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Air & Space Magazine

Bat Bot’s real-life inspiration, the Egyptian Fruit Bat.

The Bot That Flies Like a Bat

Robot researchers have created a lightweight, agile drone that mimics one of nature’s greatest fliers.

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Toucan’s Cluster

Using the Hubble Space Telescope to peer into the southern Tucana (the Toucan) constellation, you can find this open star cluster about 200,000 light-years away.

This prototype is built of cardboard, but production models will be cardboard-like mycelium.

These Mushroom-Based Drones Eat Themselves at Mission’s End

Once the job is done, the tiny gliders are designed to disappear.

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Face of a Thunderbolt

A pilot climbs into an A-10C Thunderbolt II that relocated temporarily to Ohio from Georgia ahead of Tropical Storm Hermine in 2016.

Fuel depots in low Earth orbit could be a key part of the space economy.

Whoever Said the Moon is the End Goal?

And who decided that space is only for science?

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Odd Rocks

The Mars Curiosity rover found this bizarre looking rock on October 30, 2016. The mission team used the rover’s lasers to confirm it is an iron-nickel meteorite about the size of a golf ball.

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Lockheed Electra 10E

Dry as dust today, but maybe it wasn’t always that way.

The Moon May Have Had Lots of Water in the Distant Past

And that raises its interest to astrobiologists.

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LOX Servicing

A maintenance crew works on the liquid oxygen container in a F-15 Eagle at Kadena Air Base, Japan.

The first class area of a TWA 747 was transformed into a television studio for the fourth anniversary of David Letterman’s show. The seats were removed, making room for Letterman’s desk and the show’s band.

In 1986, David Letterman Went On the Air, In the Air

For the 4th anniversary of “Late Night,” the TV host filmed the show on board a TWA 747.

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Stratofortress Neighbors

A B-52H Stratofortress flies as part of the Northern Neighbors Day Air Show at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota.

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Drones + Augmented Reality = Help for Firefighters

ScanEagles soar over active fires, while viewers explore the scene using holograms.

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Looking for Lights in the Dark

An American Airlines 737 landing at DCA, which is just across the river from the inauguration.

Thousands of Airplanes Will Descend on Washington This Weekend

You can fly into D.C. for the inauguration—as long as you do it very carefully.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University junior Jack Harty started the United fleet website when he was in high school.

Get to Know Your Airliner

Student Jack Harty created a website to introduce United airliners to passengers.

Bald eagles that fly in the vicinity of airliners have been known to lose their grip.

Flying Fish and Other Oddball Midair Collisions

Sisters Mikayla (left) and Shannon Diesch started a company to make nutrition bars. They got their start in a Conrad Foundation Spirit of Innovation competition.

Made by Nerds, for Nerds

These sisters came up with nutritious snacks for hungry astronauts.

Jackie Stephan and "Old Blue," a testing tool used to ensure precise integraiton, have traveled around the world as the Northrop Grumman team delivered products to customers.

Systems Engineer, Northrop Grumman

On very complex systems, engineers make sure all the components work well together.

Curator Roger Connor admires the Cierva C.8W Autogiro, the United States’ oldest successful rotorcraft, which is currently in storage.

The Coolest Autogiro You Won’t See at the National Air and Space Museum

The Museum’s helicopter expert picks an undisplayed favorite from the collection.

Alan Eustace practices stability in freefall under his drogue stabilizer chute.

The Highest Jump

The computer scientist who pulled off a world-record skydive is still wondering: Could it be done from orbit?

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