Flying Machines
Vehicles designed for air and space flightExplore Air & Space articles about types of air and spacecraft.
Arguing about Human Space Exploration
Hot rumor has it that, like Christmas, the Obama Administration’s response to the Augustine Committee Report, Seeking a Human Space Program Worthy of a Great Nation, is imminent. Much excitement is discernible in the space blogosphere that a major change is at hand.The Augustine Committee report c...
December 16, 2009 |
By Paul D. Spudis
Batstrike!
A loud thud. A shower of purple-white sparks. This can't be good.
December 14, 2009 |
By Randy Gordon
Fear and Dread
In 45 years of photographing Mars up close, no spacecraft had ever gotten a picture of both its moons, Phobos (Fear) and Deimos (Dread), together—until last month.The High Resolution Stereo Camera on Europe's Mars Express orbiter took advantage of a rare alignment to snap this image of the two moon...
December 11, 2009 |
By Tony Reichhardt
Another Moon-forming collision?
A recent discovery from the Spitzer Space Telescope may yield new insight into the origin of our own Moon. Although this discovery was in the news some time ago, the advent of the Augustine report and the LCROSS mission results have eclipsed it.The Spitzer Telescope found evidence for a planetary ...
December 07, 2009 |
By Paul D. Spudis
Saturn, Selenokhod, and Scott Speicher
Today's offering is a post-Thanksgiving smorgasbord of stories (okay, I'll stop with the alliteration).
First, a lovely NASA video of an aurora shimmering above Saturn, with commentary by Caltech planetary scientist Andy Ingersoll, who's been exploring the outer solar system since the Pioneer 10 ...
November 30, 2009 |
By Tony Reichhardt
A Glimpse of Things to Come
A hundred years ago, the International Air Meet gave spectators a look into the future.
November 17, 2009 |
By Paul Hoversten
Panther Paint Job
Watch a 57-year-old warbird go from Winona rags to Blue Angel royalty.
November 17, 2009 |
By Michael Klesius
Sightings: Hazy's Hits
A photo gallery of airplanes at the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center.
November 17, 2009 |
By Michael Klesius
A Rainbow on the Moon
Five weeks ago a crater from the LCROSS impact formed on the Moon. The pre-impact build-up had been sensational, but the actual event was largely invisible to observers on Earth. It was a different story on the Moon. The slowly growing impact ejecta curtain threw water ice particles and vapor far...
November 14, 2009 |
By Paul D. Spudis
As the World Turns
Europe's Rosetta spacecraft took these spectacular views of a crescent Earth last week during its final close fly-by. The first frame starts at a distance of 683,000 miles. The last was taken from 198,000 miles.
November 14, 2009 |
By Tony Reichhardt
Light Sails and Laser Beams
The history of solar sailing is basically the story of Charlie Brown and the football. It remains a great concept, a technology that could theoretically take us to the stars. But for all their promise, actual solar sail missions tend to end in failure, usually before they even begin, and often thro...
November 13, 2009 |
By Tony Reichhardt
Water on the Moon, For Real
Congratulations and apologies are due. The LCROSS team, who endured much grumbling from Internet viewers after last month's crash into the moon failed to produce a big visible plume, is reporting what they say is clear evidence of water in a lunar crater. Not just a thimbleful, either—at least 24 ...
November 13, 2009 |
By Tony Reichhardt
Here Comes Rosetta...Again
You must need patience to work on Europe's Rosetta comet mission. Launched in 2004, the spacecraft won't arrive at its main destination, Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, until 2014. That's longer than New Horizons is taking to get to Pluto. The reason is that it requires a lot of energy to meet up ...
November 12, 2009 |
By Tony Reichhardt
Freeing Spirit
NASA's Mars rover prepares to escape the worst trouble of its life.
November 09, 2009 |
By Tony Reichhardt
The Bear Is Back
The winning-est Bearcat in air racing steps up once more to the starting gate.
November 2009 |
By Preston Lerner
How the Spaceship Got Its Shape
In the 1950s Harvey Allen solved the problem of atmospheric entry. But first he had to convince his colleagues.
November 2009 |
By Andrew Chaikin
