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Air & Space Magazine

What Natilus hopes to build is ambitious, but potentially transformative.

Meet Natilus, the Jumbo Drone

A small startup aims to capture some of the huge global shipping business.

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Swirling Jupiter

NASA’s Juno spacecraft has been orbiting Jupiter for nearly a year now, sending back incredible pictures from its dives near the planet’s surface. The public can access the raw images and process them; this one showing detailed swirls in the atmosphere was color enhanced by Gabriel Fiset. See the full version here.

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Space Plane Lands

Early Sunday morning, May 7, the U.S. Air Force’s space plane landed at Kennedy Space Center after a record-breaking 718 days in orbit. This was the fourth flight for the X-37 program, and according to the Air Force, a successful one, though so far we can only guess what it was doing up there.

The new Chinese-built C919 airliner took to the skies over Shanghai on Friday.

As China Unveils Its First Airliner, Private Pilots Look for a Boost Too

Chinese general aviation advocates sought advice and inspiration at a recent meeting in California.

“After they were notified of their duty,” recalls former pilot Ichiro Sudai, “kamikaze pilots would have small farewell parties. We exchanged sake and drank. On one side of a table were the kamikazes and on the other were people of a higher position, who were not seen often. It was a respectful, farewell sake. But toward the end of the war, we didn’t have sake available. We only had water.”

A Photographer’s Quest To Document the Lives of WWII Veterans

Sasha Maslov spent six years—and traveled to 23 countries—to record the stories of 100 veterans.

A variety of vehicles and space-based assets are required to create a permanent cislunar transportation system.

Student Aspirations, Public Excitement and the Purpose of a Space Program

What do young people want from the space program?

Executive Producer Ron Howard directed the first episode of National Geographic's new 10-part dramatization of the life of Albert Einstein himself.

Filmmaker Ron Howard Talks Einstein’s Genius and the Legacy of Apollo 13

The story of the famous physicist’s flight from Germany is the award-winning director’s latest science-themed project.

“Solar eclipse watching point 500 m.” A barren spot in the middle of the Saharan desert was about to become Eclipse City for a few hours in 2006.

The Making of Eclipse City

Where totality crosses the planet, whole cities rise up from nothing for a day.

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Orion’s Clouds

This incredibly high-resolution near-infrared image of the Orion A molecular cloud was taken by the VISTA infrared survey telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile.

The Ilya Muromets model on final approach at the Long Island Skyhawks Model Club airfield in October 2016.

This Model of a WWI Bomber Is Nearly as Awesome as the Original

A famous Sikorsky airplane is reconstructed in loving (one-sixth scale) detail.

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Say “Weightlessness”

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins is seen here taking a photo while on a spacewalk last August.

An F-16 and its loyal VISTA wingman, pictured during Have Raider I.

Military Drones Can Now Deal With Threats on Their Own

An exercise called Have Raider II sent a drone F-16 into (simulated) harm’s way.

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The River’s End

A view of the Mississippi River Delta, with swirling sediment in green, from the ESA’s PROBA-V satellite.

Pesquet, floating through.

Have Dinner With the Astronauts in This 360 Video

The latest VR footage from the space station.

Yuri Gagarin (in cap) accompanies Vladimir Komarov (to his right) on the walk to the launch pad, early on the morning of April 23, 1967.

The First Fatal Spaceflight

Myths and memories of Vladimir Komarov’s Soyuz 1 mission.

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A Hawk in the Fog

An RQ-4 Global Hawk sits in heavy fog in an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia.

Hubble Space Telescope view of two of the three stars in the Alpha Centauri system. That’s Alpha Centauri A on the left, B on the right. They may look close, but they’re not.

Suddenly, Alpha Centauri is a Popular Destination

Groups small and large set their sights on our neighboring star system.

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Test Run Good Luck

NASA test fires an RS-25 engine at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi last February. Four of these engines, along with two solid rocket boosters, will power the Space Launch System.

“Polygon” terrain on Mars.

Iceland on Mars?

Scientists find evidence of fire and ice in a Martian impact basin.

First Lady Nancy Reagan, Bill Mellberg, and President Ronald Reagan after Bill’s performance of “An Evening With the Presidents” at the White House.

Bill Mellberg, a Clarifying Voice

Farewell to a wise and thoughtful commentator on space.

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