher developer
Frank Borman (1928-2023) – commanded first mission to circle the Moon
Karel Bossart (1904–1975) – lead designer of the Atlas ICBM
Enea Bossi Sr. (1888–1963) – aviation pioneer
William Hawley Bowlus (1896–1967) – glider designer
John Boyd (1927–1997) – created the energy–maneuverability theory
Frances Bradfield (1895–1967) – wind tunnel researcher
Ferdinand Brandner (1903–1986) – aircraft engine designer
Vance Breese (1904–1973) – engineer and test pilot
Louis Charles Breguet (1880–1955) – aviation pioneer, founder of Bréguet Aviation
Maurice Brennan (1913–1986) – designer of flying boats, helicopters, transports, rockets, hovercraft
Yvonne Brill (1924–2013) – electrothermal hydrazine thruster
Arthur E. Bryson (born 1925) – "father of modern optimal control theory"
Carl Clemens Bücker [de] (1895–1976) – founder of Bücker-Flugzeugbau GmbH
Viktor Bugaisky [ru] (1912–1994) – designed the Functional Cargo Block of several space missions
Isabelle Buret – engineer specializing in telecommunications and astronautics
Vincent Burnelli (1895–1964) – blended wing and lifting body designer
Anne Burns (1915–2001) – wind shear expert
Adolf Busemann (1901–1986) – swept wing
Robert W. Bussard (1928–2007) – designer of nuclear thermal rocket engines
Fedor Ivanovich Bylinkin – aviation pioneer

C

Sydney Camm (1893–1966) – Hawker Hurricane designer
Secondo Campini (1904–1980) – jet engine pioneer
Giovanni Caproni (1886–1957) – founder of Caproni
Albert Caquot (1881–1976) – aviation pioneer
Robert Castello [fr] (1906–1976) – chief engineer at Dewoitine, designer at Fouga
Mario Castoldi (1888–1968) – chief designer at Aeronautica Macchi
Beatrice Mabel Cave-Browne-Cave (1874–1947) – undertook pioneering work in the mathematics of aeronautics
George Cayley (1773–1857) – notable for his research in aerodynamics
Clyde Cessna (1879–1954) – early aircraft designer and founder of Cessna
Roy Chadwick (1893–1947) – design engineer for the Avro Company
Roger Chaffee (1935–1967) – Apollo 1 fire victim on January 27, 1967
George Henry Challenger (1881–1947) – engineer with the Bristol Aeroplane Company and later with Vickers
Jim Chamberlin (1915–1981) – Avro Canada, NASA
Roy Chaplin (1899–1988) – Hawker Aircraft
George Chapline Jr. (born 1942) – proposer of a fission-fragment rocket
Kalpana Chawla (1961–2003) – died in the Columbia disaster
Vladimir Chelomey (1914–1984) – founder of the OKB-52 rocket design bureau
Chen Yijian [zh] (born 1930) – participated in the design of the Shenyang JJ-1
Boris Ivanovich Cheranovsky (1896–1960) – flying wing designer
S. L. Chernyshev [ru] (born 1955) – aerodynamicist
Boris Chertok (1912–2011) – space program control systems designer
Chu Chia-Jen (1900–1985)
Thomas P. Christie (born 1934) – mathematician, co-creator of the Energy–maneuverability theory with John Boyd
Zbysław Ciołkosz (1902–1960) – introduced the use of shaft turbine power for helicopters
John Drury Clark (1907–1988) – developer of jet and rocket fuel
Val Cleaver (1917–1977) – rocket engineer
Henri Coandă (1886–1972) – inventor of the jet engine
Richard Coar (1921–2013) – RJ10 rocket engine designer
Christopher Cockerell (1910–1999) – hovercraft inventor
Dandridge MacFarlan Cole (1921–1965) – Titan II designer
Giuseppe Colombo (1920–1984) – developed the gravitational assist profile used in the Mariner 10 mission to Mercury, invented the space tether
Nicholas Comper (1897–1939) – designer of the Comper Swift
Philip M. Condit (born 1941) – former CEO of Boeing
René Couzinet (1904–1956) – invented retractable landing gear
Eugene E. Covert (1926–2015) – wind tunnel designer
Gaetano Crocco (1877–1968) – rocketry pioneer
Scott Crossfield (1921–2006) – first man to fly faster than twice the speed of sound in NAA's X-15
Alwyn Crow (1894–1965) – rocket designer
Irv Culver (1911–1999) – P-38 designer
Glenn Curtiss (1878–1930) – founder of the US aircraft industry
Kazimierz Czarnecki (1916–2005) – NACA and NASA engineer

