Astrophysics
The Physics and Hype of Hypersonic Weapons
These novel missiles cannot live up to the grand promises made on their behalf, aerodynamics shows
Stories by David Wright
Defense
We Can’t Count on Missile Defense to Defeat Incoming Nukes
Missiles designed to destroy incoming nuclear warheads fail frequently in tests and could increase global risk of mass destruction
The Sciences
A Minefield in Earth Orbit: How Space Debris Is Spinning Out of Control [Interactive]
Our planet's littered orbital environs urgently need a concerted cleanup effort
Space & Physics
Where Did All That Space Debris Come From?
Early in the Space Age, little thought was given to objects left in orbit as part of satellite launches. But as the number of those objects has grown, at first steadily and then very rapidly, through the 50-plus years since the launch of Sputnik, concerns about the polluted orbital sphere have grown accordingly...
