Aerodynamics
The effects of drag and air resistance on aircraft
Pedal Power
University of Maryland students close in on the human-powered helicopter prize.
January 2013 |
By Paul Glenshaw
The 120,000-Foot Leap
Can space-diver Felix Baumgartner break the sound barrier without breaking his neck?
July 2012 |
By Mark Betancourt
Distance Runners
Unmanned aerial vehicles redefine the term "nonstop flight."
September 2011 |
By Michael Milstein
The Perfect Wind Storm
In the 1950s, engineers at Cleveland's brand-new supersonic wind tunnel battled shock waves, unstarts, and the local power company.
August 2011 |
By Jeremy Davis
A 747 for Star-gazing
How engineers altered a jumbo jet to carry the world's biggest airborne telescope.
January 2011 |
By Trudy E. Bell
How Things Work: Whole-Airplane Parachute
When everything else fails, or fails all at once, pull the parachute that saves the whole airplane.
January 2011 |
By Michael Klesius
Nanosail-D Sets Sail
Update: Successful launch! Follow the mission's progress on Twitter.In this season of solar sailing (Japan's IKAROS is still going strong), another ship is about to leave the harbor.NASA's modest solar sail demonstrator, Nanosail-D, is due to launch tonight on a Minotaur 4 rocket from Alaska. You c...
November 19, 2010 |
By Tony Reichhardt
Data Clippers
Now this is a charming idea, and maybe a handy one too – fleets of solar sails delivering pictures of distant worlds back to the home planet.Data is a valuable commodity in the Information Age, just as spices and silk were in centuries past. So Joel Poncy and his team at Thales Alenia Space have im...
October 28, 2010 |
By Tony Reichhardt
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
A&S Interview: Ray Puffer
The former Air Force historian asks, "Can anyone dispute that I had the most interesting job in the entire Air Force?"
May 2010 |
By Perry Turner
Prairie Wind
In Nowheresville, Nebraska, the Air Force learned a thing or two about turbulence.
November 2009 |
By Dave Manoucheri
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
Last Breath
As NASA prepares to shut down a historic wind tunnel in Virginia, some hope for a stay of execution.
September 10, 2009 |
By Michael Klesius
