The 10 Most Important Aerospace Innovations Of The Year

These are the Best Of What's New

By Kelsey D. Atherton, Sophie Bushwick

Updated May 19, 2021 10:44 AM EDT

juno spacecraft

Bigelow Aerospace Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM): Inflatable Space House

Lockheed Martin Skunk Works SPIDER: An Airship-Fixing Robot

SpaceX Falcon 9: Rocket Sticks the Sea Landing

Perlan Project Inc Airbus Perlan Mission II: Gliding to the Edge of Space

Zapata Industries Flyboard Air: High-Flying Hoverboard

Aerion Corporation AS2: Supersonic Returns

Facebook Aquila: Internet Via Drone

German Aerospace Center HY4: Hydrogen-Cell Four-Seater

A MAJIC prototype is tested on a NASA microgravity flight

Read about the other Best of What’s New winners from the November/December 2016 issue of Popular Science.