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Air & Space Magazine

The call of the sky is strong in Kitty Hawk. Not far from where the Wright brothers first flew, student Hannah Zobel glides over sand dunes after a lesson with Luke Robinson (running) of Kitty Hawk Kites hang gliding school.

Born in the 1960s, The Sport of Hang Gliding Still Hangs On

It may not be as popular as it once was, but its fans say it is still the purest form of flight.

In 2011, smoke on and flying for the fun of it, David Martin climbs out over Possum Kingdom Lake, in his CAP 232.

This Record-Setting Pilot Flew 1,826 Days in a Row

Airshow star David Martin always wondered what it would be like to fly every day.

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Which of These Will Win Your Vote for Airplane of the Year?

Behind every vintage airplane is a story. Pick your favorite and cast your ballot until September 14.

A rendering of the 363-foot Saturn V projection

Apollo 11 Rocket Will Be Projected Onto the Washington Monument to Mark 50th Anniversary of Moon Landing

The immersive experience will also feature a 17-minute show combining full-motion projection-mapping artwork and archival footage

The Giant Pacific Octopus relies on its tentacles for cognition. Might an alien do the same?

What’s New in Astrobiology

Progress on many fronts, and one very exciting future mission

Ross Franquemont's photo, which took first prize in the Astronomy category of our Fifth Photo Contest, was taken from a U-2 flying at 70,000 feet above Madras, Oregon.

Think Your Eclipse Photos Are Cool? Look at These, Taken From a U-2

It helps when your camera platform is a Dragon Lady, but it’s still not an easy shot to capture.

Dragonfly will explore dozens of locations across the icy moon

NASA’s Dragonfly Mission Will Fly Through the Clouds of Titan, Saturn’s Biggest Moon

Over the course of its initial 2.7-year mission exploring Titan, the dual-quadcopter will fly a combined total of more than 108 miles

The Solar Dynamics Observatory caught this image of a solar flare in progress on September 10, 2017.

Yet Another Looming Disaster

Solar “superflares” could bring down our wired civilization.

Though photons do not have mass, they do transfer momentum when they reflect off a reflective space sail, giving it a slight boost.

LightSail 2 Launches to Space to Soar on the Power of Sunshine

The Planetary Society’s second solar sail will attempt to use sunlight to fly through space

Margery Durant and Ariel, circa 1931.

The “Air-minded” Socialite

In 1931, Margery Durant decided to share her love of aviation by embarking on a round-the-world flight.

NASA plans to send small landers to the moon first, followed by astronauts by 2024.

All Eyes on the Moon

Our next-door neighbor—and NASA’s next destination—is also a great target for astrobiology.

The Apollo 1 astronauts—(opposite, from left) Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee—perished in a fire during a pre-flight test on January 27, 1967.

32 Astronauts, 11 Flights

Meet the people who put their lives on the line to reach the moon.

Thanks to geologist Farouk El-Baz (right), the astronauts in lunar orbit knew just what they were looking at, and we can all touch a moon rock 50 years later.

Twenty People Who Made Apollo Happen

Not all of them became famous.

Before the Gemini astronauts practiced rendezvous and docking in space, they rehearsed in the Rendezvous Docking Simulator at the Langley Research Center. In this multiple exposure, a mock-up of the Gemini craft, supported in a gimbal system by an overhead crane, approaches the Agena target.

Giant Steps to the Moon

Milestones on a perilously complex journey.

After a test of its Draper navigation system, a Masten Space Systems rocket, the Xombie, descends to a vertical landing in Mojave. Masten hopes to begin lunar landings starting in 2021.

The Return to the Moon With Robots

Little landers built by private companies are leading the way back.

Paratroopers of the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division preparing for their mission on D-Day on the evening of June 5th/6th, 1944.

D-Day Stories

The Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944 changed the course of World War II.

Paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st airborne prepare to jump over Normandy on June 6, 1944.

What It Was Like

Four stories from the Normandy invasion.

B-24 pilots mark the time for the Allied invasion of the northern coast of France.

The Only Bombers To Hit Their Marks on D-Day

On June 6, 1944, 300 Martin B-26 Marauders struck the Cherbourg peninsula, low-level and on time.

Sputnik Planitia on Pluto, as seen by New Horizons.

Pluto: Another Abode for Life?

Icy worlds might be more habitable than previously thought.

That’s All, Brother was within weeks of being torn apart when it was identified as the C-47 that led the D-Day invasion. Now the airplane is headed to England to once again lead a squadron of C-47s across the Channel for the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

That’s All, Brother

A last-minute reprieve for a D-Day veteran.

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