Out of This World & Down to Earth

Out of This World & Down to Earth

NASA’s Space Shuttle program launched the 1st of its missions this weekend back in 1981. Columbia, along with its solid rocket boosters, was the first reusable spacecraft. And for those of us that grew up watching, so cool to see them take off as rockets, and successfully return to Earth like airplanes!

The shuttles carried and assembled materials and parts for the International Space Station. Took satellites into orbit. And deployed and repaired the Hubble Space Telescope.

Since the program was retired in 2011, NASA’s assets are now protected by the Space Fence. It’s an out of this world, virtual boundary established by a high-tech, ground-based radar system. The United States Space Force uses it to catalog, identify, map, and track satellites, objects, and debris in low Earth orbit.

With the aid of the Space Fence, NASA is able to plan the trajectories of its current and future space missions to avoid collisions with objects. The Space Fence makes it possible to detect high speed objects as small as a marble.

While Tahoe Fence hasn’t worked in outer space, we do complete some lofty projects down here on Earth. For example, our crews completed this tall, all brown, slatted-wire enclosure at Stateline (Douglas County.)

Let us know what you think.

Pictured: Tahoe Fence tall, all brown, slatted-wire fuel enclosure at Stateline (Douglas County.) 2026