D

Werner Dahm (1917–2008)^[2]
Frederick Dallenbach – Auxiliary power unit designer
Louis Damblanc [fr] (1889–1969) – developed solid fuel rocket fuel
Corradino D'Ascanio (1891–1981) – helicopter pioneer
Marcel Dassault (1892–1986)
Serge Dassault (1925–2018)
Arthur Davenport (1891–1976) – Westland Aircraft
Fred David (1898–1992) – designer at Heinkel, Mitsubishi, Aichi Kokuki and Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation
Stuart Davies (1906–1995) – designed the Avro Lancaster and Vulcan
Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519)
Geoffrey de Havilland (1882–1965)
Louis de Monge (1890–1977) – blended wing inventor
Juan de la Cierva (1895–1936) – inventor of the autogyro
Satish Dhawan (1920–2002)
Walter Stuart Diehl (1893–1976) – created US Navy test facilities, authored Engineering Aerodynamics
Paul Bernard Dilworth (1915–2007)
Wilhelm Dirks [de] (born 1947) – sailplane designer
Heini Dittmar (1911–1960) – record-breaking pilot
Jurgis Dobkevičius (1900–1926) – Lithuanian aviation constructor, military pilot
Takeo Doi (1904–1996) – designer for Kawasaki Aircraft Industries
Tom Dolan – developed the lunar orbit rendezvous concept for the Apollo program
Roy Dommett (1933–2015) – the United Kingdom's Chief Missile Scientist
Charles J. Donlan (1916–2011) – NASA manager
Allen F. Donovan (1914–1995) WW2 aircraft, Atlas and Titan missiles, nuclear rockets
Jimmy Doolittle (1896–1993) – instrument flying developer
Étienne Dormoy (1885–1959) – airplane and autogyro designer
Claude Dornier (1884–1969)
Anatoly Dorodnitsyn (1910–1994) – researched meteorology, vortex wing theory, boundary layer theory in a compressible gas, and supersonic gas dynamics
Donald W. Douglas (1892–1981) – founder of the Douglas Aircraft Company
George Dowty (1901–1975) – designer of aircraft components
Charles Stark Draper (1901–1987) – developed inertial navigation
Hugh Latimer Dryden (1898–1965) – researcher and NASA administrator
Guy du Merle (1908–1993) – engineer, test flew captured Bf 109 and He 111 in Spain
Alberto Santos Dumont (1873–1932) – inventor of the dirigible; aeronautics pioneer
J. W. Dunne (1875–1949) – invented the first delta wing
Pedro Duque (born 1963) – engineer and astronaut
William F. Durand (1859–1958) – propeller designer, NACA chair
Ludwig Dürr (1878–1956) – airship designer
Leonid Dushkin (1910–1990) – rocket engine designer

E

George Edwards (1908–2003) – designer at Vickers-Armstrongs and BAC
Alfred J. Eggers (1922–2006) – NACA / NASA researcher, developed re-entry bodies and compression lift, managed Pioneer program
Joe Engle (born 1932)
Richard Eppler [de] (1924–2021) – sailplane designer
Robert Esnault-Pelterie (1881–1957) – aviation and rocketry pioneer, invented the center stick
Walter Extra (born 1954) – aerobatic aircraft designer

F

András Fábián [hu] (1909–1944) - designer of the Repülőgépgyár Levente II
Maxime Faget (1921–2004) – designer of the Project Mercury spacecraft
Ole Fahlin (1901–1992) – propeller and prototype airplane developer
Sherman Fairchild (1896–1971) – founded Fairchild Aircraft
Charles Richard Fairey (1857–1956) – founder of the Fairey Aviation Company
Farman Brothers
Robert W. Farquhar (1932–2015) – NASA engineer, inventor of the halo orbit
Roy Fedden (1885–1973) – British engine designer for Bristol Engine Company
Bobak Ferdowsi (born 1979) – JPL flight engineer
Antonio Ferri (1912–1975) – created the Ferri scoop used on the jet intakes of the XF-103, F-105, XF8U-3, and SSM-N-9 Regulus II cruise missile, and the diverterless supersonic inlet used on the F-35
Gerhard Fieseler (1896–1987) – German aircraft designer
Harold Finger (born 1924) – Project NERVA lead engineer
Hanno Fischer [de] (born 1924) – ducted fan aircraft designer
Gary Flandro (born 1934) – NASA researcher, conceived the Planetary Grand Tour fulfilled by the Voyager program
Alexander H. Flax (1921–2014) – developer of tandem helicopters and reconnaissance satellites
Anton Flettner (1885–1961) – helicopter pioneer
Nicolas Florine (1891–1972) – helicopter pioneer
James C. Floyd (born 1914) – Avro Canada designer
Henrich Focke (1890–1979) – helicopter pioneer
Anthony Fokker (1890–1939)
Henry Folland (1889–1954) – chief designer at Nieuport, Gloster, and Folland Aircraft
Edward Forman (1912–1973) – co-founder of JPL, Aerojet
Robert L. Forward (1932–2002) – designer of solar sails and space tethers
Harlan D. Fowler (1895–1982) – Fowler flap inventor
John Fozard (1928–1996) – Hawker Siddeley Harrier designer
Anselm Franz (1900–1994) – jet engine pioneer
Stelio Frati (1919–2010) – designer of several aircraft inc the SIAI-Marchetti SF.260
Otto Frenzl [de] (1909–1996) – first inventor of the area rule
Leslie Frise (1895–1979) – designed the Type 156 Bristol Beaufighter
John Carver Meadows Frost (1915–1979) – chief designer of the Avro Canada CF-100 and several VTOL projects
Michimasa Fujino (born 1960) – Hondajet designer

G

Giuseppe Gabrielli (1903–1987) – aircraft designer
Giovanni Galasso [it] – designer of the STOL IMAM Ro.63
Jean Galtier [fr] (1902–1971)
Robert Gilruth (1913–2000) – engineer, NACA and NASA administrator
Peter Glaser (1923–2014) – developed the solar power satellite
John Glenn (1921–2016) – first American man to orbit the Earth in 1962
Valentin Glushko (1908–1989)
Robert Goddard (1882–1945) – scientist who developed the first liquid-fueled rocket 3-16-26
Tadeusz Góra (1918–2010)
Vladimir P. Gorbunov [ru] (1903–1945) – co-developer of the LaGG-3
Sergei Petrovich Gorbunov [ru] (1902–1933) – designer and factory manager
Viktor Gorokhov [ru] (born 1952) – liquid rocket engine designer at the Chemical Automatics Design Bureau
Fritz Gosslau (1898–1965) – V-1 flying bomb designer
Arthur Gouge (1890–1962) – designed the "C-class" Empire and Sunderland flying boats, invented the Gouge flap
Granville Brothers – GeeBee racers
Jay Greene (1942–2017)
Alan Arnold Griffith (1893–1963) – jet engine designer
Gus Grissom (1926–1967) – Apollo 1 fire victim on January 27, 1967
Gordon G. Grose (1925–1993) – integrated fly-by-wire controls with engine inlets/nozzles and advanced pilot displays
Gu Songfen (born 1930) – participated in the design of the Shenyang JJ-1, chief designer of the Shenyang J-8 and Shenyang J-8II
Guan De (1932–2018) – aeroelasticity engineer, participated in the design and development of the Shenyang JJ-1, the Shenyang J-8 and the Shenyang J-8II
Mikhail Ivanovich Gudkov [ru] (1904–1983) – co-developer of the LaGG-3
Leroy Grumman (1895–1982) – founder of Grumman Aircraft
Siegfried and Walter Günter (1899–1969)(1899–1937) – jet aircraft pioneers
Mikhail Gurevich (1893–1976) – co-founder of the OKB-155 MiG design bureau
Bartolomeu de Gusmão (1685–1724) – Portuguese priest, aircraft designer
Antanas Gustaitis (1898–1941) – Lithuanian aircraft designer, Brigadier General, Commander-in-Chief of Lithuanian Air Force

