Three to get ready: Astronauts (from left) Satoshi Furukawa, Akihiko Hoshide, and Naoko Yamazaki are all in training for duty on the space station.

Konnichi Wa, Kibo

The International Space Station says hello to its newest addition, made in Japan.

David G. Simons prior to the second Manhigh flight in August 1957.

First Up?

Even before NASA was created, civilian and military labs were in search of spacemen.

A & S Interview: Richard Garriott

A second generation space traveler talks about his upcoming tourist trip to the space station.

Neutron stars locked in orbit around each other, like the pair in this artist’s concept, will shed energy in the form of gravitational waves while they spiral inward until, according to theory, they fuse into a single mass.

When Stars Collide

Enter Einstein's grand construct of gravitational wonders, and do not attempt to adjust your

The Spirit rover may be smaller than the proposed Mars Science Laboratory, but at least its on Mars.

Suggestion: Stop Improving

Why does every Mars mission have to be better than the last?

A Place in the Sun

Earth dwellers view the sun from 93 million miles away. What will NASA’s next solar probe see from up close?

Cliffs (left) on Mercury seen by the MDIS narrow-angle camera during Messengers January 14, 2008 flyby suggest that the planets crust may have shrunk.

An Eye for Mercury

MESSENGER’s first images were taken by a very used camera.

The malfunctioning satellite will be taken out by an SM-3 standard missile, similar to this one fired last June from the destroyer USS Decatur. In that test, the missile successfully intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Hawaii.

Satellite Shoot-Down

The Pentagon plans to knock one of our own out of the sky.

Conservator Hanna Szczepanowska assesses the solar cells on a replica Vanguard satellite; the original will remain in orbit until at least 2109.

In the Museum: Second, But Still Up

Fifty years after launch, Vanguard 1 remains in orbit.

The Misunderstood Professor

When he suggested in a 1920 treatise that rockets could reach the moon, Robert Goddard sparked a public frenzy.

A Russian ground crew member marks the exact site of the Soyuz landing with a GPS device.

Rough Ride Home

Three space station astronauts are glad to be back on terra firma after an off-course landing in a Russian Soyuz capsule.

Waiting inside the Gemini 3 capsule on March 23, 1965, John Young was about to embark on the first of six voyages into space—seven if you count Apollo 16s liftoff from the moon.

Spaceman

Sometimes an entire era is represented by a single career.

Satellite Smashers

Space-faring nations: Clean up low Earth orbit or you're grounded.

"Its a pretty wonderful thing to have something like the moon all to yourself with a robot for awhile," says William "Red" Whittaker of Carnegie Mellon University.

Google the Moon

Famed roboticist Red Whittaker may have the inside track to win the next moon race.

One photo returned from Genesis II last summer was a birthday surprise for Bigelows 15-year-old granddaughter Blair: her name stitched on the spacecrafts fabric exterior.

Mr. B's Big Plan

Robert Bigelow has put two mini-space stations in orbit. Now comes the hard part.

Orbital Outfitters developed the pressurized polyurethane suit for XCOR.

High Fashion

Space tourists, dressed to thrill.

A & S Interview: Michael J. Neufeld

How much did Wernher von Braun know, and when did he know it?

1. Langley Landers (1961)<br /><br />In August of 1961, engineer John Houbolt gave one of many presentations to the Space Task Group [at NASAs Langley Research Center in Virginia, where he worked]. In attendance was Jim Chamberlin, the brilliant designer of the Canadian Avro Arrow fighter. Chamberlin was heading up what would become Project Gemini, and he had already begun to think about using the new larger "Advanced Mercury," as Gemini was called at the time, to do more than just fly in low Earth orbit. Chamberlin wanted to use Gemini to go to the moon, and he would make that exact suggestion later that year. His teams design for an accompanying lunar lander was similar to one proposed earlier in the year by the Langley staff. It was basically nothing more than a platform placed on top of a rocket engine, on which an intrepid astronaut would stand, surrounded by fuel tanks.

Lunar Landers That Never Were

The road to the moon was paved with good intentions.

Jay Barbree (left)and Gus Grissom around the time of the astronauts Gemini 3 flight in 1965.

