May 2012

Opening Announcements, Cover, Contents

Viewport, Letters, What’s Up, Soundings, In the Museum, Above & Beyond, Oldies & Oddities

Sightings, Reviews & Previews, Credits, Forecast, Moments & Milestones

Orbiter Autopsies

NASA puts the space shuttle orbiters under the scalpel to find out what their bodies can tell about the toll of riding rockets and orbiting Earth.

By Greg Freiherr

Spyplane Special: U-2

Included articles: Diary of a Spy, Wingman in a Pontiac, Lin Xu's Obession, Killer at 70,000 Feet, I Was There: Bring Down the Spyplan

By various authors

Air Rangers

Dream job: air patrol in America's national parks

Allen Abel

Cancelled: Design by Committee

The Bristol Brabazon was big and it flew. Much more can't be said.

By Stephan Wilkinson

Ghosts of Gemini

Mementos of the shock of seeing men in space.

By Tony Reichhardt

The Women's RAF

Before the U.S. Army Air Froces had the WASP, Britain had the ATA.

By Yona Zeldis McDonough