H

Wolfgang Haack (1902–1994)
B. J. Habibie (1936–2019)
Raoul Hafner (1905–1980) – helicopter pioneer
Edward N. Hall (1914–2006) – Minuteman ICBM engineer
Eugen Hänle [de] (1924–1975) – sailplane designer
Julius Hatry (1906–2000) – built the first rocket plane
Harry Hawker (1889–1921) – test pilot, formed Hawker Aircraft
Willis Hawkins (1913–2004) – design lead of the L-133 and C-130
Clinton H. Havill (1892–1953) – researched airships and propellers
Richard E. Hayden (born 1946) – noise reduction developer
Wallace D. Hayes (1918–2001) – discoverer of the area rule and hypersonics
Martin Heide [de] (born 1954) – sailplane designer
Edward H. Heinemann (1908–1991) – Chief Engineer for Douglas Aircraft, designed 20 military aircraft
Ernst Heinkel (1888–1958) – developed first jet rocket aircraft
Chris Heintz (1938–2021) – kit plane designer
Hall Hibbard (1903–1996) – Lockheed engineer
Homer Hickam (born 1943) – NASA engineer, model rocketry enthusiast
Stanley Hiller (1924–2006) – founder Hiller Aircraft
Hellmuth Hirth (1886–1938) – aircraft engine designer, brother of Wolf Hirth
Wolf Hirth (1900–1959) – sailplane designer, brother of Hellmuth Hirth
Leonard S. Hobbs (1896–1977) – engine designer
John Hodge (1929–2021) – Avro Canada, NASA
Sighard F. Hoerner (1906—1971) – aerodynamicist, assisted the Fieseler Fi 156 Storch design
Nicholas J. Hoff (1906–1997)
Samuel Kurtz Hoffman (1902–1995) – rocket engine designer
Kurt Hohenemser (1906–2001) – helicopter pioneer
Walter Hohmann (1880–1945) – invented the Hohmann transfer orbit
Peter K. Homer (born 1961)
Stanley Hooker (1907–1984) – British engine engineer for Rolls-Royce Aerospace
Ralph Hooper (1926–2022) – Hawker Siddeley Harrier developer
Jiro Horikoshi (1903–1982) – chief engineer for the Mitsubishi A6M
Horten brothers (1913–1998) (1915–1994) – flying wing designers
John Houbolt (1919–2014) – NASA engineer, lunar orbit rendezvous proponent
Kathleen Howell – known for her contributions to dynamical systems theory applied to spacecraft trajectory
Hsue-Chu Tsien (1914–1997) – aeronautical engineer
Howard Hughes (1905–1976) – aerospace engineer, owned RKO movie studio
Huang Zhiqian (1914–1965) – lead designer of the Shenyang J-8
Jerome Clarke Hunsaker (1886–1984) – pioneer of heavier and lighter than air aircraft
Rick Husband (1957–2003) – died in the Columbia disaster
François Hussenot (1912–1951) – inventor of one of the early forms of the flight recorder
Wolfgang Hütter [de] (1909–1990) – sailplane designer

I

Sergey Ilyushin (1894–1977) – founder of the OKB-39 Ilyushin design bureau
Aleksei Isaev (1908–1971) – rocket engine designer
Hideo Itokawa (1912–1999) – aircraft and rocket designer at Nakajima Aircraft Company
Sergey Izotov (1917–1983) – aircraft engine designer, founder of the OKB-117 design bureau

J

Mary Jackson (1921–2005) – NASA engineer
Eastman Jacobs (1902–1987) – advanced wind tunnels, airfoils, turbulence, boundary layers, and Schlieren photography
Hans Jacobs (1907–1994) – sailplane pioneer
Jack James (1920–2001) – Mariner program manager
Antony Jameson (born 1934) – pioneered computational fluid dynamics
Robert P. Johannes (1934–2004) – developed Fly-by-wire technology
Clarence "Kelly" Johnson (1910–1990) – formed Lockheed's Skunk Works and led the design of the SR-71, U-2, F-117A, F-104, C-130, T-33, P-38, and Constellations
Katherine Johnson (1918–2020) – mathematician who worked as an aerospace technologist at NASA
Robert Thomas Jones (1910–1999) – aeronautical engineer at NASA
Drago Jovanovich (1916–1983) – rotorcraft designer
Charles Joy (1911–1989) – engineer at Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft, Gloster Aircraft Company. and Handley Page
Hugo Junkers (1859–1935) – pioneered the design of all-metal airplanes

