During the Apollo program, NASA created physical copies of rockets that were able to help engineers solve technical problems when an oxygen tank exploded. These early on-paper models led to the development of the digital twin, a way of having a computer-based platform that can mirror a physical product. And now the aerospace industry is developing digital triplets. Aviation Week Network Defense Editor Steve Trimble explains the history and sheds light on where the technology has been and where it is headed. | 
