The Next DARPA X-Plane Won’t Maneuver like Any Plane Before It
The challenge is to build an airplane without moving control surfaces
Aerospace104 articles archived since 1845
White Oak Works Best for Fighter Plane Propellers
Originally published in September 1919
Why Baseballs Are Flying in 2019
An analysis of the 2019 edition of the Major League baseball points to reasons why it's leaving ballparks at a record rate.
Israeli Spacecraft Fails to Make First Private Lunar Landing
Private organization SpaceIL’s Beresheet lander crashes down on the moon following engine and communications problems
Despite Similarities, Are the Two Recent 737 Max 8 Crashes a Coincidence?
Former Boeing engineer Peter Lemme weighs in on the second 737 Max 8 accident in five months
Detecting Fog Using Signals from Cell-Phone Towers
A novel technique can predict foggy conditions an hour before they appear
Mars Mission Makes Clean Landing
The sounds of the Mars InSight Mission control room during the tense minutes leading to the landing on the surface.
Ion Drive: The First Flight
Researchers from MIT have flown a plane with no moving parts for the first time. It is powered by an "ion drive" which uses high powered electrodes to ionise and accelerate air particles, creating an "ionic wind." This wind drove a five-meter-wide craft across a sports hall...
Scanning Ancient Civilizations from the Skies
An aerial laser scan of more than 800 square miles of Guatemalan jungle revealed Maya buildings, canals, roads and bridges. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Method of Making Oxygen from Water in Zero Gravity Raises Hope for Long-Distance Space Travel
One of the main challenges with long-distance space flight is transporting enough oxygen for astronauts to breathe and enough fuel to power complex electronics
Should We Always Trust What We See in Satellite Images?
People need to understand the technology’s limitations to avoid misinterpreting what they see
Here's What's Needed for Self-Flying Taxis and Delivery Drones to Really Take Off
Whether carting pizzas or passengers, small autonomous aircraft like the ones Amazon, Uber and others are testing need sophisticated traffic management to prevent collisions
Can Artificial Intelligence Help Find Alien Intelligence?
Scientists are considering whether AI could help us search for alien intelligence in ways we haven’t even thought of yet
Russia’s New Nukes Are Similar to a Risky Project the U.S. Abandoned
The U.S. Air Force’s Project Pluto sought to create nuclear-powered cruise missiles, but was terminated decades ago after second thoughts over the dangers
Air Force Tracks Final Frontier
General Jay Raymond, Commander of Air Force Space Command, talks about keeping watch over space and cyber.
Jet Fuel from Sugarcane? It’s Not a Flight of Fancy
Researchers have found that engineered sugarcane could yield more than 2,500 liters of bio-jet fuel per acre of land
Here’s How Drones Do (and Don’t) Threaten Passenger Aircraft
Quadcopter crashes with a helicopter and plane—the first-ever in the U.S. and Canada, respectively—show that such encounters are no longer hypothetical
Nearby Exoplanets Invigorate the Search for E.T.
SETI pioneer Jill Tarter and Berkeley researcher Dan Werthimer talk about how the discovery of nearby exoplanets is inspiring new efforts to gain info about these galactic neighbors. ...
Could Samaritan Drone Aircraft Help Hurricane Harvey Rescuers?
Drone pilots say they can save lives, but emergency responders want them grounded
Perching Drone Clings to Walls
This fixed wing drone copies a bird to land on vertical surfaces and lift off again.