K

Rudolf Kaiser (1922–1991) – sailplane designer
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (1931–2015) – former President of India, "Missile Man of India"
Charles Kaman (1919–2011) – helicopter pioneer
Nikolai Kamov (1902–1973) – founder of the Kamov design bureau
Abraham Karem (born 1937) – founder of UAV (drone) technology
Alexander Kartveli (1896–1974) – Chief Engineer at Republic Aviation, contributor to first aerospace vehicle prototypes
Otto Kauba (1908-1962) – designer of the Škoda-Kauba SK 257, co-designer of the Škoda-Kauba P14
Harold R. Kaufman (1926-2018) – developed first ion thrusters
David Keith-Lucas (1911–1997) – engineer at Short Brothers
Mstislav Keldysh (1911–1978) – rocket and spacecraft designer
W. Wallace Kellett (1891–1951) – Kellett Autogiro Corporation
Thomas J. Kelly (1929–2002) – leader of the Apollo Lunar Module design team
Alexander Kemurdzhian (1921–2003) – mechanical engineer who is best known for designing Lunokhod 1, the first lunar rover
Sergey Khristianovich (1908–2000) – aerodynamicst
Shizuo Kikuhara [jp] (1906–1991) – designer at Kawanishi Aircraft Company and ShinMaywa
Hidemasa Kimura [jp] (1904–1986) – YS-11 designer
Dutch Kindelberger (1895–1962) – Chief Engineer at Douglas Aircraft and head of North American Aviation
Klapmeier brothers (born 1958) (born 1961) – founders of Cirrus Aircraft
Milton Klein (1924–2022) – nuclear rocket engineer
Hanns Klemm [de] (1885–1961) – founded the Klemm Light Aircraft Company
Vladimir Yakovlevich Klimov [ru] – aircraft engine designer, founder of the OKB-45 Klimov design bureau
Ave K. Kludze, Jr. (born 1967?) – NASA engineer
Heinz-Hermann Koelle (1925–2011) – von Braun associate
Yuri Kondratyuk (1897–1942) – first developer of the lunar orbit rendezvous concept
Alexander Konopatov [ru] (1922–2004) – aircraft and rocket designer at OKB-154
Otto C. Koppen (1901–1991) – MIT professor, designer for Ford and Helio Courier
Yuri Koptev (born 1940) – engineer, former Roscosmos General Director
Sergey Korolev (1907–1966) – Korolev rocket design bureau founder
Semyon Kosberg (1903–1965) – lead engine designer at OKB-154
Gleb Kotelnikov (1872–1944) – parachute pioneer
Frank Kozloski (1916–2003) – rotorcraft and missile developer
Chris Kraft (1924–2019) – NASA administrator
Eugene Kranz (born 1933) – aeronautical engineer
Werner Krüger (1910–2003) – inventor of the Krueger flap
Dietrich Küchemann (1911–1976) – aerodynamicist
Nikolai Dmitriyevich Kuznetsov (1911–1995) – engine designer, founder of the OKB-276 Kuznetsov design bureau

L

Gustav Lachmann (1896–1966) – designer at Handley-Page
Barry Laight (1920–2012) – designer of the Blackburn Buccaneer
Aarne Lakomaa (1914–2001) – involved in the design of the Saab 35 Draken and the Saab 37 Viggen
Frederick W. Lanchester (1868–1946) – aerodynamicist
Geoffrey A. Landis (born 1955) – NASA engineer, interplanetary exploration
Samuel Pierpont Langley (1834–1906) – aircraft pioneer
Agnew E. Larsen (1897–1969) – engineer at Curtiss and Pitcairn
Conrad Lau (1921–1964) – lead designer of the XF8U-3 and A-7 Corsair
Semyon Lavochkin (1900–1960) – founder of the OKB-301 Lavochkin design bureau
Lovell Lawrence Jr. (1915–1971) – co-founder of Reaction Motors
Bill Lear (1902–1978) – founder of Learjet
Jerome F. Lederer (1902–2004) – aviation-safety pioneer
René Leduc (1898–1968) – designer of the ramjet-powered Leduc 0.10
Diane Lemaire (1923–2012) – first woman to graduate from the University of Melbourne with a degree in engineering
Léon Levavasseur (1863–1922) – aviation pioneer
David S. Lewis (1917–2003) – F-4 Phantom II program manager
George W. Lewis (1882–1948) – NACA administrator
Gordon Lewis (1924–2010) – turbine engine designer
Fuk Li – JPL Mars Exploration Directorate manager
Robert Lickley (1912–1998) – Chief Engineer at Fairey Aviation Company
Robert H. Liebeck – airfoil and blended wing body designer
Otto Lilienthal (1848–1896)
Charles Lindbergh (1902–1974) – made first solo transatlantic airplane flight from NY to Paris in 1927 on Spirit of St. Louis
Per Lindstrand (born 1948) – balloons and other aircraft
Alexander Lippisch (1894–1976)
Claude Lipscomb (1887–1974) – designer of the Short Stirling
Boris Lisunov (1898–1946) – engineered a copy of the DC-3
William Littlewood – contributed to the design and operational requirements of transport aircraft
Allan Lockheed (1889–1969) – co-founder of the Lockheed Corporation
Malcolm Lockheed (1886–1958) – co-founder of the Lockheed Corporation
Grover Loening (1888–1976) – awarded first ever degree in aeronautical engineering
Robert Loewy (born 1926) – rotor-wing VTOL aircraft designer
Roy LoPresti (1929–2002) – general aviation designer
Samuel Jasper Loring (1914–1963) – researched aeroelastic flutter problems
George Low (1926–1984) – aerodynamicist and NASA administrator
Gleb Lozino-Lozinskiy (1909–2001) – General Designer of the NPO Molniya design bureau, lead designer of the Buran space shuttle
Lu Xiaopeng (1920–2000) – designer of the Nanchang Q-5 and the Nanchang J-12
Heinrich Lübbe (1884–1940) – Anthony Fokker collaborator
Glynn Lunney (1936–2021) – Apollo program
Robert Lusser (1899–1969) – designer at Messerschmitt, Heinkel, and Fieseler
Jean-Marie Luton (1942–2020) – ESA Director General
Andrey Lyapin [ru] (1912–1985) – chief missile designer at OKB-134, now Vympel NPO
Arkhip Lyulka (1908–1984) – engine designer, founder of the OKB-165 Lyulka design bureau
Lev Lyulyev (1908–1985) – artillery, rocket, and missile designer, founder of the OKB-8 design bureau

