Aerospace
The technology and science of commercial and military air and space flightDiscover Air & Space articles about aerospace science, technology, industry, recreation and government programs.
- Explore more »
Keeping an eye on NASA
Credible rumor has it that NASA has initiated a “lessons learned” postmortem of Project Constellation in order to camouflage their failure to implement the 2004 Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) and to justify their new direction. I had originally intended to expand on the agency’s postmortem pur...
November 21, 2010 |
By Paul D. Spudis
Nanosail-D Sets Sail
Update: Successful launch! Follow the mission's progress on Twitter.In this season of solar sailing (Japan's IKAROS is still going strong), another ship is about to leave the harbor.NASA's modest solar sail demonstrator, Nanosail-D, is due to launch tonight on a Minotaur 4 rocket from Alaska. You c...
November 19, 2010 |
By Tony Reichhardt
Cat's Eyes
John Cunningham's wartime nickname concealed a vital military secret—the invention of airborne radar.
November 19, 2010 |
By Gavin Mortimer
Canceling Flights for Low Loads? No Way.
I just had a nice stretch of days off and went on a five-day golf trip with my brother and 30 other guys. It was a little chilly on Amelia Island and I performed about like you'd expect a 15 handicapper to play. But it's not the golf that I want to talk about. Instead, I want to address a common mi...
November 18, 2010 |
By Steve Satre
In the Age of Spaceplanes
Stories from the shuttle astronauts, in their own words.
November 18, 2010 |
By The Editors
The Rutan Turkey Timer
Today's New York Times dining section features the Perfect Roast Timer, by Kikkerland in SoHo. Florence Fabricant writes "Just when I thought the chicken should be ready...the legs of the timer whipped straight up from horizontal to vertical."In case there is any doubt that the Perfect Roast Timer...
November 17, 2010 |
By Pat Trenner
Space Specs
It's no secret that the astronaut corps today, with an average age between 47 and 48, is a bit older than the in-their-primers of Mercury and Gemini. And eyesight, it turns out, is one measure of age. Approximately 80 percent of the current astronaut corps wears eye correction (i.e. glasses or cont...
November 12, 2010 |
By Mike Klesius
Reel Aviation
Newsreels brought the excitement of aviation to millions of moviegoers in the 1930s. Now read the lost scripts.
November 12, 2010 |
By Phillip W. Stewart
Happy Veterans Day
It's not often that you get to see a Boeing C-17 Globemaster make a flyover down a palm-tree-lined street, but it happened one recent Veterans Day in Long Beach, California. Enjoy. Gotta love the car alarm going off in the background at the end of the video—no flyover's complete without one.
http:/...
November 11, 2010 |
By Mike Klesius
November Book Club Selection: My Dream of Stars
Space traveler and entrepreneur Anousheh Ansari will discuss her book and answer questions online from November 15 to 19.
November 10, 2010 |
By The Editors
Air Force Sloganizing
The U.S. Air Force recently announced its new motto: "Aim High...Fly-Fight-Win," which generals chose out of five contenders suggested by airmen and the general public: Fly Fight Win, Aim High, Above and Beyond, Air Power, and Wings of Freedom.
This from the same people who named the Boeing C-17 ...
November 09, 2010 |
By Pat Trenner
Western Low-Fly Zones: Not in My Sky
The Air Force is looking for places in the American West where pilots can practice flying special operations missions over terrain similar to the rugged mountains of Afghanistan. One proposal would call for a new Low Altitude Tactical Navigation area straddling the border of Colorado and New Mexico...
November 08, 2010 |
By Tony Reichhardt
Can NASA Get Its Groove Back?
Remember when space exploration was “groovy” and excitement about seeing humans explore the Solar System within our lifetimes was palpable? What happened to NASA and America’s dream to boldly go? The pathway that assured us that space exploration is cool, amazing and pushes excellence has disap...
November 06, 2010 |
By Paul D. Spudis
Permafrost, Snow Cones and Fairy Castles
Although the discovery of ice on the Moon comes from a wide variety of different measurements, they are all “remote sensing.” We have not yet landed near these deposits and examined them up close. Thus, we do not know the physical nature of lunar polar ice. Having spent the last couple of weeks ...
November 06, 2010 |
By Paul D. Spudis
Air Force Drones Cut to Wide Angle
U.S. Air Force drones that serve as the aerial eyes of American combat troops in Afghanistan are about to widen their view.A multi-camera system called "Gorgon Stare" (named for the Medusa's deadly gaze, which turns onlookers to stone) will be installed on unmanned Reaper aircraft and deployed t...
November 05, 2010 |
By Tony Reichhardt
A Piece of Lafayette Escadrille History
On November 15, 2010, Bonhams & Butterfields in San Francisco will auction this dark grey-green canvas fuselage insignia panel from a Spad VII flown by the Lafayette Escadrille, featuring the familiar Indian-head insignia. The panel, says the company's press release, was collected by Sergeant E...
November 03, 2010 |
By Rebecca Maksel
Too Many Astronauts?
As the space shuttle program winds down, an obvious question faces NASA: How many astronauts will it need in an era of drastically reduced flights? Only three Americans live on the space station at any one time, typically, and those slots come open just twice a year. As for a moon base or Mars miss...
November 01, 2010 |
By Tony Reichhardt
Jump. Fly. Land.
Jeb Corliss says if the birds can do it, so can he.
November 2010 |
By Carl Hoffman
Flying Bathtubs Sell Like Hotcakes
The nation's first mass-produced lightplane started as a homely, humble homebuilt.
November 2010 |
By Giles Lambertson
Brooklyn’s Jewel
A National Park Service project reclaims aviation history.
November 2010 |
By David Shaftel
