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Air & Space Magazine

A computational fluid dynamics image shows how air would behave when Rocketplane XP flies at 2.74 times the speed of sound; red is high pressure, blue is low.

The O Prize

Will Rocketplane launch spacecraft from Oklahoma?

Throughout his life, Soviet space designer Mikhail Tikhonravov (left) never got the credit or acclaim accorded to Sergei Korolev, his friend. Ten years before they launched the world's first satellite, the two paused in front of a bust of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, considered the father of cosmonautics.

The Man Behind the Curtain

Space czar Sergei Korolev won fame for the launch of Sputnik, but a more modest genius deserves the credit.

From the door and emergency exits of a China Eastern Airlines Airbus A330-300, evacuation slides are deployed. The fully inflated slide is 31 feet long.

How Things Work: Evacuation Slides

De-plane in the fast lane

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In the Shadow of the Moon

David Sington’s newest documentary is all about the Apollo astronauts.

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Make Your Own X-15

Download and build your own paper model.

The North American X-15 in flight.

X-15 Walkaround

A short guide to the fastest airplane ever.

A mid-level solar flare.

What’s the radiation risk from airline flying?

The higher you fly, the higher it gets

The B-17 Memphis Belle.

WWII: A Reader’s Guide to the Air War

Our pick of the best books and memoirs on World War II aviation.

Inconel X, a ferociously strong nickel alloy, gives the X-15 its gun-metal black color. Inconel was chosen for the airplane's skin because it retained its strength up to 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature the X-15 would routinely experience at high speeds.

Why We Miss the X-15

Not only was it the fastest. It may have been the best flight research program ever.

The Spirit rover may be smaller than the proposed Mars Science Laboratory, but at least it's on Mars.

Suggestion: Stop Improving

Why does every Mars mission have to be better than the last?

Laika’s Tale

Fifty years after her flight, a graphic novel recounts the saga of the first dog in orbit.

Jay Barbree (left)and Gus Grissom around the time of the astronaut's Gemini 3 flight in 1965.

Before the Fire

Veteran space reporter Jay Barbree recalls Apollo’s darkest day.

The world's largest airliner, the Airbus A380, makes its first commercial flight.

The A380 Arrives

The world’s largest airliner, the Airbus A380, makes its first commercial flight.

China's Chang'e 1 spacecraft heads for lunar orbit.

Chinese Moon

China’s Chang’e 1 spacecraft heads for lunar orbit.

Maunder Crater, as seen by Europe's Mars Express spacecraft.

Martian Highlands

Maunder Crater, as seen by Europe’s Mars Express spacecraft.

A scene from this year's airshow at Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina.

Shock Effect

A scene from this year’s airshow at Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina.

NASA tests a parachute for its new moon rocket.

First Steps

NASA tests a parachute for its new moon rocket.

The airplane that ushered in the jet age.

The Dash 80

The airplane that ushered in the jet age.

The first radio observatory built for SETI turns on and tunes in.

Listen Up

The first radio observatory built for SETI turns on and tunes in.

Cassini views Enceladus in July 2005.

Thar She Blows

Saturn’s ice-covered moon Enceladus spouts off.

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