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Editors' Picks

Is SpaceX changing the rocket equation?

1 visionary + 3 launchers + 1,500 employees = ?

The Spirit of Santa Monica

Between 1920 and 1975, Donald Douglas’ company—and a southern California city—helped shape aviation history.

Killer at 70,000 Feet

The occupational hazards of flying the U-2.

The Weird World of Folk Aviators

With his whimsical sculptures, Gregory Bryant celebrates early ideas about winged flight.

High Spy: The Amazing U-2

Still keeping watch after more than 50 years.

Trending Topics

  1. Fighters
  2. 21st Century Aviation
  3. Military Aviators
  4. Lighter Than Air Aircraft
  5. Jet Aircraft

He Saved Navy Fliers from Spam

Long before Swanson's TV dinner, there was the Maxson Sky Plate.
May 17, 2012 | By Rebecca Maksel

Page 1 of 26
Mercury

Piggyback Airplanes

Ten of aviation's most famous hitch-hikers.
July 2012 | By Lynn Keillor

designer August Bellanca

Making a Smoother (and Speedier) Airplane

Within months of its first flight, August Bellanca's Skyrocket II set five world speed records.
July 2012 | By George C. Larson, Member, NAA

Cancelled: Vertical Flyer

The Coléoptère was one weird-looking aircraft.
July 2012 | By Jeremy Davis

Second Life for Hangar One

The Moffett Field landmark may yet house aircraft again.
May 2012 | By Kara Platoni

Sea Shadow for Sale

For a mere $300,000, you can buy this unique stealthy seagoing vessel.
May 04, 2012 | By Pat Trenner

Space History Items Bring $1 Million

To buy a piece of space history, you need plenty of cash.
May 03, 2012 | By Rebecca Maksel

Celestial Body

De Havilland's D.H. 106 Comet blazed the commercial jet trail but broke its nation's heart.
January 2004 | By Phil Scott

Howard Hughes’ Robot

On his record-setting flight in 1938, the billionaire had two navigators, only one of which was human.
April 23, 2012 | By Rebecca Maksel

Airborne for 64 Days

In a Cessna 172, no less.
March 22, 2012 | By Rebecca Maksel

The Designing Life

This year’s National Air and Space Museum lifetime achievement award winner, Burt Rutan, talks about music, golf and his favorite chair.
March 2012 | By Perry Turner

A Capital Landing

A look back at Claude Grahame-White's 1910 landing next to the White House.
March 15, 2012 | By Heather Goss

Göring’s Nephew

A bizarre case of mistaken identity almost cost a World War II B-17 commander his life.
March 13, 2012 | By Rebecca Maksel

In a 1935 publicity stunt, Fred Key checks the oil in flight.

The Pressure’s On

The ingenious—and goofy—modifications of endurance flights.
May 2012 | By George C. Larson, Member, NAA

Louis DeHatre ran a St. Louis diner that attempted to sate the young “Slim” Lindbergh’s hearty appetite.

Lindbergh Ate Here

The young airmail pilot logged plenty of time at the local diner.
May 2012 | By Greg Bailey

No fan of aviation, Rudolph Dirks was persuaded by a friend to attend the air meet.

The Katzenjammer Kids Take to the Air

It took a cartoonist to paint the first serious depiction of aircraft flight.
May 2012 | By Tom Crouch, Senior Curator, Aeronautics division

Just one Brabazon made it off the assembly line.

Cancelled: Design by Committee

The Bristol Brabazon was big and it flew. Much more can’t be said.
May 2012 | By Stephan Wilkinson

Berry’s Leap, Pt. 2

Grant Morton wasn't the first to parachute from an airplane, or even the second.
March 01, 2012 | By Tony Reichhardt

Berry’s Leap

A hundred years ago tomorrow, Capt. Albert Berry made the first parachute jump from an airplane.
February 29, 2012 | By Tony Reichhardt

Radio Flyer

In 1957, the Narco Superhomer was The Great New Thing.
February 14, 2012 | By George Larson

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next »

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Air & Space Videos

Get Your Rotor Running

The joy of gyroplanes.

Art From the Bone Yard

Artists decorate derelict airplanes.

When the Chase Plane is a Car

Why U-2 pilots get paid to drive fast

The East Coast at Night

The lights of Eastern North America, as seen from the Space Station.

The Milky Way From Orbit

Space Station astronauts capture stars and storms on HD film.

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Air & Space Interview

NASA Chief Technologist Bobby Braun talks about technology and innovation to attendees at the AARP "Orlando @50+" Conference in Orlando, Fl., Oct. 1, 2010.  Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Bobby Braun

NASA's outgoing Chief Technologist talks about what's in the R&D pipeline

Need to Know

Why do NASA launch times depend on lighting conditions?

It's all about the solar beta angle.

In the Magazine

July 2012

  • The 120,000-Foot Leap
  • Europe’s Typhoon Fighter
  • My Other Vehicle Was a Spacecraft
  • A New Time-to-Climb Record
  • Inside Boeing’s 787 Factory

View Table of Contents »






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Air & Space/Smithsonian magazine has been delighting aerospace enthusiasts with the best writing about their favorite subject since April 1986. As an adjunct of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, Air & Space matches the grand scope of the Museum, encompassing every era of aviation and space exploration. With stories that range from the Wright Brothers to the design of NASA's next lunar lander, Air & Space emphasizes the human stories as well as the technology of aviation and spaceflight.

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