12 of the World’s Most Insane Engineering Marvels

From Chandra X-Ray Space Telescope to Hong Kong International Airport here are 12 of the World’s Most Insane Engineering Marvels.

6. Chandra X-Ray Space Telescope

Along with the Hubble Space Telescope Chandra is one of NASA’s most advanced space observatories. Chandra has advanced astronomers knowledge of stars, galaxies, black holes and the origin of life inducing elements. It was appropriately and fittingly named after Indian-American astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, whose work on black holes earned him a Nobel Prize in physics in 1983. Originally launched in 1999 the observatories longevity and scientific value has made it one of NASA’s most successful missions. In 2014 Chandra observed the awe-inspiring Tycho supernova remnant, which was created by the explosion of a white dwarf star.

5. Shasta Dam

Stretching mightily across the Sacramento River in Northern California construction of the Shasta Dam took place from 1938 to 1945. Once completed it would back up water for over 35 miles to form Shasta Lake, California’s largest reservoir and a place that is visited by millions of vacationers annually. Frank Crowe, who had just helped finish the Hoover Dam oversaw the entire project, which included 4,700 workers building what was the second largest concrete dam in the country. Twelve million tons of gravel was needed for the project. Luckily a substantial supply was located in the nearby city of Redding. To transport this large quantity of gravel the world’s longest conveyor belt was constructed. It was 9.6 miles long and operated 24/7 for several years.

4. Millau Viaduct

Soaring high above the clouds, the world was captivated by the Millau Viaduct when it opened in December 2004. The idea that the viaduct only took three years to build is almost as astounding as the bridge itself. Towers on the incredible structure rise to a height of one thousand one hundred and twenty-five feet, making it the tallest bridge in the world. Seven pillars weighing 700 tons each were built for the project that had to be placed in exactly the right place for the bridge to be a success. Multiple satellite signals were used to help pinpoint the right spots for the pillars to be placed. Bridge specialist Michel Virlogeux and renowned British architect Norman Foster were employed to design the Millau Viaduct which is widely regarded as an engineering marvel that has no equal.

3. Hubble Space Telescope

Anytime you hear news about a new distant star or planet found in outer space it was likely discovered with the use of the Hubble Space Telescope, which has rested in low Earth orbit since 1990. It's named after Edwin Hubble, who took the largest telescopes of his day to the Mt. Wilson Observatory near Pasadena, California and discovered countless unknown planets and galaxies in the 1920’s. Experts have published over fourteen thousand scientific papers using data from the space telescope, making it one of the most productive instruments of science in history. At launch, it weighed twenty-four thousand pounds, and today it is twenty-seven thousand pounds and 43.5 feet long.

2. Hong Kong International Airport

Though the Kansai International Airport in Japan was the first to be entirely built on an artificial island when it opened in 1994, it lies on soft land that has been sinking much more quickly than anticipated, ultimately making the project a potentially colossal failure. The Hong Kong International Airport went a lot better. The project took six years and around twenty billion dollars to build making it one of the biggest projects in the aviation industry. It lies on Chek Lap Kok, an island that is mostly made of land reclaimed for the construction of the airport. The 24-hour airport is one of the busiest in the world and holds one of the Earth’s largest passenger terminal buildings

1. ISS

The International Space Station is not only the largest human-made object in orbit, but it also represents a collaboration of nations around the world. Five space agencies (NASA, Russia’s Roscosmos (ross cosmos), the European Space Agency, The Canadian Space Agency and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency) representing fifteen countries were involved in constructing the one hundred billion dollar station. The structure was taken and built piece by piece in orbit and has been continuously occupied since November 2, 2000. Current plans call for ISS to be in operation until 2024, by which time some of its first components will be nearly three decades old.

[matthewlarkin]

"Here are a bunch of amazing structures that people made...they are all evil and are the worst things people could have done." - Narrator

[allardfreichmann]

No Delta Works? Most of those artificial islands are made by Dutch engineers.

[LenVrijhof]

3:13 That moment when you sail your boat from the Netherlands all the way to Panama.

[luxushauseragency]

This video ranks in the top 10 for most insane music!!

[Henrybond]

i like the calmer vibes of this video compared to your others

[joemaster]

I gave up after less than 2 minutes, this music is brilliant example how to torture your enemies.

[skellymenefee]

Dude, where’s the fire? You rushed through that so quickly it was hard to understand. Great idea, the info I did hear was very interesting, just slow down!!!

[fubarace]

How could you miss one of the greatest engineering marvels of the early 1900's?!" I mean it's amazing what these engineers were able to accomplish! After over a full century, the swimming pools on the titanic are STILL full of water! It's a freaking miracle of science!

[maxinejsf]

I enjoyed the video. It goes so fast I had a hard time keeping up. Fascinating tho..thank you

[BardofHorror]

The photo shown on 6:44 was absolutely beautiful.

[matti_re]

''The palm Islands represent the largest humanmade islands on the planet''. you are wrong here mate, look it up: Flevoland is nearly 2.5 million square miles and man made.

[potjemayo]

Where are the Deltawerken ? its one of the worlds largest infrastructure projects and is considered a modern world wonder by the ASCE.

[Baamtheth]

#5 ? Why ? You already have the Three Gorges dam which is way more impressive on the list.

[bolwarracolt]

Hey Talltanic..
Did you like at least one project ?

[PacoOtis]

Thanks for the video! We Americans sure do like intrusive background music but you might ponder how much benefit it is. Again, thanks for the video and best of luck!

[synergy]

good grief the music is distracting and putting me to sleep at the same time.

[thomas]

That ship Ferrell wheel moving the ship to another close Chanel. Is impressive, Probably diffrent water heights.

[samirlekiller]

The smile that came across my face when number one had Canada labeled across it gave me the greatest pride in my country and in humanity

[patcoston]

Unsubscribed for giving too much false information and over exaggeration just to make things sound more impressive.

[jasperextercatte]

the largest manmade islan is not THE PALM ISLANDS IT IS FLEVOLAND IN THE NETHERLANDS