We all remember sitting outside on a warm July night waiting for the fireworks to start. But this year one company decided to celebrate America a whole different way. They sent 2,500 drones into the night sky over Texas, and what those little lights painted up there told the story of a nation.
The show came from a Texas company called Sky Elements, and it was put on to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, which the country marked this Fourth of July.
The History of America Lights Up the Sky
When those 2,500 drones first lifted off, they looked like a swarm of blinking stars rising out of the field. Then all at once they snapped into formation.
A giant bald eagle appeared, flapping its wings across the darkness. The eagle came first for a reason. It is the national symbol of America, standing for freedom, strength and the independent spirit this country was built on.
Then the lights shifted and formed the face of George Washington. What a sight that must have been for the people standing below. It honored the leadership that carried this country through the Revolutionary War.
After that came Uncle Sam in his tall top hat, a symbol that reminded generations of everyday Americans to stand strong in hard times.
Next the sky took us back to the 1940s, filling with World War II fighter planes spinning through the air, with little red drone lights spinning like propellers. We owe so much to that generation. They gave everything so their children and grandchildren could live free.
And then came my favorite part. A huge rocket blasted off right there in the sky, with columns of orange light pouring out the bottom like real fire. It ended with two astronauts shaking hands on the surface of a glowing moon.
It clearly showed the achievements of this nation in space, and just how far this country came in 200 years.
How Did It Work?
When I saw this incredible drone show, the first thought that came into my mind was how do these thousands of drones not collide with each other? So I went looking for the story behind the scenes.
We might think these 2,500 drones are controlled by at least a few hundred people on the ground. But actually the entire fleet is flown by one single pilot sitting at a computer. Each drone is tracked by a special kind of GPS that knows its position down to a couple of centimeters.
Before the show, animators spend weeks designing every shape on a computer. The hardest part is not the pictures. It is the transitions.
The computer has to plan a safe path for every drone so they do not crash into each other while moving from one image to the next. And they are racing the clock too. Those bright lights drain the batteries fast, so the whole show has to finish in about 10 to 15 minutes.
Sky Elements ran over 90 shows across the nation during the holiday week, but they saved this giant 2,500-drone fleet for this special milestone.
As I read about this show, I could not help but think of the heavens themselves. Long before we ever put lights in the sky, God filled it with stars, and every one of them declares His glory. Man’s drone shows last 15 minutes. God’s show has been running every single night since the beginning.
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.” Psalm 19:1 NKJV
WATCH: 2,500 Drones Tell the Story of America’s 250 Years Over the Texas Sky