M

Paul MacCready (1925–2007) – human-powered aircraft designer
Elsie MacGill (1905–1980)
Ernst Mach (1838–1916)
Georg Hans Madelung (1889–1972) – V-1 designer
Otto Mader [de] (1880–1944) – inventor of the Junkers flap
Peyton M. Magruder (1911–1982) – lead designer of the Martin B-26
Viktor Makeyev (1924–1985) – SLBM designer
Frank Malina (1912–1981) – rocket engineer, JPL administrator
John C. Mankins – NASA space-based solar power researcher
Frank E. Marble (1918–2014)
Frederick Marriott (1805–1884)
Glenn L. Martin (1886–1955) – founder of the Glenn L. Martin Company
Pierre Mauboussin [fr] (1900–1984) – co-designer of the Fouga CM.170 Magister
Hans Mauch (1906–1984) – jet engine pioneer, artificial limb developer
Mark D. Maughmer (born 1950) – aerodynamicist
Owen Maynard (1924–2000) – Avro Canada, NASA
Alessandro Mazzoni [it] (1931–2016) – Piaggio chief engineer
William C. McCool (1961–2003) – died in the Columbia disaster
James Smith McDonnell (1899–1980) – founder of McDonnell Aircraft Corporation
Colin R. McInnes (born 1968) – solar sail researcher
Marion O. McKinney Jr. (1921–1999) – NACA and NASA engineer, researched VTOL flight
William B. McLean (1914–1976) – lead designer of the AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile
George J. Mead (1891–1949) – engine designer
William C. Mentzer (1907–1971) – contributed to aircraft maintenance and economics
Wilhelm Messerschmitt (1898–1978) – designed Bf 109 and jet powered Me 262
Artem Mikoyan (1905–1970) – co-founder of the OKB-155 MiG design bureau
Mikhail Mil (1909–1970) – founder and general designer of the OKB-329 Mil design bureau
Alexander Mikulin (1895–1985) – engine designer, founded the OKB-24 Mikulin design bureau
Frederick George Miles (1903–1976) – designer at Miles Aircraft, husband of Maxine Blossom Miles
John W. Miles (1920–2008) – pioneer in theoretical fluid mechanics
Maxine Blossom Miles (1901–1984) – pilot, designer, draughtswoman, aerodynamicist and stress engineer, designer of the Miles Hawk
Clark Blanchard Millikan (1903–1966) – professor of aeronautics
Arseny Mironov (1917–2019) – Russian scientist, aerospace engineer and aircraft pilot
Don Mitchell (1915–1993) – sailplane designer
R. J. Mitchell (1895–1937) – designed the Spitfire aircraft
Swati Mohan – Mars 2020 engineer
Paul Moller (born 1936) – circular aircraft designer
Montgolfier brothers (1740–1810) (1745–1799) – inventors of the hot air balloon
John J. Montgomery (1858–1911)
Albert Mooney (1906–1986) – general aviation designer
Hans Moravec (born 1948) – space tether developer
Morien Morgan (1912–1978) – 'Father of the Concorde'
George Mueller (1918–2015) – NASA administrator
Alan Mulally (born 1945) – Boeing executive and President of Ford
Hans Multhopp (1913–1972)
Elon Musk (born 1971) – founder of SpaceX and co-founder of Tesla
Vladimir Mikhailovich Myasishchev (1902–1978) – founder of the OKB-23 Myasishchev design bureau

N

Aleksandr Nadiradze (1914–1987) – Soviet Georgian ballistic missile and rocket engineer
James C. Nance (1927–2019) – aircraft nuclear propulsion engineer
Gerhard Neumann (1917–1997) – engineer for General Electric, contributed to the design of the J79
Édouard Nieuport (1875–1911) – aviation pioneer
No Kum-sok aka Kenneth H. Rowe (1932–2022) – North Korean MiG-15 pilot defector, US aeronautical engineer and professor
Umberto Nobile (1885–1978) – semi-rigid airship designer
John Dudley North (1893–1968) – chief engineer at Boulton Paul Aircraft
Robert B. C. Noorduyn (1893–1959) – Noorduyn Norseman designer
Jack Northrop (1895–1981) – founded Northrop Corporation in 1939 and later the Flying Wing

O

Hermann Oberth (1894–1989) – rocketry pioneer
William C. Ocker (1880–1942) – instrument flying pioneer
Wendy Okolo (born 1984?) – NASA engineer
Gerard K. O'Neill (1927–1992) – developer of the O'Neill cylinder for space colonization
Minoru Ōta (aeronautical engineer) [jp] – Nakajima Aircraft Company

