PopSci's Best of What's New 2007

Aviation & Space
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias Gran Telescopio Canarias

THE WORLD’s LARGEST TELESCOPE

Around 8,500 feet above sea level on the Canary island of La Palma, the world’s largest telescope first gazed at the heavens in July. The Gran Telescopio Canarias, or GTC, features an enormous 34-foot-diameter mirror made up of 36 hexagonal segments, each with its own computer-controlled actuators for maintaining the mirror’s shape as it turns to track stars. The GTC, in its hunt for extrasolar planets, distant galaxies and nebulae, will be able to see deeper into space than anything else on Earth. gtcdigital.net

SLIDESHOW
See inside

OTHER WINNERS IN Aviation & Space

	CNES Corot The Satellite Searching for the Next Earth			Cessna 162 SkyCatcher Light Sport Aircraft THE STARTER PLANE
	Vision Systems International Helmet-Mounted Display SUPER-VISION FOR FIGHTER PILOTS			NASA Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy HAVE SCOPE, WILL TRAVEL
	Boeing EA-18G Growler A RADAR-JAMMING JET			ESA/EADS Astrium Automated Transfer Vehicle The space station’s delivery truck
	QinetiQ Zephyr MARATHON FLYER			Eclipse Concept Jet JETS GET PERSONAL
	Darpa Orbital Express A robotic handyman for satellite repair			V-22 Joint Program Office/Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey The tilt-rotor copter finally flies
	Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias Gran Telescopio Canarias THE WORLD’s LARGEST TELESCOPE