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Air & Space Magazine

Tom Hardy plays a Spitfire jockey in "Dunkirk."

Dogfighting Over “Dunkirk”

Christopher Nolan’s new World War II epic contains some of the most thrilling aerial engagements ever staged.

A bird passes in front of a partial solar eclipse over New Zealand in 2011.

How to Be a Two-Minute Scientist on Eclipse Day

With the first total eclipse over the U.S. since smartphones became ubiquitous, amateur researchers will be participating along with the pros.

Eclipse 2017

We know about DNA on Earth. What would carry the genetic code elsewhere?

Cracking an Alien’s Genetic Code

Detecting DNA—or its extraterrestrial equivalent—may be critical technology for future missions to Mars and the moons of the outer Solar System.

Alan Eustace, suited up for the stratosphere in 2014.

Into the Danger Zone, Tied to a Balloon

When you’re about to send someone on a solo ride to the stratosphere, you work through problems and put your faith in the math.

Paul Hudson is a member of the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee of the Federal Aviation Administration—and a frequent flier.

The Unfriendly Skies

With air travel horror stories in the news almost daily, your smartphone may be the most important piece of travel gear you own.

The United Arab Emirates’ team, Al Fursan (The Knights), flies Alenia Aermacchi MB 339s over Abu Dhabi during a 2014 airshow.

The Master of Air-to-Air Photography

Katsuhiko Tokunaga’s unparalleled images of airplanes in flight.

Harry Townsend sketched crews pushing aircraft into position after an alert.

Art From the WWI Trenches

Scenes from the Great War come to life a century after the Armistice.

One Curtiss official, while admitting the Bronx site was “well located,” derided it as a “mosquito swamp.”

Bronx Airport? Denied!

In the 1920s, it was still up for grabs which borough would get New York city’s airfield.

Bell Helicopter’s prototype for the AH-1G Cobra flies in front of two UH-1 Hueys, the aircraft it was designed to protect.

Birth of the Cobra

Mike Folse proved that a helicopter could fly and shoot at the same time.

Airliner cockpits are designed for two pilots, but they’re so highly automated NASA has studied single-pilot ops.

Would You Fly on an Airliner Without a Pilot?

Studies show that with technology available today, you could.

Slated for launch in 2024, Europe’s e.deorbit mission (artist’s concept) will collect the biggest and most troublesome pieces of space junk.

Earth, Clean Up Your Trash!

Everyone talks about the orbital debris problem. Europe’s Clean Space program intends to do something about it.

The Apollo 8 astronauts, (from left) Jim Lovell, Bill Anders, and Frank Borman, were the first people to truly leave Earth.

Apollo 8: A Journey Into Deep Waters

The thrilling story of the first mission to the moon.

Before they mastered the air, the Wright brothers conquered the bicycle. And there’s no better place to contemplate that mechanical connection than on Dayton, Ohio’s aviation bike trail. The author, along with park ranger Ryan Qualls, above, started the trek outside the shop where the Wright brothers built, repaired, and sold bicycles from 1895 to 1897.

A Bike Ride Through Wright Brothers Territory

Because it all started with a bicycle shop in Ohio.

Sergeant Sidney Christophersen’s diary resides at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Riverside, Ohio. The note on the sketch of him indicates it was made in Constantine, Algeria in 1944, but the artist’s signature is not legible.

Quiet Nights in Tunisia

A diary from WW2 shows how one soldier described his chaotic days in a way to keep himself sane.

As a young girl, Jill Tarter looked up at the sky and wondered, “Are we alone?” As an adult, she realized it’s a question we might be able to answer.

Jill Tarter Believes

…we have company in the universe, and we should find it.

On August 21, the population of Glendo, Wyoming, will explode by 50,000 percent.

Tiny Towns Shine Under the Eclipse

Glendo, Wyoming is preparing for its moment in darkness.

During a patrol of the border between the United States and Mexico, an Air and Marine Operations AS350 AStar helicopter flies low over the Rio Grande.

Fly Along on a Border Patrol

And meet the pilots fighting illegal immigration.

The U. S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C.

Landscape With Airplanes

The view from 18,000 feet.

A restored FG-1D Corsair is typical of the aircraft that participate in the National Aviation Heritage Invitational.

The West’s Best Restorations at the California Capital Airshow

In Sacramento this September, the show’s on the ground as well as in the air.

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