P

Frederick Page (1917–2005) – lead designer of the English Electric Lightning and the BAC TSR-2
Mark Page (born 1956) – blended wing body and UAV designer
Thomas O. Paine (1921–1992) – engineer, scientist, NASA administrator
Antonino Parano (aeronautical engineer) [it] (1904–1952)
Paul C. Paris (1930–2017) – known for introducing fracture mechanics to the aviation industry
Bob Parkinson (born 1941) – HOTOL spaceplane developer
Jack Parsons (1914–1952) – rocket engineer, chemist, JPL founder
Vladimir Pavlecka (1901–1980) – invented flush rivets, designed the ZMC-2 rigid airship and pressurized transports
Nicolas Roland Payen (1914–2004) – delta wing developer
Richard Pearse (1877–1953) – early New Zealand aircraft builder
Jerome Pearson (1938–2021) – space elevator developer
George Edward Pendray (1901–1987) – co-founder of Reaction Motors
Harald Penrose (1904–1996) – test pilot and glider designer
Edgar Percival (1897–1984) – founder of the Percival Aircraft Company
Bruce Peterson (1933–2006) – NASA engineer and test pilot
Anatoly Perminov (born 1945) – former Roscosmos General Director
Vladimir Petlyakov (1891–1942) – founder of the Petlyakov design bureau
W. E. W. (Teddy) Petter (1908–1968) – designer at Westland, English Electric, and Folland
Frank Piasecki (1919–2008) – helicopter pioneer
William Hayward Pickering (1910–2004) – rocketry pioneer, JPL director
Percy Pilcher (1867–1899)
Harold Frederick Pitcairn (1897–1960) – autogyro developer
Curtis Pitts (1915–2005)
Paul Poberezny (1921–2013) – founder of the Experimental Aircraft Association
Mikhail Pogosyan (born 1956) – general director of Sukhoi and United Aircraft Corporation
Hermann Pohlmann (1894–1991) – designer of the Ju 87 Stuka
Nikolai Polikarpov (1892–1944) – founded the Polikarpov design bureau
Boris Popov – invented one of the first successful aircraft ballistic parachute systems^[3]
Henry Potez (1891–1981)
Herman Potočnik (1892–1929)
Ludwig Prandtl (1875–1953)
Ronald F. Probstein (1928–2021) – researched hypersonics including re-entry vehicle design
Ralph V. Pruitt (1936–1983) – integrated fly-by-wire controls with engine inlets/nozzles and advanced pilot displays
Palmer Cosslett Putnam (1900–1984) – wind-power pioneer

Q

Qian Xuesen (1911–2009)

R

Fritz Raab [de] (1909–1989) – motorglider designer
Vladimir Rachuk [ru] (born 1936) – liquid rocket engine designer at the Chemical Automatics Design Bureau
Arthur Emmons Raymond (1899–1999) – lead designer of the DC-3
R. Dale Reed (1930–2005) – NASA lifting body designer
Wendell E. Reed – developed jet engine controls
Wilfrid Thomas Reid (1887–1968)
Frederick Rentschler (1887–1956) – aircraft engine designer
Judith Resnik (1949–1986)
Osborne Reynolds (1842–1912)
Richard V. Rhode (1904–1994) – researched aerodynamic loading
Georges Ricard [fr] (1906–1981) – designer at Bréguet Aviation
Ben Rich (1925–1995) – director of Lockheed's Skunk Works; contributed to SR-71 and F-117 development
G. Tilghman Richards (1884–1960) – annular wing designer
John M. Riebe (1921–2011)
Norbert Riedel (1912–1963) – developed jet engine starting motors
Robert brothers (1758–1820) (1760–1820) – balloonists
Tecwyn Roberts (1925–1988) – Avro Canada, NASA
Frank D. Robinson (1930–2022) – helicopter designer
Alliott Verdon Roe (1877–1956)
Francis Rogallo (1912–2009) – NASA engineer, created the Rogallo wing which led to hang-gliding
Gertrude Rogallo (1914–2008) – wife and collaborator of Francis Rogallo
Frank E. Rom (1926–2012) – NASA nuclear propulsion engineer
Harold Rosen (1926–2017) – electrical engineer known as "the father of the geostationary satellite"
Milton Rosen (1915–2014) – lead designer of the Vanguard rocket
Jan Roskam (1930–2022)
Ludwig Roth (1909–1967)
Carlo Rubbia (born 1934) – fission-fragment rocket proposer
Edward J. Ruppelt (1923–1960) – director of Project Blue Book
Archibald Russell (1904–1995) – designed the Concorde, Blenheim, Britannia, and Type 188
Burt Rutan (born 1943) – airplane and spacecraft designer
Tubal Claude Ryan (1898–1982) – founder of the Ryan Aeronautical Company
Yuri Alekseevich Ryzhov (1930–2017) – aerodynamicist

