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Air & Space Magazine

An artist's conception of NASA's Low-Boom Flight Demonstrator. Coming to a sky near you?

Silence, Please: Lockheed Aims to Build a Quieter Supersonic Airplane

NASA wants to solve the thorniest problem with supersonic flight.

NASA’s Mars 2020 rover is scheduled to start collecting samples for eventual return to Earth within just a few years.

How to Keep Earth Safe From Martian Rocks

It’s a question we’ll have to face before we start returning samples.

“The Barmecide Feast” a recreation by artist Simon Birch, goes on display at the National Air and Space Museum on April 8.

The Bedroom at the End of the Universe

Fifty years after the release of 2001: A Space Odyssey, the recreated set from the film’s climax comes to the National Air and Space Museum.

A Supermarine Spitfire Mk VB flies over the cliffs of Dover on Battle Of Britain Memorial Day, September 15, 2013.

The RAF at 100

To mark this year’s centennial, a collection of stories from our archive.

One of the RemoveDEBRIS tests will snare a cubesat in a net.

SpaceX Cargo Ship Will Carry First Test of Space Debris Cleanup

Which is better for snagging dead satellites, a harpoon or a net? We’ll soon find out.

Jack Dailey in his early days as a Marine aviator.

The Kid in the Corsair Cockpit

Jack Dailey looks back on his flying career.

Radar images of Tiangong-1 taken by the Tracking and Imaging Radar system operated by Germany’s Fraunhofer FHR research institute at Wachtberg, near Bonn. The Chinese station was at an altitude of about 270 km, or 170 miles.

China’s Space Station Will Crash to Earth Within Days

Everyone’s watching to see where Tiangong-1 will re-enter the atmosphere.

Ryan Kobrick conducting range of motion studies in the S.U.I..T Lab.

For Spacesuit Designers, 3-D Beats 2-D

Motion capture software may help engineers improve outerwear for astronauts.

Some day soon, we may be able to quickly scan the Martian surface for signs of life.

Next-Generation Life Detectors Are On the Way

Scientists are coming up with non-destructive, non-contact, and highly efficient ways to look for biology on other worlds.

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2017 Photo Contest Finalists

Our readers took aerospace photography to new heights.

An Ariane 5 rocket launches from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana.

A Tour of Earth’s Spaceports

Will the wagers of a few entrepreneurs yield a golden age in space exploration?

On September 13, 1985, Major Doug Pearson made history when he destroyed a satellite with a missile launched from his F-15.

The First Space Ace

F-15 vs. Satellite

Near Shanghai’s Lungwha field, a pagoda welcomed flights on clear days, but was a hazard in fog.

The Black Christmas Disaster

Zero visibility and four aircraft inbound: It quickly became the worst single day in early commercial aviation.

Purdue storm chaser Andrew Arnold watches a developing supercell in southern Kansas. His 2009 work was part of an earlier VORTEX project, which studied the “tornado alley” storms in the U.S. midwest.

Road Trip: On the Trail of a Tornado

Purdue students are among those trying to determine why tornadoes in the southeast are so deadly.

“Loving old airplanes, I tend to go up to people and ask them if I can help with theirs,” says Rohaise Firth-Butterfield, standing beneath the wing of the Collings Foundation B-24 during its visit to the San Antonio airport.

Rohaise Firth-Butterfield, USAF Reserve Officer Candidate

This young pilot is chasing her dream to fly the C-5 galaxy.

David Threlfall in 1966, reading the latest lunar news. His 1964 bet was the first of the space race, and shortly after the lunar module landed, he was awarded his winnings on live TV.

Betting on the Moon

The odds of Neil Armstrong putting a boot on the moon were not good. One man put money on it anyway.

Walter E. Lees (in cabin) had almost 20 years of experience in the cockpit and had been trained by Glenn Curtiss himself. Frederic A. Brossy, his copilot, was less seasoned, but had an easygoing temperament that would help the two men survive their long and stressful confinement together.

Three Days in a (Really) Stinking Airplane

The diesel engine that commanded an endurance record for more than 50 years.

During its original mission, the IMAGE satellite made hundreds of scientific discoveries, including the ways solar wind affects plasma in the magnetosphere, creating auroras.

NASA’s On-Again, Off-Again Satellite

Amateur astronomers never know what signals they might pick up.

The Opportunity rover looks back after escaping a sandtrap on Mars.

Adventures on the Martian Trail

Highlights from a rover’s 14-year trek.

U.S. B-29 pilots, unaware of the jet stream, were surprised that bombs dropped from high altitudes scattered before reaching the ground.

Why Was the Discovery of the Jet Stream Mostly Ignored?

Maybe because it was published in Esperanto.

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