CURRENT ISSUE
August 2009
Features
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Military_Apache_Flash_AUG09.jpg)
Apache
For once, the deadliest helicopter in the world was tapped to save a life.
The Electric Airplane
Quiet, smooth, dependable—shouldn’t we be flying these by now?
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Space_AlanBean_Flash_AUG09.jpg)
The Art of a Moonwalker
Alan Bean’s moonscapes show what photographs can’t.
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/5b/4b/5b4b6a95-9d24-4038-8030-0ce93b77b1f9/ivymikeb1600c20.jpg)
Into the Mushroom Cloud
Most pilots would head away from a thermonuclear explosion.
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/ae/38/ae380e13-ebf3-40fc-82dc-13654efa6673/sts028-22-030_orig.jpg)
The Secret Space Shuttles
The Pentagon also used NASA’s space truck, but was a lot less willing to discuss what went on up there.
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Arch_President_Flash_AUG09.jpg)
From Pilot to President
Do aviators make better leaders?
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Today_HTW_Flash_AUG09.jpg)
How Things Work: Self-Healing Airplanes
Several technologies that could put mechanics out of work.
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Today_Airport_Flash_AUG09.jpg)
The Airport That Wouldn’t Die
An embattled Florida field had more than history on its side.
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Arch_Invent_Flash_AUG09.jpg)
The Birthplaces of Aviation
It didn't all happen at Kitty Hawk.