S

Friedrich Wilhelm Sander (1885–1938) – pyrotechnics and rocket technology engineer
Eugen Sänger (1905–1964) – spaceplane designer
Irene Sänger-Bredt (1911–1983) – wife and collaborator of Eugen Sänger
George S. Schairer (1913–2004) – lead designer at Consolidated and Boeing
Helmut Schelp – jet engine pioneer
Alexander Schleicher (1901–1968) – sailplane designer
Paul Schmidt (1898–1976) – V-1 engine designer
Edgar Schmued (1899–1985) – lead engineer on the P-51, F-86, F-100, F-5, T-38
Raemer Schreiber (1910–1998) – nuclear rocket engine designer
Bernard Schriever (1910–2005) – managed ICBM development
Schweizer brothers – sailplane designers
William T. Schwendler (1904-1978) – co-founder of Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation
Robert Seamans (1918–2008) – engineer, NACA and NASA administrator
William R. Sears (1913–2002) – flying wing designer
Ernest Edwin Sechler (1905–1979) – researched thin-shell structures
Anita Sengupta – led the JPL team that designed the Curiosity Mars rover parachute system
Lucien Servanty (1909–1973) – SO.6000 Triton and Concorde designer
Alexander P. de Seversky (1894–1974) – founder of Seversky Aircraft, later Republic Aviation
Joseph Francis Shea (1925–1999) – NASA Administrator for the Apollo Program
Beatrice Shilling (1909–1990) – perfected the carburetor on the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine
Leonid Shkadov (1927–2003) – aircraft development and optimization engineer
Nevil Shute (1899–1960) – aeronautical engineer and author
Arkady Shvetsov (1892–1953) – chief engine designer at the OKB-19 design bureau
Igor Sikorsky (1889–1972) – pioneered helicopters
Ozires Silva (born 1931) – founder of Embraer
Abe Silverstein (1908–2001) – engineer, NACA and NASA administrator
Apollo M. O. Smith (1911–1997) – Douglas D-558-1 Skystreak, F3D, and F4D designer, pioneer in computational fluid dynamics
Herbert Smith (1889–1977) – designer of the Sopwith Triplane
John Maynard Smith (1920–2004) – military aircraft designer, later evolutionary biologist and geneticist
Joseph Smith (1897–1956) – designer at Supermarine
Ted R. Smith (1906–1976) – designer of the Aero Commander and Aerostar
Pavel Solovyov (1917–1996) – chief engine designer at the OKB-19 design bureau
Song Wencong (1930–2016) – lead designer of the Chengdu J-10
Thomas Sopwith (1888–1989) – Sopwith Aviation Company
Tony Spear – Mars Pathfinder project manager
Percival H. Spencer (1897–1995) – designer of the Republic RC-3 Seabee
Dorothy Spicer (1908–1946) – aeronautical engineer
Reginald Stafford (1903–1980) – designer of the Handley Page Victor
John Stack (1906–1972) – Bell X-1 designer
Lloyd Stearman (1898–1975) – founder of Stearman Aircraft
Adam Steltzner (born 1963) – JPL engineer for Mars rovers' entry, descent, and landing
Alan Stern (born 1957) – engineer and planetary scientist, principal investigator of the New Horizons mission to Pluto
Homer Joseph Stewart (1915–2007) – helped develop Explorer 1, Pioneer 4, and several rockets
Edward Stinson (1893–1932) – founder of the Stinson Aircraft Company
Luigi Stipa (1900–1992) – invented the "intubed propeller"
Harrison Storms (1915–1992) – directed North American Aviation's Apollo Program
William Bushnell Stout (1880–1956) – Ford Trimotor designer
Ernst Stuhlinger (1913–2008) – ion engine developer
Pavel Sukhoi (1895–1975) – founded the OKB-51 Sukhoi design bureau
Martin Summerfield (1916–1996) - co-founder of Aerojet
Sun Cong (born 1961) - chief designer of the FC-31 and Shenyang J-15
Joe Sutter (1921–2016) – chief engineer for the Boeing 747
Ed Swearingen (1925–2014) – general aviation designer
G. P. Swischjov [ru] (1912—1999) – aerodynamicist
Clarence Syvertson (1926–2010) – NACA / NASA researcher, developed sounding rockets, compression lift, lifting bodies
Victor Szebehely (1921–1977) – aerospace engineering and celestial mechanics

T

Max Taitz (1904–1980) – scientist in aerodynamics and flight testing of aircraft, one of the founders of Gromov Flight Research Institute
Kurt Tank (1898–1983) – designer of aircraft in Germany, Argentina, and India
Clarence Gilbert Taylor (1898–1988) – designer of the Piper Cub
Moulton Taylor (1912–1965) – experimental aircraft pioneer
Peter Theisinger (born 1945) – JPL Mars Exploration Rover project manager
Theodore Theodorsen (1897–1978) – aerodynamicist at NACA
Richard G. Thomas (1930–2006) – aeronautical engineer and test pilot
Mikhail Tikhonravov (1900–1974) – rocket and spacecraft pioneer
Milton Orville Thompson (1926–1993) – NASA engineer and test pilot
Grigori Tokaty (1909–2003) – rocket engineer
Alessandro Tonini (1885–1932) – designer at Gabardini, Macchi, and IMAM
Ivan I. Toropov [ru] (1907–1977) – chief missile designer at OKB-132, now Vympel NPO
Myron Tribus (1921–2016) – deicer developer, heat transfer researcher
Robert Truax (1917–2010) – Aerojet engineer, designer of the Sea Dragon heavy launch vehicle
Richard Truly (born 1937) – former astronaut and head of NASA
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857–1935) – rocketry pioneer
Tu Jida (1927–2011) – participated in the development of the Shenyang JJ-1, chief designer of the Nanchang CJ-6, Shenyang J-5A, Chengdu JJ-5, and several variants of the J-7 fighter, including the Chengdu J-7M
Sergey Tumansky (1901–1973) – engine designer, founder of the OKB-300 Tumansky design bureau
Andrei Tupolev (1888–1972) – founder of the OKB-156 Tupolev design bureau

U

Dana Ulery (born 1938) – JPL scientist, automated tracking of deep space probes
Ralph Hazlett Upson (1888–1968) – designed the world's only all-metal stressed-skin airship
Oskar Ursinus (1877–1952) – sailplane designer
Celestino Usuelli [it] (1877–1926) – dirigible designer

V

Sitaram Rao Valluri (1924–2019) – researched metal fatigue
Kermit Van Every (1915–1998) – high-speed aircraft designer, Douglas Aircraft
Richard VanGrunsven (born 1939) – prolific kit aircraft engineer
Vandi Verma – JPL robot engineer
Vladimir Vetchinkin (1888–1950) – aerodynamicist
Walter G. Vincenti (1917–2019) – hypersonic aircraft designer
Aurel Vlaicu (1882–1913)
Richard Vogt (1894–1979) – designer of asymmetrical aircraft
Gabriel Voisin (1880–1973) – aviation pioneer
George Volkert (1891–1978) – designed the Handley-Page Halifax
Wernher von Braun (1912–1977) – German rocket pioneer
Theodore von Kármán (1881–1963)
Hans von Ohain (1911–1998)
Fritz von Opel (1899–1971) – rocketry pioneer
Chance M. Vought (1890–1930) – founder of Vought Aircraft
Traian Vuia (1872–1950) – first flight with no other ground devices
Gerald Vultee (1900-1938) – engineer, founder of Vultee Aircraft

