Flying Machines
Vehicles designed for air and space flightExplore Air & Space articles about types of air and spacecraft.
A Family Affair
Bernard Pietenpol’s happiest moments came when he was flying one of his homebuilt airplanes—with a child or two in tow.
March 15, 2010 |
By Diane Tedeschi
Stuck in Transit – Unchaining Ourselves From the Rocket Equation
Last fall, after much anticipation, the Augustine Committee presented us with their assessment of the future of space exploration. Its basic conclusion was that at currently envisioned budgets, the Program of Record (a.k.a. ESAS, Project Constellation) would not get us back to the Moon before many...
March 11, 2010 |
By Paul D. Spudis
Phobos Up Close
Given all the angst recently about NASA astronauts needing a new destination, it's good to step back and review the options. There aren't many. There's the moon, of course, and Mars. A near-Earth asteroid. And one more possibility, often forgotten—the Martian moons Phobos and Deimos.Tomorrow at 3:5...
March 02, 2010 |
By Tony Reichhardt
Ice at the north pole of the Moon
Last year, India’s Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter spent eight months mapping the surface of the Moon. I had the honor of being the Principal Investigator of an experiment on that mission, the Mini-SAR imaging radar. The purpose of this experiment is to map and characterize the deposits within perman...
March 01, 2010 |
By Paul D. Spudis
Our Favorite Martians
For the scientists and engineers who drive the Spirit and Opportunity rovers, Mars exploration is personal.
March 2010 |
By Michael Klesius
Legends of Vietnam: Bronco's Tale
One of the most versatile aircraft of the Vietnam War appears on the verge of a comeback.
March 2010 |
By William E. Burrows
Don't Cross That Line
Would a fighter pilot shoot down a private airplane?
March 2010 |
By Craig Mellow
The Gold-Plated Cabin
There aren’t many companies that can make an airliner fit for a king.
March 2010 |
By Roger A. Mola
Head Skunk
Kelly Johnson was a giant in aircraft design. On the 100th anniversary of his birth, we find out how his legend grew.
March 2010 |
By Peter Garrison
Hornet v. MiG
U.S. Marine aviators to Malaysian MiG pilots: Show us what you got.
March 2010 |
By Ed Darack
Creation of a Cover Shot
Photographer Eric Curry shows how he made our March 2010 cover.
March 01, 2010 |
By The Editors
Talismanic Thinking
Wild claims are being tossed about regarding the future U.S. space program. Recipes for success are touted and e-mailed around – concepts based more on wishful thinking than on solid science and engineering. My friend Rand Simberg refers to those who would replicate anew the means we devised to g...
February 27, 2010 |
By Paul D. Spudis
Confusing the Means and the Ends
The release of the proposed NASA budget and new “direction” has led to an intense “cage fight” in the blogosphere over who has the best rocket and the best architecture. Many “New Space” advocates are ecstatic, viewing the cancellation of the Constellation program as vindication of their view that...
February 13, 2010 |
By Paul D. Spudis
Vision Impaired
The release of the new proposed budget for NASA has unleashed a blizzard of news articles and commentary. The administration proposes to terminate Constellation, the agency effort to design and build a new space transportation system to carry people to low Earth orbit and beyond. In its place, th...
February 03, 2010 |
By Paul D. Spudis
No More A-Roving
NASA’s Spirit rover goes into survival mode on Mars.
January 28, 2010 |
By Michael Klesius
Have We Forgotten What Exploration Means?
Yet again, the U.S. space program is in the slough of despond, whereby previous assumptions are questioned, the current path is discarded, the program is re-directed, and luminous enthusiasm heralds the new direction…And then it all tapers off to nothing.As long as we are navel-gazing during this p...
January 25, 2010 |
By Paul D. Spudis
Lasers High and Low
Boeing has released this video of a test conducted at the Army's Redstone Arsenal in Alabama last September, during which the ground-based Laser Avenger weapon blew up 50 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) of the kind used against U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mounted on an armored vehicle,...
January 25, 2010 |
By Tony Reichhardt
