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Air & Space Magazine

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SUMO on the Snow

Scientists studying the Antarctic atmosphere use small radio-controlled planes, like the Small Unmanned Meteorological Observer (SUMO), above, which has a wingspan of just over 30 inches. Read more about flying UAVs around the south pole for science in this March 2014 article in The Antarctic Sun.

Say hello to my little friend: 2012 VP 113 is caught moving against a background of stars in three images (red, green, blue), each taken two hours apart.

A New Dwarf Planet, and Maybe Something More

A discovery at the solar system’s edge revives the possibility of a mysterious Planet X.

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Alaskan Aurora

Single-celled organisms may look simple, but they require some pretty advanced chemistry.

A New Clue to the Origin of Life

To get biology you need enzymes, but where did enzymes come from?

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Stars Over the Trona Pinnacles

Engineers have been experimenting with ramjets since the 1930s. From top: The French Leduc 0.10, test flown in 1949; the Boeing X-51 Waverider, which flew in 2009; the Rockwell X-30 NASP, cancelled before it could fly.

The Ramjet and the Rocket

If someone ever comes up with a need to fly at Mach 6, this 1990s technology could be the answer.

Image of the southern sky in the far ultraviolet, taken by the first astronomical telescope on the Moon, Apollo 16 mission, April, 1972.

The Promise of Astronomy on the Moon

Thirty years ago it was a good idea, and it still is today.

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Spring in Japan

In 1918 France, the 13th Aero Squadron painted a skeleton on the side of their SPAD, a stark reminder of their own mortality.

Luck and Death: WWI Pilots and their Superstitions

Cheating the Grim Reaper at the dawn of aerial combat.

In 1911, Starling Burgess towed one of his early aircraft from his seaside Massachusetts factory to an air meet at Squantum field, outside Quincy. Squantum would become known as the place where Harriet Quimby fell to her death from a Blériot in 1912.

The Most Talented Aviation Pioneer You’ve Never Heard of

Starling Burgess beat the Wright brothers at their own game.

The DP-2 caught the interest of the Marines, who hoped a version would replace their antiquated Sea Knight helicopters.

The Puzzle of Vertical Takeoff

Followed by the failure of vertical landing.

Only a handful of Nieuport 28s survive (one is in the National Air and Space Museum), but there are many replicas today. Chuck Wentworth flies one built by a former Hollywood stunt pilot.

Q: What Fighter Pilot Used Gum on His Windscreen as a Gunsight?

The answer* is in a new Air & Space trivia book, guaranteed to win your bar bets.

The Old Bolds outside their favorite eatery in Oceanside, California.

Tales of the Old, Bold Pilots

In Oceanside, California, veteran fliers swap stories over breakfast.

Moments before she took off from the Port of Columbus Airport on her 1964 flight, Mock posed in front of Three-Eight Charlie, also known as the Spirit of Columbus. According to her memoir, Mock wore her “blue, drip-dry outfit” throughout the flight.

Where Amelia Earhart Tried, Geraldine Mock Succeeded

The 88-year-old pioneer recounts her solo flight around the world in 1964.

Rosetta will begin mapping comet 67 P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in August of this year.

Rosetta the Comet Chaser

A European spacecraft is about to make history’s first landing on a comet.

JP Aerospace’s “high rack”—a rig with cameras fins, and antennas, delivers another bunch of “Pongsat” experiments to near-space.

To Space (Okay, Near-Space) in a Balloon

A little company dreams of replacing rocket power with buoyancy.

Mesa County deputy Derek Johnson launches a Falcon. The sheriff’s office uses UAVs mainly for crime scene photography and search-and-rescue.

Will Drones Be the Next Police Cars?

Law enforcement prepares for its newest rookies.

Luca Parmitano pauses outside the space station on his first spacewalk. A week later, things were a lot more hectic.

The Spacewalk That Almost Killed Him

How Luca Parmitano survived the scariest wardrobe malfunction in NASA history.

The Day I Flunked Out of Air Traffic Control School

When Reagan fired air traffic controllers in 1981, replacements had to be found. Not everyone who tried out made the cut.

The author (in sunglasses), and with navigator Rex Whitney (inset, left) and gunner Hugh Dunwoodie (center). The A-26/B-26 went on to fly in three wars.

“I Wasn’t Controlling the Aircraft. The Storm Was.”

Tossing and turning, 8,000 feet over the Pacific, in 1945.

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