Flying Machines
Vehicles designed for air and space flightExplore Air & Space articles about types of air and spacecraft.
Assembly (Nearly) Complete
NASA's space station manager looks back with satisfaction at one of history's greatest construction projects.
May 2011 |
By Paul Hoversten
Helicopter Missions: The Taliban Gambit
It's summer 2005. In Afghanistan, a four-man U.S. Navy SEAL team has been ambushed by the Taliban. A Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter is immediately sent to extract them, but as it approaches the rescue site, the Taliban fire a rocket-propelled grenade, hitting the Chinook's fuel tanks. All 16 crew ...
April 27, 2011 |
By Rebecca Maksel
Young Artists and the 50th Anniversary of Human Spaceflight
Each year, the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) and the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) organize an art contest meant to encourage young people to become familiar with (and participate in) aeronautics, engineering, and science."The quality of the art we see is unbeliev...
April 25, 2011 |
By Rebecca Maksel
“Embrace the end of human spaceflight!”
"let us sit upon the ground. And tell sad stories of the death of kings” – Richard II, Act III, Scene 2 The nearly simultaneous 50th anniversary of the beginning of human spaceflight and the forthcoming end of the Space Shuttle program has philosophical members of the chattering classes making the...
April 19, 2011 |
By Paul D. Spudis
Surviving the Hindenburg
When the Hindenburg flew toward the the Naval Air Station in Lakehurst, New Jersey on May 6, 1937, it was the airship's eleventh voyage to the United States. The nearly 804-foot-long ship, the pride of Nazi Germany, had been carrying passengers on excursion flights since 1910 without a single injur...
April 15, 2011 |
By Rebecca Maksel
A Rationale for Cislunar Space
At a recent workshop on lunar return, a critical part of the discussion focused on the need for a statement of purpose – a value proposition for the Moon. Over the years I’ve attempted to distill my rationale for lunar return (my “elevator speech” if you will) into a clearly stated and persuasive ...
April 10, 2011 |
By Paul D. Spudis
You Can’t Always Get What You Want (but if you try some time, you might find … you get what you need)
A plan for a human mission to a near Earth object (NEO; an asteroid), designed by engineers from Georgia Tech and the National Institute for Aerospace (GT/NIA), was recently posted online. Keying in on lowering program total costs, this architecture eliminates the need for a new heavy lift launch ...
March 31, 2011 |
By Paul D. Spudis
The Moon’s Role in Climate Science
A recent article about the role of global magnetic fields in the loss of planetary volatiles caught my attention. The article addresses planetary climate issues as they relate to Earth, Mars and Venus, but what struck me was this statement:
We don't have a direct record of the sun's history, but a...
March 22, 2011 |
By Paul D. Spudis
Volcanic Shields of the Moon
Come home with your shield, or on it – Spartan women to their husbands, marching off to war.From the giant Olympus Mons shield on Mars (600 kilometers across and 27 km high) to the large volcanoes of Venus, shield-building was thought to be a common expression of volcanism on all rocky Solar Syste...
March 19, 2011 |
By Paul D. Spudis
Discarding Shuttle: The Hidden Cost
On February 15, 2011 a symposium entitled “U.S. Human Spaceflight: Continuity and Stability” was held at Rice University’s James A. Baker Institute of Public Policy. Organized by George Abbey, the resident space expert at the Baker Institute, one might have suspected that it would be Shuttle-centr...
March 01, 2011 |
By Paul D. Spudis
Z2
The latest in sightseeing tours, brought to you by Count Ferdinand Von Zeppelin.
March 2011 |
By Marshall Lumsden
How Things Work: Soyuz-Station Docking
In orbit, it’s all about connections.
March 2011 |
By Michael Klesius
100 Years of Naval Aviation
The Navy's first pilot and 10 more milestones.
March 2011 |
By The Editors
Oldies and Oddities: Buying the Farmhouse
Adventures in Navy ballooning.
March 2011 |
By Captain Marion Eppes, U.S. Navy (ret.)
Meet the Orbiters
A fleet of winged spacecraft, the likes of which we'll never see again.
March 01, 2011 |
By Michael Klesius
Astronaut Stories: The World’s First Spaceplane
Shuttle crews from the 1980s recall how their new vehicle took some getting used to.
February 28, 2011 |
By The Editors
Shuttle Home Movies
Highlights from 30 years of astronaut videos, filmed on location in Earth orbit.
February 28, 2011 |
By The Editors
