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Air & Space Magazine

Up above 96 percent of the atmosphere, Felix Baumgartner prepares for a 13.5-mile test jump. This summer he’ll leap from nearly twice as high.

The 120,000-Foot Leap

Can space-diver Felix Baumgartner break the sound barrier without breaking his neck?

The 787 composite airframe has been subjected to extreme temperatures ranging from –65 to 165 degrees Fahrenheit (at Eglin Air Force Base.)

Inside Boeing’s 787 Factory

The Dreamliner’s quiet revolution

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Cancelled: Vertical Flyer

The Coléoptère was one weird-looking aircraft.

TacSat-2 launching in 2006.

Hurry-Up Satellites

These Pentagon mavericks want to launch spacecraft within a week of taking the order. Wish them luck.

Within months of its first flight, the Skyrocket II (designer August Bellanca with the prototype in Delaware, 2002) set five world speed records in its class.

Making a Smoother (and Speedier) Airplane

Within months of its first flight, August Bellanca’s Skyrocket II set five world speed records.

Will Whiteside’s Yak-3U SteadFast, instrumented to send GPS-based data to a National Aeronautic Association ground station, climbs through 10,000 feet in pursuit of world records.

A New Time-to-Climb Record

A Yak 3U gets to 10,000 feet in 125 seconds.

My Other Vehicle Was a Spacecraft

Now that the space shuttle has retired, astronauts are rediscovering the joys of flying airplanes

Piggyback Airplanes

Ten of aviation’s most famous hitch-hikers

An ominous cloud of smoke from the Waldo Canyon Fire rises from the south behind the Air Force Academy's Cadet Chapel as cadets head for a briefing on evacuation procedures June 27, 2012. The Academy evacuated more than 600 families and 110 dormitory residents from the base the evening of June 27. (U.S. Air Force photo/Carol Lawrence)

The Great Waldo Canyon Fire

The U.S. Air Force Academy is only one location threatened by the worst blaze in Colorado history.

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Going Home

How do you spend your last day in space?

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An Ocean on Titan

One of the solar system’s most interesting places just got even more interesting

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Birth of a New Moon

The start of another lunar cycle, as viewed from Space Station.

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An Astronaut’s Guide to Space Etiquette

How to be civilized on the space frontier, Chapter 6: Having company for dinner

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The First Airplane Ad

The first newspaper ad for an airplane appeared 103 years ago today.

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Atlantis, Meet Mir

On June 27, Atlantis left the Earth to become the first shuttle to dock with the Russian space station. 

Spot the Crazy Passenger

Do you ask for exactly three, not four ice cubes in your beverage? Flight attendants might think of you as a problem passenger.

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Carrying the Load

The harness we wear to run on a treadmill in space is sort of like a backpack. But the engineering is way more complicated.

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First Flight for Flying Wing

An experimental bomber took off 66 years ago today.

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A Slice of Time Pie

On Space Station every hour is accounted for, and hardly a minute is wasted. Here’s how my day is divided.

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The Commercial Astronaut Era Begins

Eight years ago, that is, when SpaceShipOne went up 62 miles on a test flight. 

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