As 2017 nears its end, “Best of” lists are beginning to roll out. And so far, Colorado’s aerospace industry has been flexing its muscles.
Three of the top 10 “most incredible aerospace inventions” of the year, , are projects with roots in Colorado: OSIRIS-REx, GOES-16 weather satellite and the Dream Chaser.
NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer — or OSIRIS-REx — is an asteroid-collecting spacecraft that is currently making its way to Bennu, a carbon-rich asteroid that’s 500 meters wide. It was .
NOAA’s weather forecaster GOES-16 is especially relevant following the devastation of three back-to-back hurricanes in Houston, Florida and Puerto Rico. The satellite is five times faster than prior satellites, scanning high-risk areas every 30 seconds, according to Popular Science. Once again, Lockheed Martin designed and built the satellite.
Dream Chaser is an to and from the International Space System. It is expected to start shipping by 2020. The spacecraft is owned and operated by Sierra Nevada Space Systems in Louisville. Lockheed Martin’s aeronautics team in Fort Worth, Texas, helped build the composite structure of the spacecraft.