Governmental Aerospace Programs
The Federal Aviation Administration, air mail, space programs and military aviation
The Authorized Version
NASA’s new authorization bill (S.3729) was passed by Congress before they cleared out of town and will soon be signed by the President, codifying into law the federal government’s formal abandonment of the Vision for Space Exploration. In its place is a mish-mosh of platitudes, entitlement program...
October 07, 2010 |
By Paul D. Spudis
Bon Voyage, Soyuz TMA-01M
NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka are due to launch to the space station at 7:10 P.M., U.S. Eastern time today, from the Baikonur launch center in Kazakhstan. Fellow astronaut Ron Garan is at Baikonur with Kelly, providing live commentary via his...
October 07, 2010 |
By Tony Reichhardt
Pushing His Buttons
Alex Spencer, curator of British aircraft and military flight materiél at the National Air and Space Museum, started his career some 20 years ago as a lowly intern. One morning, as he was riding the shuttle out to the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility in Suitland, Maryl...
October 04, 2010 |
By Rebecca Maksel
An Artistic Sendoff for the Shuttle's Last Tank
Space shuttle historian Dennis Jenkins took a poignant ride alongside the vehicle's last external tank on Monday as it completed its long journey to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. A NASA contract engineer with 30 years in the shuttle program, Jenkins also is the author of Space Shuttle...
September 29, 2010 |
By Mike Klesius
Russian Animals in Space
Even if you don't understand Russian (and I don't) this TV Roskosmos mini-documentary on animals in space is worth watching. You'll see footage of the usual celebrities, including astro dogs Laika and Belka and Strelka. Laika's trainer Oleg Gazenko, a key figure in early space animal experiments wh...
September 28, 2010 |
By Tony Reichhardt
"Ah, Dr. Mach!"
On this day in 1953, 21-year-old North Korean pilot No Kum-Sok astonished the American flyers at Kimpo Air Base in South Korea by landing in the middle of their runway and surrendering—thus becoming the first MiG pilot to defect to the West.
In his fascinating 1996 book, A MiG-15 to Freedom, No (w...
September 21, 2010 |
By Tony Reichhardt
A New Record for Mars 500
When I saw this new image of the six guys locked inside the Mars 500 mission simulation chamber in Moscow, I feared for their mental health.But they seem to be doing fine. In fact, they just broke the previous Mars chamber endurance record:
September 17, 2010 |
By Tony Reichhardt
Inspiration
Former space shuttle commander Frank Culbertson stepped up to the podium inside a hearing room in the Rayburn House office building yesterday morning, and talked about inspiration. He turned to his left and thanked moon walker Buzz Aldrin for a kind gesture last year during a visit to the Johnson S...
September 15, 2010 |
By Mike Klesius
Plymouth Rock: 90 Days in a Minivan
At first I was excited to read press reports of a Lockheed-Martin concept for a bare-bones human asteroid mission, using a pair of Orion capsules yoked together. Finally, a near-term plan! Because the Orion is mostly built, the first "Plymouth Rock" mission could fly as early as 2016, nine years ea...
September 03, 2010 |
By Tony Reichhardt
The Truth is Out There
A veteran reporter describes his search for the aircraft of Area 51.
September 2010 |
By William B. Scott
The Curse of the Cargomaster
Readied to transport the first U.S. ICBMs, the Douglas C-133 had a peculiar habit. It kept crashing.
September 2010 |
By John Sotham
Case Closed
Mysteries solved, secrets revealed, and questions finally answered.
September 2010 |
By The Editors
What Made Yuri Fall?
Igor Kuznetsov reopened the Gagarin inquest to find out.
September 2010 |
By Andrew Osborn
The Force Is With Them
What changes the speed of spacecraft flying by Earth?
September 2010 |
By Sam Kean
A.W.O.L.
You may have read about the X-37B, the U.S. Air Force's new unmanned orbital spaceplane, in our January issue. The secretive satellite with space-shuttlesque delta wings made its first launch on April 22 of this year atop an Atlas V rocket, and has been in orbit since, visible on the web via a numb...
August 26, 2010 |
By Mike Klesius
