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Air & Space Magazine

An F-22 Raptor pilot lines up his aircraft March 31, 2011, to be refueled by a KC-135 Stratotanker. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Raptor!

No pain at this pump.

Surviving the Hindenburg

Hindenburg: The Untold Story focuses on the investigation that followed in the wake of the tragedy

Some got flown shuttles, some got mockups like this one at the Johnson Space Center. Will the crowds gather either way?

Shuttle Shuffle

Winners and losers in the game of “who gets the orbiters”

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden leads the STS-133 crew to media representatives waiting on the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida to hear statements about space shuttle Discovery's final spaceflight mission. The STS-133 crew returned to Earth at 11:57 a.m. on Runway 15, completing a 13-day, 5.3-million-mile mission to the International Space Station. STS-133 delivered the Permanent Multipurpose Module, packed with supplies and critical spare parts, as well as Robonaut 2, the dexterous humanoid astronaut helper, to the orbiting outpost. STS-133 was Discovery's 39th and final mission. This was the 133rd Space Shuttle Program mission and the 35th shuttle voyage to the space station. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

It’s Discovery

We’re going to Hazy land!

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Yuri’s Day

Recommended readings on the 50th anniversary of Gagarin’s flight.

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A Rationale for Cislunar Space

At a recent workshop on lunar return, a critical part of the discussion focused on the need for a statement of purpose – a value proposition for the Moon. 

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The Victory of Advertising

Just two years after the Japanese air attack on Pearl Harbor, more than 475,000 women would help to manufacture aircraft for the war effort

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Euro Hawk

With its hands over its ears.

Found: Air France Flight 447

Move over UAV, and make room for the AUV

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GOCE

Gravity. Brought to you in Technicolor.

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A Handshake (and a Movie) Before You Go

The Soyuz TMA-21 crew is scheduled to blast off for the International Space Station this evening, with NASA astronaut Ron Garan and two rookie cosmonauts

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Spread Your Wings

A blend of this and that.

The Royal Air Force's Brize Norton base tests out virtual parachuting

Parachuting in Virtual Reality

An addendum to the British Air Force’s regular jump routine

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You Can’t Always Get What You Want (but if you try some time, you might find … you get what you need)

A plan for a human mission to a near Earth object designed by engineers from Georgia Tech and the National Institute for Aerospace was posted online

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The Night I Owned Dulles

I’ve never heard this clearance anytime before or since: “You are cleared to do anything you want, on any runway you want, for as long as you want.”

ISS and space shuttle Discovery STS-133) orbiting together on what was Discovery's final flyover over Pacific Grove and the Monterey peninsula.

Wingmen

Flying in formation one last time.

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Robo-Gull

Wow. Aviation pioneer Otto Lilienthal would have loved this. German automation company Festo has built a “SmartBird” modeled on the herring gull that, according to the company, can take off, fly, and land autonomously—just by flapping its wings.The design features a number of innovations, including…

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Globalstars

Anybody order a couple billion dollars worth of satellites?

Finney's story may have involved Civil War time travelers, but that didn't stop him from checking his facts.

Stealing the Wright Flyer

Back in 1951, sci-fi author Jack Finney had a few questions for the Smithsonian, like: How exactly would someone break in?

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Andromeda

Astronomers keep peeling back the layers.

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