NAA To Present Award In May

The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) announced nine aviation and aerospace projects that will compete for the 2013 Robert J. Collier Trophy. The trophy has been awarded 102 times in recognition of America's greatest achievements in aeronautics or astronautics.

NAA Chairman Walter J. Boyne leads the Selection Committee, which consists of leaders representing organizations throughout aviation and aerospace, including four former Collier Trophy recipients. The committee is scheduled to meet on March 17 in Arlington, Virginia, and the winner will be announced the next day at the NAA Spring Awards Luncheon.

The nominees for the 2013 award are:

• The Human-Powered Helicopter Teams Atlas and Gamera
• The NASA Deep Space Network
• The NASA Lunar Laser Communications Demonstration (LLCD) Project Team
• The Orbital Sciences Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) Program Team
• The Pratt & Whitney PurePower Geared Turbofan Engine
• The United States Navy P-8A Poseidon
• The Voyager Project Team
• The X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) Team
• The X-51A

Past winners include the crews of Apollo 11 and Apollo 8, the Mercury 7, Scott Crossfield, Elmer Sperry and Howard Hughes. Projects and programs which have been the recipient of the Collier include the B-52, the Polaris Missile, the Surveyor Moon Landing Program, the Boeing 747, the Cessna Citation, the Gulfstream V, the F-22, and the International Space Station. The 2012 Collier was awarded to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the Mars Curiosity Rover.
 
Formal presentation of the Collier Trophy will take place on May 8 at the Collier Dinner in Arlington, Virginia.

FMI: www.naa.aero