An early V-2 rises into the sky over White Sands, New Mexico.

The First Launch of a V-2 Rocket From America

Captured German missiles took flight from the New Mexico desert in the early years after World War II.

Our stellar next-door neighbors, Alpha Centauri A (left) and B, shine brightly in this Hubble Space Telescope image.

All Eyes on Alpha Centauri

Takeaways from this week’s Breakthrough Discuss meeting.

Bob Stewart flying the MMU during mission STS-41B in February 1984.

The Spacewalk From Hell

While everyone else was marveling at the first free flight from the shuttle, Bob Stewart was in a world of hurt.

A still from the 2017 film Salyut-7, about the daring rescue of a Soviet space station in 1985.

A Brief Guide to Russian Space Movies

In the 60 years since Gagarin, the world’s first spacefaring nation has produced its own equivalents of The Right Stuff and Apollo 13.

Yuri Gagarin before his epic spaceflight on April 12, 1961.

How Yuri Gagarin Was Picked to Be First in Space

NASA had the Mercury Seven. The Soviets had the Vanguard Six.

A skull of one of our distant ancestors, Ardipithecus ramidus. Male chest-beating may not be the only option for how species socialize.

The Science of Aliens, Part I: Would They Be Friendly, or Threatening?

Any advanced alien species would have a social structure, but would also likely have predatory roots.

Zipline has started to deliver Covid-19 vaccines in Ghana.

Drones Are Delivering Covid-19 Vaccines to Underserved Communities

The company Zipline is using the technology to provide medical resources to rural areas in markets around the world

Phosphorus is found in everything from matches to fertilizer—and may be critical to starting the spark of life and keeping it going.

The Fuss Over Phosphorus

A critical element takes center stage in the discussion of how life began, and where it might exist.

A new image of the black hole at the center of the M87 galaxy. The image shows patterns of polarized light around the supermassive black hole, which in turn reveals the structure of the black hole’s magnetic fields.

Scientists Capture Swirling Magnetic Fields in New Image of Black Hole

The updated picture adds polarization, revealing new details of the stunning cosmic phenomenon.

The author aspired to fly Douglas A-4s like the 1979 Blue Angels, who made him yearn to become a Naval aviator. The front seat of a Beechcraft T-34C trainer like this one was as close as he got.

As a Boy, I Dreamed of Flying. As a Man, I Was Forced to Find a New Dream

My final flight forced a reckoning, but I lived to tell the story.

At Amazon, Sarah Rhoads oversees a U.S.-based fleet of transports that will grow to 85 aircraft by the end of 2022.

Delivering Air Cargo During a Pandemic Has Been No Small Feat

A former fighter pilot has what it takes to manage Amazon’s growing aviation division.

A demonstration conducted at a Rolls-Royce facility in Dahlewitz, Germany confirmed that its Pearl 700 business jet engine can operate using 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel.

This New Rolls-Royce Jet Engine Runs on Biofuel

With carbon emissions produced by aircraft expected to triple by 2050, the aviation industry is trying to go green.

An artist’s concept of the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider. The bomber will fly initial missions with pilots but could eventually fly without them.

The Air Force Spills Some Secrets About its New Bomber

The B-21s are coming.

Ice formations called “penitents”—in Chile’s Chajnantor plain—grow to about seven feet high. They might also exist on Jupiter’s moon Europa, posing a threat to landers sent from Earth.

How to Land on an Alien World

Like explorers of old, planetary probes go where there may be dragons.

The 1903 Wright Flyer takes center stage in The Wright Brothers & the Invention of the Aerial Age exhibit.

The Wright Brothers & The Invention of the Aerial Age

The National Air and Space Museum revamps its exhibit on the birth of flight.

Six years after Wilbur Wright wowed the crowds at LeMans, Henri Salmet pilots his Blériot XI-2, The Daily Mail, along the scenic beaches of Nice in 1914. Though by that time airplanes were beginning to be more common, they still made people stop and stare.

The Airplane Changed Our Idea of the World

The invention of the airplane shook the globe, and it never looked the same again.

Some photos show intimate moments: At a remote base in the Aleutian Islands, U.S. Navy aircrew amuse themselves with cribbage—and posters of pin-up girls.

World War II in Color

Thousands of photographs in government archives bring the war to life.

The one-of-a-kind Antonov An-225 lifts off from Eindhoven, the Netherlands, in 2005. When you need to move 250 tons to another continent, demand the Mriya; no other airplane can do it.

The Biggest Airplane Flying Today

Need to move something enormous? Hire this Ukrainian giant.

If you can’t visit Greece, bring Greece to you. With the latest version of Microsoft Flight Simulator, the Acropolis is one of many photorealistic marvels you can visit from the comfort of your home—while flying a simulated Pitts Special biplane.

How Did Microsoft Make Flight Simulator Seem So Real?

With the latest version of the popular software, players can recognize city streets and feel shifts in the wind.

This rare picture of an exoplanet (called 2M1207B) shows a red world several times Jupiter’s size orbiting a brown dwarf much smaller and dimmer than our sun. LUVOIR is after more elusive targets: small, rocky planets around bright stars.

The Space Telescope That Could Find a Second Earth

What will it take to capture images of a distant world capable of harboring life?

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