CURRENT ISSUE

July 2005

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine image Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine mobile image

Features

MatthiasRust.jpg

The Notorious Flight of Mathias Rust

Ronald Reagan was president, there was still a Soviet Union, and a 19-year-old pilot set out to change the world

Confessions of a Spaceship Pilot

If you fall off your horse...

launch-388-jul05.jpg

Leroy's Launch

To watch a friend begin his expedition to the International Space Station, our correspondent travels to emptiest Kazakhstan.

coeur-388-jul05.jpg

People and Planes of Creve Coeur

In the department of flood recovery, Noah and his ark got nuthin' on the folks at this little airport-except that many of the aircraft they saved are ones, not twos, of a kind.

hyper-388-jul05.jpg

Debrief: Hyper-X

Scramjet power? Simple: Keep a match lit in a 7,000-mph wind.

repair-388-jul05.jpg

Robo Repairmen

It's getting harder to find good help these days. So these space engineers built their own

front-388-jul05.jpg

Cold Front

Meet the men who kept the Thunderbolts flying.

Departments