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Air & Space Magazine

A new access arm for astronauts connects to the Crew Dragon vehicle atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral's storied Pad 39-A.

2019: What’s Ahead in Space

First-time exploration of the Kuiper Belt, and a race to the moon.

A large impact ejects lots of material into space, and at least some of those rocks may contain life.

It Came From the Heavens

New research supports the idea that life can spread from one world to another.

The supernova that formed the Crab Nebula (portrait by the Hubble Space Telescope) was fairly recent, but not as deadly, perhaps, as explosions in the distant past.

Were Muons to Blame for a Mass Extinction More Than Two Million Years Ago?

Supernova explosions could have far-reaching consequences for life on Earth, but probably not in this case.

Audio announcements broadcast in rooms with a length greater than five times the width have noticeable echoes. Add hard floors and lots of background noise, and the audio will be further distorted.

The War on Annoying Airport Announcements

The quest for quieter airport terminals continues.

From Countdown: 2979 Days to the Moon, written by Suzanne Slade, illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez.

Best Children’s Books of 2018

The year’s best aviation- and space-themed books for young readers.

It's a big Universe out there.

Adopting a Non-Earthcentric View

One of many ways astrobiology progressed over the last decade

Before the 1936 air races, Louise Thaden waited in the cockpit of a borrowed Beechcraft, which she described as a “trim, blue princess.”

Fly Girls

During aviation’s golden age, female pilots struggled to participate.

Jennifer and John Avery flew the Northrop B-2 as active-duty pilots in the U.S. Air Force before flying the bomber in the Air National Guard, from which they retired as lieutenant colonels last September. Jennifer is the first woman to fly the B-2, and the only woman to fly the aircraft in combat (during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003).

Meet the Averys, the Couple Who Flew the B-2 Bomber

How was your day at work, dear?

If we could see our own galaxy in its entirety, as we see NGC 6744, a twin galaxy 30 million light years away, measuring the Milky Way’s mass would be easy. But we see it from our place in one of its spiral arms and must invent new ways of calculating all the mass we cannot see.

How to Weigh a Galaxy

Hint: Consult its neighbors.

The futuristic art above won’t become real for the commercial crew missions. Time and money constraints led SpaceX to abandon propulsive landing for its Crew Dragon.

How to Land a Spaceship

The new U.S. astronaut taxis won’t roll to a gentle stop.

Throughout the Mekong Delta, a Slick’s mission was to deliver troops and supplies.

Easter Sunday at Vinh Long

From a long war, veterans of the 175th Assault Helicopter Company will never forget one awful day.

“Earthrise” by Jon Ramer reimagines “Earthrise” by Bill Anders (right). Ramer’s “dot art,” a style he learned from aboriginal Australians, is acrylic on gessoed masonite.

Earthrise, Reprised

Artists celebrate the 50th anniversary of the planet’s most famous portrait.

George Low “was good at everything,” recalled another legendary Apollo manager, Bob Gilruth. “He was worth about 10 men.”

The Man Who Won the Moon Race

George Low’s idea to shoot for the moon in 1968 may have been Apollo’s boldest decision.

A Petrel (top) and a Kite: In October 2017, two Slingsby gliders owned by an antique airplane museum soared above Oregon’s Hood River Valley.

A Petrel’s Strange Journey

Why a rare British sailplane survived.

Daniel Juzi, in a Quest Kodiak 100, has flown in Afghanistan since 1997.

Afghan Air

Corruption. Terrain. Goats on the runway. Everything conspires against civil aviation in Afghanistan.

The Clementine model, its interstage and solid rocket motor (bottom half) were discarded before insertion into lunar orbit.

Clementine Pointed the Way to a Lunar Return

In the 1990s, this modest lunar orbiter found out what the moon is made of.

Astronauts Story Musgrave (on the robotic arm) and Jeffrey A. Hoffman were part of STS-61, the first of five servicing missions that extended Hubble’s life.

Hubble Survived an Emergency Last July. But How Long Can It Keep Going?

Oh, my aching gyros.

Perhaps the most attractive quality of Boeing and Saab’s T-X trainer production was the price tag: $9.2 billion—half what the U.S. Air Force estimated the program would cost.

The T-38 Talon Finally Gets a Replacement

The Air Force picks its new trainer.

The gravitational waves created by this “cello” may be tiny, but they’ll travel at light speed—perhaps to alien ears.

Musical Instruments for Extraterrestrials

Gamma ray bells? A gravitational cello? This instrument maker starts by assuming his listeners aren’t human.

Hal Shelton’s 1949 map of United Air Lines’ Denver-Chicago route.

Mapping the Transcontinental Route for United Air Lines

Hal Shelton’s natural-color maps of the United States gave air travelers a whole new way to see the country.

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