Flying Machines
Vehicles designed for air and space flightExplore Air & Space articles about types of air and spacecraft.
What Does An Emergency Flight Nurse Fear Most?
This summer, the Boy Scouts of America celebrate their 100th anniversary, and the U.S. Postal Service has unveiled a spiffy new stamp to honor the organization.One of my favorite Scouting quotes comes from Janice Hudson's Trauma Junkie: Memoirs of an Emergency Flight Nurse. Hudson worked for many y...
July 23, 2010 |
By Rebecca Maksel
Live From the Moon!
The picture may have been grainy, but it was some of the most riveting TV of the 1960s.
July 19, 2010 |
By Mary McKillop
NASA’s New Mission and the Cult of Management
During a recent interview on Al Jazeera television, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden outlined NASA’s new priorities. His remarks became headlines as the previously ignored story about the redirection of the space agency toward international diplomatic outreach and global climate change research f...
July 10, 2010 |
By Paul D. Spudis
Roswell, "The Genesis Story of U.S. UFOs"
"It was 58 years ago today that the Roswell incident occurred," said Roger Launius, a National Air and Space Museum Space History curator who could also be considered NASM's chief skeptic. (An earlier talk of his concerned people who refuse to believe the Apollo program landed men on the moon.) Hi...
July 07, 2010 |
By Pat Trenner
Searching for the Moon’s Mantle
We’ve studied and examined the Apollo samples of the lunar maria (pronounced MAR-ee-uh) for thirty years but despite the thorough search of these collections, we have never found a sample of the deep mantle from which these lavas were formed. How might such a deeply seated rock find its way to the...
July 07, 2010 |
By Paul D. Spudis
Truck Killer
For one mission in Vietnam, the best aircraft for the job was a bomber from World War II.
July 2010 |
By David Lande
The Last Gunslinger
The F-15C is the only dedicated dogfighter left in the U.S. military fleet. Why isn't the Air Force replacing it?
July 2010 |
By Michael Behar
Sightings: Cause for Reflection
Endeavour lights up the sky—and water—in Florida.
July 2010 |
By The Editors
Evolution of the Space Shuttle
How 30 years changed the world's most complex flying machine.
July 2010 |
By Michael Klesius
Medevac From Luzon
A small band of helicopter pilots risked their lives to rescue wounded soldiers during World War II.
July 2010 |
By Roger Connor
Malice, Mischief and Misconceptions
The space community has fractured since the disastrous roll out of NASA’s “new direction.” Preceding the administration’s budget announcement, endless delays and rampant speculation about administrators, rockets, and program design and direction kept people guessing. The current trench warfare is...
June 26, 2010 |
By Paul D. Spudis
A Wetter Moon Impacts Understanding of Lunar Origin
Is there water on the Moon?We know now that the answer to that question is a resounding Yes! As information continues to emerge from a wide range of studies, it’s evident that we’ve just begun to understand the process of the creation, movement and history of water on the Moon and its prevalence.A...
June 19, 2010 |
By Paul D. Spudis
IKAROS Unfurled
We had hoped that Japan's IKAROS solar sail would work as advertised, and it did. Here's an animated image of the fully deployed sail, taken by a "separation camera" from a short distance away.In other happenings:
The Hayabusa asteroid sample return capsule came home in spectacular style last wee...
June 17, 2010 |
By Tony Reichhardt
