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One-way moon trips and other desperate measures
Space historian Matthew Hersch writes in:
It is difficult to imagine it now, but in 1967, Americans and Soviets were literally dying to get to the moon. That year, three American astronauts lost their lives in the Apollo 1 launch pad fire, and a Soviet cosmonaut, Vladimir Komarov, died when the ree...
July 02, 2009 |
By Tony Reichhardt
NASA's Giant Cinematic Leap
You want to rediscover the vibe of 1969? Then rediscover the 1970 film Moonwalk One. With shots of camping, idling, beer-drinking middle America on hand in Florida to witness the launch of Apollo 11, interspersed with images of VIPs like Johnny Carson at the Kennedy Space Center, a box-jawed Wernhe...
July 01, 2009 |
By Mike Klesius
Where the Wild Things Are
We’re about to get a peek at the solar system’s
final frontier.
July 2009 |
By Guy Gugliotta
The Six
If Lockheed’s Constellation was the hare, the Douglas DC-6 was the oh-so-reliable tortoise.
July 2009 |
By Kara Platoni
The Billy Mitchell Court-Martial
Courtroom sketches from aviation's Trial of the Century.
July 2009 |
By Rebecca Maksel
Fire Hazard
Where there’s smoke, there’s pollution. How can airport firefighters green it up?
July 2009 |
By Sam Goldberg
Unmanned Traffic Jam
To the Federal Aviation Administration, civilian
UAVs are the new barbarians at the gate.
July 2009 |
By Douglas Gantenbein
The Dawn of Discipline
A B-47 pilot remembers when an airplane—and Curtis LeMay—stiffened the spine of the Strategic Air Command
July 2009 |
By Walter J. Boyne
Nine new astronauts, and not a loser in the bunch
NASA's newly named Astronaut Class of 2009 had better be a patient lot, because they probably won't reach orbit anytime soon. But they can look forward to walking on the moon if and when we return there sometime in the 2020s. And even if we don't, it must be pretty satisfying to be one of only nine...
June 30, 2009 |
By Tony Reichhardt
First, Nail Down the Mission
The new Augustine Commission met for the first time last week (June 17). The one-day agenda was filled with presentations on rocket-building, including reviews of NASA’s current efforts along those lines, followed by briefings on a number of possible alternatives. Suddenly, the space blogosphere ...
June 25, 2009 |
By Paul D. Spudis
Did Australians light signal fires for the astronauts?
And would they have been visible from space?
June 24, 2009 |
By Rebecca Maksel
A Marriage Made in Microgravity
In the March 2008 issue, we published "High Fashion," which chronicled the state of the art in orbital couture, including "a dress that looked like a giant upside-down shredded coffee filter." Last Saturday, high over Florida, bride Erin Finnegan, wearing Eri Matsui's zero-G wedding gown, exchange...
June 22, 2009 |
By Pat Trenner
We Represented All Women
During World War II, WASPs proved that an airplane couldn’t tell the difference between a male and female pilot.
June 22, 2009 |
By Jonna Dootlittle Hoppes
The 50 most interesting places on the moon
Now that the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is enroute to the moon (it arrives Tuesday) we might ask where it will point its high-resolution cameras when observations get underway. In fact, scientists have been thinking about that for years; last week they met in Tempe, Arizona, to discuss LRO target...
June 19, 2009 |
By Tony Reichhardt
Apollo’s Army
It took 400,000 people, working under extreme pressure, to reach the moon in 1969. Like any army, they suffered casualties.
June 18, 2009 |
By The Editors
Human spaceflight review gets underway
The most important review of NASA space policy since the Columbia accident investigation kicks off today with its first public hearing. Watch it live on NASA Television.
June 17, 2009 |
By Tony Reichhardt
The 500th person in space
Next month, when space shuttle Endeavour arrives in orbit to begin its 16-day space station construction mission (Note: The launch has been postponed to July 11), Chris Cassidy might feel more than the usual satisfaction. On his first shuttle flight, the former Navy SEAL, who wasn't even born when ...
June 12, 2009 |
By Tony Reichhardt
