Air & Space Magazine

A pilot takes a self-portrait aboard the U-2. The Air Force is retrofitting the airplane’s cockpit so it is pressurized to a more comfortable 15,000-foot equivalent.

Killer at 70,000 Feet

The occupational hazards of flying the U-2

Lin Xu has copied dozens of U-2 images over the past four years, driving eight hours from his home near Boston, to the National Archives’ research facility in College Park, Maryland.

Lin Xu’s Obsession

It started with a search for images of his hometown in China. Hundreds of miles of film later, he can't stop looking.

The driver tailing the U-2 is himself a U-2 pilot.

Wingman in a Pontiac

It takes two to land the dragon lady.

Diary of a Spy

Events that made the U-2 the world's most famous player in the game of espionage.

The day Discovery completed its 39th and final flight — March 9, 2011 — a tug pulled the vehicle into an Orbiter Processing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center for a thorough examination.

Orbiter Autopsies

What NASA will learn from dissecting Atlantis, Discovery, and Endeavour

Hangar One at Moffett Field, with USS Macon overhead.

Second Life for Hangar One

The Moffett Field landmark may yet house aircraft again.

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Remembering Bessie Coleman

<p>On April 30, 1926, the first licensed African-American female pilot died.</p>

Don Pettit, working on repairs inside the International Space Station in 2008.

If You Want to Become an Astronaut, Hit the Books and Work on Your Car!

When something breaks on a spacecraft, you have to get your hands dirty.

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Learning to Love Props–Again

Regional airliners powered by turboprop engines may be making a comeback

Enterprise gets ready for the trip north.

Next Stop: New York

Space shuttle Enterprise heads for Manhattan

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Undercutting Currents

<p>ICESat shows how warm ocean water is melting Antarctica from below.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

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Going Vertical

<p>A camera strapped to <em>Betty Jane</em>'s wing follows it up, up, and over Arizona.</p>

The Spirit of Santa Monica

Between 1920 and 1975, Donald Douglas’ company—and a southern California city—helped shape aviation history.

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Personal Jetpacks of the Future, Today

Watch Yves Rossy fly his jet-powered wing above the Swiss countryside

Crowds surround Howard Hughes' Lockheed Model 14-N2 Super Electra, after the aviator's 1938 round-the-world flight.

Howard Hughes’ Robot

On his record-setting flight in 1938, the billionaire had two navigators, only one of which was human

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A New Galaxy Gallery

<p>Scientists have released 200 new infrared images from the Spitzer Space Telescope.</p>

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Helen of Earth

A poem

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A New Home

<p>A poignant moment as <em>Discovery</em> replaces <em>Enterprise</em>&nbsp;inside Smithsonian's hangar.</p>

Discovery Joins the National Air and Space Museum

Two space shuttles parked nose-to-nose today; one leaving its museum home and the other ready to take its place

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Flashes of Reality

In space I see things that are not there

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