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Air & Space Magazine

Peterson's M2-F2 after the crash.

A Historic Crash and its Legacy

The real “Six Million Dollar Man”

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Enter the Firebird

Northrop Grumman has entered a new vehicle in the red-hot field of military reconnaissance with its Firebird UAV, built by Scaled Composites. And this one can fly with or without a pilot.According to the company’s press release, the Firebird is a versatile spy plane: it can return high-definition v…

AFIE -- Structural Maintenance Tech. Sgt. Kevin Ponton, examines the wing surface of a B-2 Spirit Bomber at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada on Oct. 21st. Ponton is a member of the 509th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. He and several other personnel from Whiteman were sent on temporary duty to Nellis to maintain the B-2 Spirit Bombers that are participating in EXERCISE Red Flag 04-01. Red Flags are war exercises that allow combat aircrews training in the most realistic simulated war environment possible. (U.S. Air Force photo by MSgt Michael R. Nixon) Released. VIRIN: 031021-F-3356N-010

Spirit

Just another day at the office.

Part of a damaged helicopter is seen lying near the compound after U.S. Navy SEAL commandos killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad.

Helo With a Halo

The mysterious stealth chopper U.S. Navy SEALs left behind

Virgil Tracy (foreground) flanked by bro Gordon (orange sash), and engineer "Brains" (who designs the team's equipment).

Thunderbirds Are Go!

Relive the classic TV show at the Royal Air Force Museum

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50 Years of Spaceflight

Honoring the Pioneers, From Gagarin to Shepard to Yang Liwei

Shepard’s Shot

The first American spaceflight was a triumph—for an astronaut and for a nation.

United States Postal Service Vice President of Finance Steve Masse, left, and NASA Mercury Astronaut Scott Carpenter, unveil two USPS stamps to commemorate and celebrate 50 years of US Spaceflight and the MESSENGER program during an event, Wednesday, May 4, 2011 at the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. One stamp commemorates NASA’s Project Mercury, America’s first manned spaceflight program, and NASA astronaut Alan Shepard’s historic flight on May 5, 1961, aboard spacecraft Freedom 7. The other stamp draws attention to NASA’s unmanned MESSENGER mission, a scientific investigation of the planet Mercury. On March 17, 2011, MESSENGER became the first spacecraft to enter into orbit around Mercury. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Mercuries

Sending a spaceflight message.

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Who’s short-sighted?

Apollo 17 Commander Eugene Cernan recently voiced his doubts and concerns over the future of the human spaceflight program

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So You Want to Live on Mars? Really?

A one-way trip would test our dedication to the idea of settling the Red Planet.

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About Those Sleeping Air Traffic Controllers

It wasn’t as dire or life-threatening as some reports led you to believe.

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JSF

It offers a Grand view.

The testing vacuum chamber, containing the 50kW VASIMR.

VASIMR: Still Hot

The future of rocket propulsion

Ready for its closeup: The first demilitarized Global Hawk debuts in 2009 at NASA’s Dryden center in California, where scientists will use it to study hurricanes, pollution, and other atmospheric disturbances.

“That’s Professor Global Hawk”

A remote-piloted warrior starts flying for science.

It lacks the glamour of Canaveral, but for Cal State students, an engine test stand in the desert beats the classroom.

The Mojave Launch Lab

A community of alternative rocketeers who may one day dominate the space biz.

The Lockheed U-2 ushered in a new age of spying and new requirements for photo interpretation.

Project Equine

…And the high-tech horse it rode in on.

Its initials stand for Scout Experimental, but the S.E.5a was one of the most effective fighters of World War I.

Biplanes and Us

25 years later, it’s a complicated relationship.

When they weren’t operating Norden bombsights (center), B-25 nose gunner/bombardiers enjoyed splendid views.

Take a Ride in a B-25

From engine fumes to exhilaration, here’s what to expect

Italy’s military precision jet team, Frecce Tricolori (“Tricolor Arrows”), performs over Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

1986

The year we were born.

Air Force Thunderbird pilot Nicole Malachowski, the first woman to fly with a U.S. military high-performance demonstration team.

What Were They Doing at 25?

Some were already heroes. Others were nowhere near where you would have expected them to be.

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