In the early days of flight, the need for sustainable air travel was not listed among the top aviation priorities. On the contrary, the sole vision of flying between two locations enabled the nearly impossible of overcoming the technical challenges of flight.

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Dr. Amir S. Gohardani is an aerospace engineering manager at L·Garde Inc. in Orange County, Calif. He currently directs two separate projects related to national security and orbital debris. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author...