Three of Colorado's aerospace industries' projects have been named in Popular Science's Top 10 "Most Incredible Aerospace Inventions" for 2017.
Online science magazine
Popular Science has released its list of the
"Most Incredible Aerospace Inventions" of the year, and three Colorado-based projects have been included in the top 10. The projects: OSIRIS-REx, GOES-16 weather satellite, and the Dream Chaser. It really makes you stop and take in just how far the advancement of science has come. It's truly an incredible feat.
The grand winner is the SpaceX's
Falcon Heavy rocket. Its 28 engines firing simultaneously lift the rocket off with five million pounds of force, which is more than any other ship since the 1970s' Saturn V. According to Popular Science, the Falcon Heavy has proved in its early missions that it's the rocket with the "horsepower, reliability, and price point to shuttle humans to Mars."
OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft
[caption id="attachment_25864" align="aligncenter" width="655"]
photo courtesy of
Popular Science Magazine[/caption]
NASA's
OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer) is a spacecraft that collects data from asteroids. It's currently on its way to Bennu -- a carbon-rich asteroid -- and will make contact in roughly 300 days (
view the countdown). The spacecraft was built by Lockheed Martin in Jefferson County. Below is a beautiful image OSIRIS-REx captured of Earth and the moon in full color:
[caption id="attachment_25867" align="aligncenter" width="512"]
photo courtesy of OSIRiS-REx (
asteroidmission.org).[/caption]
GOES-16 Weather Satellite
[caption id="attachment_25863" align="aligncenter" width="655"]
photo courtesy of
Popular Science Magazine[/caption]
The NOAA's
GOES-16 weather satellite was also designed by Lockheed Martin, and it is five times faster than previous satellites at detecting high-risk areas every 30 seconds. The satellite provided vital information regarding the three devastating back-to-back hurricanes in Houston, Florida, and Puerto Rico. The following satellite image is of Hurricane Maria over Puerto Rico as it made landfall on September 20:
[caption id="attachment_25869" align="aligncenter" width="624"]
photo courtesy of GEO-16 (
nesdis.noaa.gov).[/caption]
Dream Chaser Spacecraft
[caption id="attachment_25862" align="aligncenter" width="655"]
photo courtesy of
Popular Science Magazine[/caption]
Finally, the
Dream Chaser is an autonomous craft that will ferry cargo to and from the International Space Station. It starts its shipments in 2020. The spacecraft is owned/operated by Sierra Nevada Space Systems in Louisville and was constructed by Lockheed Martin's team in Fort Worth, Texas. Check out the video below of how the Dream Catcher will function as it journeys to and from the ISS:
https://vimeo.com/199209876
What do you think of Popular Science's list of aerospace inventions? Let us know in the comments below.
