CURRENT ISSUE
July 2007
Features
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Amelia Earhart, American Idol
When she vanished at the age of 39, she was as big a star as Greta Garbo. Is that why some are still driven to solve the mystery?
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Think You Know Amelia?
Take our Earhart quiz and find out.
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Can We Hear Them Now?
Speak up, space aliens. These 42 new radio telescopes are all ears.
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Alenia's Gamble
To help build the Boeing 787's composite fuselage, Italy spends a bundle.
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Alenia's Robots
They're not as wise as R2D2, but robots are essential in building aircraft like the Airbus A380.
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Flight Lines
Why contrails hang around.
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Buried at the Bottom of the World
When people die serving their country, to what lengths must a government go to recover the bodies?
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Operation Highjump
A year after World War II ended, the U.S. Navy mounted a massive-though hastily planned-mission to the bottom of the world.
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It All Started with Sputnik
An eminent space historian looks back on the first 50 years of space exploration.
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50 Ways to Space Out
Looking for ways to celebrate a half century of spaceflight? Here's fifty of 'em.
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The Real Reasons We Explore Space
Ambition, curiosity, and a reason the NASA Administrator admits has nothing to do with economic benefit.
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Restorative Genius
A young military airplane craftsman makes his mark.
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In Thrust We Trust
To Tim Pickens, rockets are the only way to go.
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How Things Work: Afterburners
Jets get no kick from champagne, but a little fuel in the tailpipe...
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Pieces of a Surviving Zero Tell a Different Pearl Harbor Story
A violent clash of cultures and a race for technology.
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Hunting Zeros
Finding an airworthy Zero is not easy these days. In fact, you can count them on one hand.