An Illustrated History of Aviation in Southern California (Part IV)

Blue Sky Metropolis timeline featured image - the International Space Station illustration | Henry Cram

August 6, 2019

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Relive the excitement of man’s first steps on the moon and the long journey it took to get there with 20 new hours of out of this world programming on KCET's “Summer of Space" Watch out for “American Experience: Chasing the Moon” and a KCET-exclusive first look at "Blue Sky Metropolis," four one-hour episodes that examine Southern California’s role in the history of aviation and aerospace.

As the Cold War fizzled out, military spending cuts and a newfound awareness of the environmental impact of the aviation and aerospace industries all but ended the seemingly endless production of military planes in California. Giants of the industry merged to stay afloat or left California entirely. At the same time, Hollywood and the entertainment industry eclipsed aerospace as the main industry in Southern California.

Yet, less than a decade after the USSR dissolved, work on an International Space station began, broadening the collaboration that earth’s scientists could do in space, and commercial satellites were positioned for the next global revolution, the Internet. In a century and some change since the Wright Brothers first flew over the dunes at Kitty Hawk, mankind proved that the sky was not the limit it once imagined. What shall we discover in the next century?