Before the Fire

In this excerpt from his new book, space reporter Jay Barbree recalls Apollo's darkest day.

Laika's Tale

Fifty years after her flight, a new graphic novel recounts the saga of the dog that made space history.

Mockup of a self-righting hopper-lander for planetary exploration.

Hopping Across Mars

Planetary rovers might some day trade their wheels for something simpler.

A & S Interview: David Sington

In the Shadow of the Moon.

Throughout his life, Soviet space designer Mikhail Tikhonravov (left) never got the credit or acclaim accorded to Sergei Korolev, his friend. Ten years before they launched the worlds first satellite, the two paused in front of a bust of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, considered the father of cosmonautics.

The Man Behind the Curtain

Space czar Sergei Korolev won fame for the launch of Sputnik, but a more modest genius deserves the credit.

A computational fluid dynamics image shows how air would behave when Rocketplane XP flies at 2.74 times the speed of sound; red is high pressure, blue is low.

The O Prize

Will Rocketplane launch spacecraft from Oklahoma?

Paul Dimitriu in his Los Angeles jewelry shop.

The Astronaut Jeweler

More than 1,500 pieces designed by Paul Dimitriu have flown on the space shuttle.

Anatoly Zak (Moon image: NASA)

Lunar Clipper

With rich tourists traveling to Earth orbit, can a cruise around the moon be far behind?

The Orion simulator: The shape is as old as Apollo, but the dashboard is all new.

Orion's Brain

NASA's new space capsule has a mind of its own.

Anousheh Ansari before her launch to the International Space Station in September 2006.

A & S Interview: Anousheh Ansari

The X-Prize sponsor and space tourist talks about trips to orbit, past and future.

Astronaut Jeff Williams presses up to the Earth-facing window inside the space stations Destiny laboratory in April 2006.

STS-118: The Inside Guide

What's going on beside the spacewalks.

Visions of spaceflight, like Friedrich Tsanders rocketplane, inspired 1920s Soviet film, fiction, and art.

Russia's Long Love Affair with Space

It started with Utopian dreams and rocketeers.

The author, whose father was first secretary for the Soviet Communist Paty from 1953 to 1964, relaxes in his office at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

We Shocked the World

Nikita Khrushchev's son recalls the night Sputnik made history.

The Phoenix lander (artists conception) will use its robotic arm to dig into the Martian permafrost.

Northern Exposure

We've already seen water ice on Mars. NASA's Phoenix lander will reach out and touch it.

The roving Mars Science Laboratory prepares to drop to the Martian surface, using a new (for Mars) Skycrane maneuver.

Legs, Bags, or Wheels?

When choosing landing gear for Mars spacecraft, engineers have to weigh their options-literally.

Astronaut Sunita Williams strikes a pose during an exercise session on the space station.

STS-117: The Inside Guide

What's going on beside the spacewalks.

Astronaut John Blaha stands inside the Shuttle Launch Experience "crew pod."

Your Space Shuttle Ride Awaits

A new ride at the Kennedy Space Center is -- sadly -- the closest most of us will come to experiencing the thrill of a shuttle launch.

The Real Reasons We Explore Space

Ambition, curiosity, and a reason the NASA Administrator admits has nothing to do with economic benefit.

The arrays first phase of 42 telescopes was completed this year. To build the full observatory, the SETI Institute will need a lot more money.

Can We Hear Them Now?

Speak up, space aliens. These 42 new radio telescopes are all ears.

50 Ways to Space Out

Looking for ways to celebrate a half century of spaceflight? Here's fifty of 'em.

Rocket motor in hand (inside a vacuum chamber), Tim Pickens wants to sell power to a new breed of space company.

In Thrust We Trust

To Tim Pickens, rockets are the only way to go.

After Sputnik: 50 Years of the Space Age, Smithsonian/HarperCollins, 2007.

It All Started with Sputnik

An eminent space historian looks back on the first 50 years of space exploration.

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July 2008

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Air & Space Interview

Brian Norris

A talk with an airshow operations coordinator.

New Worlds

An Eye on Mercury

MESSENGER's pictures were taken by a very used camera.