W

Lawrence Wackett (1896–1982) – "father of the Australian aircraft industry", lead designer of the CAC Boomerang
Gerhard Waibel (born 1938) – sailplane designer
Dwane Wallace (1911–1989) – early Cessna CEO and designer^[4]
Richard Walker (1900–1982) – main designer for jet aircraft of Gloster Aircraft Company
Barnes Wallis (1887–1979)
Ken Wallis (1916–2013) – autogyro
Hellmuth Walter (1900–1980) – rocket engines
Joseph F. Ware Jr. (1916–2012) – Lockheed engineer and test pilot
Edward Pearson Warner (1894–1958) – NACA research engineer
Kyūichirō Washizu (1921–1981)
Frank Wattendorf (1906–1986) – von Karman assistant, wind tunnel designer
Johanna Weber (1910–2014) – aerodynamicist for the Handley-Page Victor and Concorde
Fred Weick (1899–1993) – airmail pilot, NACA research engineer who designed the NACA cowl, and designer of the Ercoupe and Piper Cherokee
Daniel Weihs (born 1942)
Edward Curtis Wells (1910–1986) – Boeing executive and designer
Ted A. Wells (1907–1991) – co-founder of Beech Aircraft Corporation
Michael J. Wendl (born 1934) – developed terrain following technology, energy management theory, and integrated fly-by-wire controls with engine inlets/nozzles and advanced pilot displays
Günter Wendt (1924–2010) – McDonnell Aircraft and North American Aviation engineer; pad leader, prepared all crewed Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo spacecraft
Alexander Weygers (1901–1989) – discopter designer
Ray Wheeler (1927–2019) – Saunders-Roe designer of rockets and hovercraft
Orville A. Wheelon (1906–1966) – invented the Verson-Wheelon process for aircraft sheet-metal forming, introduced titanium fabrication
Richard Whitcomb (1921–2009) – NACA/NASA inventor of the area rule, supercritical airfoil, and winglet
Ed White (1930–1967) – Apollo 1 fire victim on January 27, 1967
Gustave Whitehead (1874–1927) – aviation pioneer
Frank Whittle (1907–1996) – pioneer of the jet engine
Michel Wibault (1897–1963) – invented vectored thrust
Robert H. Widmer (1916–2011) – lead designer on the B-36, B-58, F-111, and F-16
Sheila Widnall (born 1938) – fluid mechanics researcher
Stanisław Wigura (1901–1932)
Geoff Wilde (1917–2007) – Rolls-Royce engine designer
Heather Willauer (born 1974) – United States Naval Research Laboratory researcher of jet fuel manufacture from seawater
Oswald S. Williams Jr. (1921–2005)
Sam B. Williams (1921–2009) – small fanjet engine developer
Thornton Wilson (1921–1999) – B-47, B-52, and Minuteman missile designer
Steve Wittman (1904–1995) – air-racer and aircraft designer
Julian Wolkovitch (1932–1991) – promoted the closed wing
Homer J. Wood – auxiliary power unit designer
Pete Worden (born 1949) – NASA director
Wright brothers (1871–1948) (1867–1912) – made first powered airplane flight on Dec 17, 1903 at Kitty Hawk, NC
Theodore Paul Wright (1895–1970) – engineer and administrator
Georg Wulf (1895–1927) – aviation pioneer
James Hart Wyld (1912–1954) – co-founder of Reaction Motors, designed the rocket engines for the Bell X-1 and RTV-A-2 Hiroc

X

Xu Shunshou (1917–1968) – oversaw the development of the Shenyang JJ-1 and participated in the design of the Nanchang CJ-6, the Nanchang Q-5, and the Xian H-6, died from mistreatment during the Cultural Revolution

Y

Alexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev (1906–1989) – founder of the OKB-115 Yakovlev design bureau
Mikhail Yangel (1911–1971) – founder of the OKB-586 design bureau
Ye Zhengda (1927–2017) – participated in the design of the Shenyang JJ-1
Chuck Yeager (1923–2020) – test pilot and first to break the sound barrier
Vladimir Yermolaev (1909–1944) – lead designer at OKB-240
Ed Yost (1919–2007) – developer of the modern hot air balloon
Arthur M. Young (1905–1995) – designer of the first Bell helicopter

Z

Albert Francis Zahm (1862–1954) – aeronautical experimenter and chief of the Aeronautical Division of the U.S. Library of Congress
Stephen Joseph Zand (1898–1963) – solved many early aviation vibrations problems
Friedrich Zander (1887–1933) – rocket designer, solar sail and gavitational assist developer
Filippo Zappata (1894–1994) – worked for Gabardini, Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico (CANT), Blériot, Breda, and Agusta
Engelbert Zaschka (1895–1955) – one of the first German helicopter pioneers
Helmut Zborowski (1905–1969) – rocket and VTOL designer
Ferdinand von Zeppelin (1838–1917) – airship designer
Nikolay Zhukovsky (1847–1921) – researcher
Henri Ziegler (1906–1998) – father of the Airbus program
Charles H. Zimmerman (1908–1996) – experimental aircraft designer
Robert Zubrin (born 1952) – Mars Society founder, designer of the theoretical nuclear salt-water rocket
Fritz Zwicky (1898–1974) – astronomer, patented several jet engine features

References

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

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