The National Aeronautic Association announced on February 19, 2020 that nine aviation and space achievements will compete for the 2019 Robert J. Collier Trophy.
For 108 years, the Collier Trophy has been the benchmark of aerospace achievement. Awarded annually “… for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America,” it has been bestowed upon some of the most important projects, programs, individuals, and accomplishments in history.
Past winners include the crews of Apollo 11 and Apollo 8, the Mercury 7, Scott Crossfield, Elmer Sperry, Howard Hughes, and Orville Wright. Projects and programs which have been the recipient of the Collier include the B-52, the Boeing 747, the Cessna Citation, the F-22, and the International Space Station. The five most recent recipients of the Collier Trophy are the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System Team; the Cirrus Aircraft Vision Jet; the Blue Origin New Shepard Team; the NASA/JPL Dawn Mission Team; and the Gulfstream G650.
The 2019 Nominees are:
Airborne Collision Avoidance System Team
Bombardier Global 7500
Gulfstream G500 and G600
Hubble Space Telescope Team
magni500 Electric Propulsion System
Project Heaviside
Stratolaunch Carrier Aircraft
The USAF-Boeing X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle Team
Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management Team
“For more than a century, the Collier Trophy has recognized the greatest achievements in aeronautics and astronautics,” said NAA President Greg Principato. “Some of history’s greatest technological feats have received the Collier. The nominees this year are very much in that tradition, spanning aeronautics and astronautics and including many new technologies and approaches to solving problems. The nominee that comes away with the Collier this year will truly have earned the distinction of Greatest Achievement!”
The Collier Selection Committee Meeting has been postponed due to COVID-19. A rescheduled date will be communicated in the near future.
