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Air & Space Magazine

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Peek in the Cockpit

A look down on a F-22 Raptor pilot flying over the Baltic Sea.

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Udvar-Hazy Snowbirds

In May, the Canadian Snowbirds Air Demonstration Squadron performed a rare circuit around the National Mall in Washington, D.C. After the display, the team headed to the National Air and Space Museum, Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles Airport so fans could get an up-close look.

Radio telescopes could be used to send a message, but would the message be heard?

Conversing With E.T.

What’s the best way to start a discussion with intelligent extraterrestrials—and is that even possible?

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Working in the Dark

Astronaut Rick Mastracchio performs a spacewalk outside the space station.

Mosaic of surface images taken by Surveyor 1, pasted onto the inside of a hollow sphere to preserve the view geometry of the camera. Regolith soil and rocks are clearly visible.

Surveyor 1, America’s First Lunar Landing

A past milestone…and possibly a future one

For his unforgettable night shows, aerobatic pilot Gene Soucy adds fireworks to all four wingtips of his Grumman ShowCat.

Air & Space Quiz: Aerobatic Maneuvers and How They Got Their Names

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Lancer Burners

A B-1B Lancer takes off from Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar to conduct combat operations.

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Flow Features

These “viscous flow features” on Mars, taken by the HiRISE camera, are likely made up of ice and dust, like glaciers on Earth.

Sofia Boutella and Chris Pine in the upcoming "Star Trek Beyond."

Star Trek Beyond Director Justin Lin, Starship Captain and Family Man

The filmmaker talks about the view from the bridge of the Enterprise.

Artist's concept depicting some of the Kepler telescope's planetary discoveries.

Ask the Astronaut: How likely is it that there is life in our galaxy?

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Take Off to Japan

An F-16 Fighting Falcon prepares to leave at dawn from Alaska to Japan for training exercises.

Fragments extracted from rocks found in northern China show what appear to be well-preserved cellular structure.

Complex Life 1.5 Billion Years Ago?

More evidence is needed for such an extraordinary claim.

Jude and JD play in the grass all they want now.

Chimp Island

Near Fort Pierce, Florida is a sanctuary for the descendants of the original astrochimps.

Optimized for altitude: Jim Payne, one of the most accomplished glider pilots in the world, is one of four who will fly the purpose-built glider on its record attempts.

Sailplane to the Stratosphere

Perlan 2 goes for 90,000 feet.

How Much of the Sky Overhead Do You Own?

Frightened chickens once determined in court how high airplanes could fly over your property.

Hundreds of Antique Airplane Association members fly to Blakesburg, Iowa, every year.

Robert Taylor’s Annual People and Planes Reunion

Stop for a spell in the Golden Age.

One of the Civil Air Patrol’s Cessna 182s is retrofitted with all the instruments (but no weapons) of an MQ-1 Predator drone.

Cessnas Pretending to Be Predators

Small airplanes sometimes act as surrogates in live training exercises.

Fifi was the only B-29 still flying in 2012, when the author, in an RV-1, had a close encounter over Lakeland, Florida.

Chased by a B-29 Over Florida

A close encounter with Fifi at the Fun Fly-In Expo

The Green Bank radio telescope in West Virginia may pull in an alien signal.

SETI Gets an Upgrade

If we broaden our search, will we hear aliens? $100 million says yes.

Airbus CEO Fabrice Brégier shares the stage with more than 200 new employees at the grand opening of the European consortium’s plant in Mobile, Alabama, last September. Said Brégier: “Today shows that Airbus is becoming a truly global manufacturer—and a truly American manufacturer!”

Airbus Lands in Alabama

Half a century after the largest base closure in U.S. history, Mobile is once more an aviation town.

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