The misconception that I wanted to address when making this infographic was the common idea that the space program and industry in the United States is not as great as it once was. This may be true for government programs like NASA. But the Commercial and Private sectors here in the US are just getting started over the past couple of years. SpaceX, owned by the worlds now richest person Elon Musk, is making the most noise if you have been keeping up with the industry. I think this infographic helps show how the space industry here in the US is at its prime by using the graphs and visual references to show just how much things have grown over the years from licenses given out by the FAA to yearly launches. My infographic shows the main ideas through the bar graph, pie chart, and differently sized icons to show the increase, decrease, or ownership in their respective categories. Then there are text boxes to provide more detailed information if the viewer chooses to read it. I tried to use as many visuals as possible like we discussed in class to make the infographic visually organized and also visually appealing to easily gain information through looking instead of reading. I am most proud of the topic and information given in my project. I am a big big big fan of the space industry and I feel like interest has really died from what it once used to be so I am very happy I got the opportunity to try and give some cool information to my classmates through this project. What this project taught me the most about data visualization, digital research, and infographics is that it is very easily to accidentally (or purposely) manipulate information to say what you want it to say. So for me it was very difficult to find accurate sources for my graph and pie chart which required me to do a lot more digital research than expected. This also goes along with the research aspect and what we have been discussing in class, it is easy to stumble across some sort of fake news and not even realize it at first. This risk can really throw off your information and data if you are not careful enough with it.
Jerritt Gutierrez's Blog - Writing in a Digital Age 
I loved your infographic! Your data was clear, the layout was clean, and it was aesthetically pleasing (those little rocket ships are adorable). I don’t know a lot about space but this was a really cool way of learning more about it. When did you start becoming a fan of the space industry? Did Stellar Explorers have anything to do with it?
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