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Engineering Innovations

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Title Description
Original USDA-ARS Experimental Watersheds Original USDA-ARS Experimental Watersheds
Columbus, OH
In the mid 1930's, the USDA Soil Conservation Service (SCS) realized the importance of hydrologic processes on agricultural fields and watersheds and determining their impact on…
Orroral Valley Tracking Station Orroral Valley Tracking Station
Tennent Cree, ACT
Established 1965 the Orroral Valley Station, as well as the Honeysuckle Creek (1967) and Tidbinbilla (1965) sites supported NASA’s Deep Space Network, Manned Space Flight Network…
Pearson Field Pearson Field
Vancouver, WA
Pearson Field, named for U.S. Army Lt. Alexander Pearson Jr., a prominent early aviator who died in an airplane crash in 1925, is the oldest continuously operating airfield in the…
Pegasus 3 Engine BS 916 Pegasus 3 Engine BS 916
Bristol, BC
The Pegasus 3 is the earliest surviving example of the prototype engine for vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) jets, namely the Royal Air Force's Harriers and US Marine…
Picatinny Arsenal Picatinny Arsenal
Wharton, NJ
Built in 1880 as the Piccatinny Powder Depot, this site was the major supplier of smokeless powder to the military for many years. Since World War II, Picatinny Arsenal has been…
Point Mugu Aerial Point Mugu Naval Base
, CA
Established in 1946 to provide a comprehensive test and evaluation site for tactical missiles, Point Mugu has been instrumental in the development, test, evaluation and in-service…
Part of the Purdue Cirrus training fleet on the ramp Purdue University Airport
West Lafayetta, IN
The Purdue University Airport was the first collegiate owned airport in the United States. It hosted Amelia Earhart for her final adventure, was the training ground for test…
James Hart Wyld Reaction Motors, Inc.
Denville, NJ
The first company in the United States dedicated solely to the production of the liquid rocket engine, Reaction Motors, Inc. (RMI) was formed in 1941.  Its four founders were…
RL-10 Rocket Engine RL-10 Rocket Engine
Washington, DC
The RL-10, which served as the power plant for NASA's upper-stage Centaur space launch vehicle, was the first rocket engine to use high-energy liquid hydrogen as a fuel. It has…
Rocketdyne's_test_stand_for_testing_the_J-2_engine_in_Santa_Susana_Mountains Rocketdyne Santa Susana Field Laboratory
Brandeis, CA
On 15 November 1950, the SSFL conducted its first official test with a Rocketdyne-designed XLR43-NA-1 large liquid propellant rocket engine, which later became the Redstone engine…
Saturn V Rocket Saturn V Rocket
Orlando, FL
The largest rocket built at the time of the historic first missions to the moon, the Saturn V carried aloft the 45-ton Apollo spacecraft on earth orbital and lunar missions from…
T.S. Lowe Ascent T.S. Lowe’s 1861 Balloon Launch
Washington, D.C.,
T.S.C. Lowe’s Observation Flight Thaddeus Sobieski Constantine Lowe demonstrated the use of a hydrogen-filled balloon in aerial reconnaissance through a series of tethered…
The Boeing Red Barn taken in 1937 The Boeing Red Barn
Seattle, WA
This former shipyard was the first home of the The Boeing Company, founded in 1916.  Affectionately called the Red Barn, this structure was built in 1909, and became the historic …
The Cincinnati Observatory The Cincinnati Observatory
Cincinnati, OH
The Cincinnati Observatory, “The Birthplace of American  Astronomy,” is the oldest professional observatory in the United States.  Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel, the “Father of…
Tidbinbilla Tracking Station Tidbinbilla Tracking Station
Paddys River, ACT
Established 1965 the Tidbinbilla Tracking Station, as well as the Honeysuckle Creek (1967-1981) and Orroral Valley (1965-1985) sites, supported NASA’s Deep Space Network, Manned…
Travel Air Airplane Manufacturing Company in Wichita Travel Air Airplane Manufacturing Company in Wichita
Wichita, KS
The Travel Air Airplane Manufacturing Company served as the incubator in which Wichita Kansas’ present-day status as the world’s “Air Capital” first developed. The firm was among…
Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg Air Force Base
Lompoc, CA
Vandenberg Air Force Base was the nation’s first space and ballistic missile operational and training base. Beginning with its first launch, a Thor Intermediate Range Ballistic…
Launch of a Skylark sounding rocket from Woomera in South Australia Woomera Launch Facility
Woomera,
Long Range Weapon Establishment Established in 1947 as a joint project between Britain and Australia, the Long Range Weapon Establishment, more familiarly known as the Woomera…

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