Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Air & Space Magazine

A Florida conservation team uses a Nova, developed by the University of Florida, to help count endangered manatees.

AUSVI tested over 500 drones at their Las Vegas conference.

The newest eyes in the sky are drawing the attention of power companies, conservation groups, and the ACLU.

“There are many Beech twins, but only one Twin Beech,” in the words of Model 18 owner Enrico Bottieri.

Pilots and Fans Dedicated to Prolonging the Stardom of the Beech 18

About 50 or less remain available for commercial use worldwide.

DAR Jon Ross checks an RV-4’s innards.

Pilots Spend A Great Deal of Time Building An Airplane in Hopes of Receiving a Pink Certificate

Inventive design or fatal flaw? On a homebuilt airplane, one person makes the call.

The squadron pilots pose on Valley Forge in July 1952, with 13 flight helmets for their fallen colleagues. Among the survivors are Cleland (back row, middle), Edinger (to his immediate left), and Balser (to Cleland’s right).

The Ordeal of VF-653

From a Navy Reserve pilot’s letters home, a picture of the darkest days of the Korean War.

Fifty thousand years ago, the mile-wide Meteor Crater was formed when a meteorite 150 feet across smacked into Arizona. Is another like it headed our way?

These NASA Alums Want to Build A Spacecraft to Protect Earth, and You Can Help

The B612 Foundation hopes to neutralize the asteroid threat.

Henry Enerson, a University of Maryland freshman who runs track, is both lightweight and strong, which makes him an ideal powerplant for Gamera II.

University of Maryland Students Close in On The Human-Powered Helicopter Prize

Gamera is one of the few unusually made helicopters to have left ground.

After six failures - success: Although Ranger 5 cartwheeled into solar orbit, Ranger 7 delivered the goods.

The Ranger Series of Space Probes Finally Succeeded — On the Seventh Try

Did President John F. Kennedy’s speech in 1962 create a spark?

When elevator is in up position to climb, the trim tab is neutral. The trim tab adjusted down keeps the airplane in a stable climb.

How Things Work: Trim Tabs

Small control surfaces make a big difference

None

Awaiting New Year’s Dawn

Let’s take one last look at Earth at night in 2012.

None

How Are Places On The Moon Named?

The rules for naming features on the Moon are simple, but not always logical.

None

Stormy With a Chance of Gravity Waves

This week’s storm provides some interesting cloud formations.

None

Chapeau by Blériot

In the winter of 1909, chic Parisians sported Blériot, Antoinette, and Voisin biplanes on their heads.

None

Safe Travels

A nicely lit airport holiday scene. 

A Note From Ho Chi Minh

In 1968, in the midst of war, Apollo 8 offered a glimmer of hope and humanity

None

No More Mr. Ice Guy

Developed for frozen wastelands, ESA’s CryoSat is equally at home over the tropics.

None

New Team to the ISS

The Soyuz launches from Kazhakstan today.

Who knows what secrets were passed between feathered operatives?

Spy Pigeons

Unlikely soldiers during World War II: more than 250,000 pigeons were deployed by the British

None

Record-Breaking Sky Lights

A city released floating lanterns to raise awareness for disabled workers. 

 

The Mariner 2 team at Cape Canaveral, shortly before launch. Jack James is marked by an arrow at right.

The First Planetary Explorers

The day a JPL team overcame the odds and pulled off the first visit to another planet

None

Spying on Volcanoes

A composite image from space shows how a Russian volcano is erupting.

Page 150 of 320