January 2012
Smithsonian magazine delivers trusted and incisive reporting on history, science, nature, culture and travel.
Features
Is SpaceX Changing the Rocket Equation?
1 visionary + 3 launchers + 1,500 employees = ?
Cornelia Fort Wanted to Fly in Combat, But Not in a Civilian Airplane Against the Japanese at Pearl Harbor
How a vintage Interstate Cadet trainer led a modern airshow pilot on a journey to find a kindred spirit.
The Kids Are Trying to Crash
Remote-control models face off in the Extreme Flight Championships.
NASA's Curiosity rover will try a new way of landing on another planet
Dropping in on Mars.
A retrospective of Burt Rutan's high-performance art
Design by Rutan
Is Earth's moon the product of a big splat as well as a big whack?
The second-moon theory.
The Other Air Forces
Humorist Bruce McCall's small fleet of little-known aircraft.
Light This Candle
Alan Shepard was brave enough to ride the Mercury-Redstone rocket. These guys were brave enough to launch it.
Departments
Above & Beyond
The Man My Mother Fell in Love With
When the Navy retired the Tomcat, my father went with it.
Moments and Milestones
From Point A to Point A
Twenty-five years ago, Burt Rutan’s Voyager became the first aircraft to make an around-the-world flight without refueling.