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Air & Space Magazine

Winning runs in the family.

Meet the First Family of Air Racing

Steve and Steven Hinton will be on hand at the National Air and Space Museum on Tuesday to talk about their winning ways at Reno

Photo and caption by Robert Turchick (Mesa, Arizona). Photographed on December 1, 2012, Glendale, Arizona.

Showdown: My Canon vs. His Cannon!

Photo and caption by Emily McFalls (Glimanton, New Hampshire). Photographed on July 1, 2013, Pittsfield, New Hampsire.

Hot Air Balloon in the Morning

This infrared image taken by the Cassini spacecraft shows the surface underneath Titan's hazy atmosphere. According to NASA, "The dark features are believed to be vast dunes of hydrocarbon particles that precipitated out of Titan's atmosphere." Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Seeing Through the Haze of Titan

Cassini gets a glimpse of Saturn’s moon’s surface.

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The Age of Low-Cost Earth Imagery From Space is About to Begin

Two new cameras head for orbit, with another constellation of Earth-viewing cubesats on deck.

Thirty-five years before the space shuttles were ferried to their retirement homes, the test shuttle Enterprise was ferried up into the sky above California and dropped to make sure the glider could find its way home from space. Image: San Diego Air and Space Museum / Frank Stetz Special Collection

Shuttle Drop

Enterprise glides back to Edwards Air Force Base

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JFK and the Moon

Was President Kennedy a reluctant spacefarer?

This "elephant walk" of 22 aircraft at the Travis Air Force Base in California includes seven C-17 Globemaster IIIs, 11 KC-10 Extenders, and four C-5B Galaxies and redubbed a "freedom launch" as they took-off on September 11, 2013. Image: U.S. Air Force photo by Ken Wright

Cargo Ships All The Way Down

The U.S. Air Force performs a “freedom launch.”

Annette Koolsbergen FINALIST: People & Places Category Movie Makers come to re-enact for history media shoot with Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum Lancaster. Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, Ontario, Canada • Photographed October 2012 "I am a volunteer photographer for the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum," says Koolsbergen, "where this Avro Lancaster X is owned and operated. It is the only 'Lanc' in the world that the public can fly in, and actually experience. This photograph was taken during a history media shoot."

1st Annual Photo Contest: People & Planes

The 2013 contest is now closed

Dave Tripp FINALIST: Military Category USAF F-15 turning hard in WalesSnowdonia National Park, Wales • Photographed October 2012 "This photograph was taken on my first visit to The Mach Loop," says Tripp, "where low-level flying is practiced by NATO air forces. [Aircraft fly] 500 knots at 500 feet—or less."

1st Annual Photo Contest: Military

Jerrold Wu FINALIST: Civilian Category The aerodynamic effect of this approach-configured A330 shows water trailing off the fuselage and wings during a heavy afternoon downpour. The relatively bright horizon silhouetted the aircraft and its veil of rain all the way to touchdown. Changi Airport, Singapore • Photographed December 2012 "Thunderstorms are typical on any given December afternoon in Singapore," says Wu, "but this storm developed so quickly it caught me off guard. I managed to find a bus stop (which happened to be located under the approach path of runway 20R) for some much-needed shelter. As the downpour intensified, aircraft began leaving distinct trails of water streaming off the wings and fuselage."

First Annual Photo Contest Finalists: Civilian Category

Matt Cashore FINALIST: Spacecraft Category The Space Shuttle discovery on display in the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Virginia • Photographed September 2012 "I visited the Udvar-Hazy Center while I was in the Washington, D.C. area on other business," says Cashore. "It was my first time seeing a space shuttle up close, and I was more impressed with its size than I thought I would be. The symmetry of the grid-work on the ceiling caught my eye, so I tried laying flat on my back on the floor. Luckily the museum wasn't busy at the time."

1st Annual Photo Contest: Spacecraft

The 2013 contest is now closed

The Boeing 707 SAM 26000 flew Presidents Kennedy to Clinton.

November 22, 1963: Air Force One’s Worst Day

Inside the president’s airplane in the frantic hours after JFK’s assassination

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How Many High School Kids Can Say They’ve Watched Their Own Satellite Launch into Orbit?

Meet the team behind the TJ3SAT.

"Martian Thunderbird" is NASA's great name for this feature on Mars. Taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, this image shows the result of "a low-angle impact from an asteroid or comet." Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

Martian Thunderbird

Something left its mark on Mars’ surface.

With enough lead time, DE-STAR could vaporize a half-kilometer asteroid before it hits Earth.

A Starship Engine and an Asteroid Killer—In One Handy Package

DE-STAR would tackle two of humanity’s biggest challenges.

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MAVEN Heads for Mars

Its goal: to help scientists understand why the Martian atmosphere all but disappeared.

This photo, now at the San Diego Air and Space Museum, is from the collection of Mort Brown, the chief test pilot for Cessna from 1937 to 1972. This is the first C-37 off the line; the model was an updated version of the company's award-winning C-34. Image: Mort Brown Special Collection

Cessna Testing

The C-37 goes for its first spin.

The California Air National Guard has been hard at work this fire season. Here the 129th Rescue Wing drop water on the Rim Fire near Yosemite last August. Image: U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Ed Drew

Water Delivery

The California Air National Guard had their work cut out for them this fire season.

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A6M2 Zero

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