Constelation

In the rosy light of dawn, construction continues on the new lightning protection system for the Constellation Program on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Each of the three new lightning towers will be 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009.

(sorce:nasa)

sky raptor

An F-22 Raptor, the world's first stealth air-to-air fighter, demonstrates combat maneuvers while participating in the 2007 Naval Air Station Oceana Air Show. The three-day air show featured demonstrations from the Blue Angels, British Red Devils and Blac

mother's belly

1st Lt. Jason Edwards checks the bomb load of a B-1B Lancer Dec. 29 as he and the rest of the aircrew preflight check the bomber prior to a mission. Lieutenant Edwards is with the 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron at an air base in Southwest Asia.

U. S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Douglas Olsen

photo session: combat airwaves

B-2 Spirit refuels from a KC-135 Stratotanker

F/A-18 Super Hornet


The 64th Aggressor Squadron's F-15 Eagles and F-16 Fighting Falcon

B-52

B-1B Lancer

photo session: the tools of space exploration

saturn V (+)

soyuz (+)

space shuttle (+)

ariane 5 (+)

zenit 3SL (+)

uss bataan in lisbon

USS Bataan in the port of Lisbon, summer 2003

avrocar

The VZ-9- AV Avrocar was a Canadian VTOL aircraft developed by Avro Aircraft as part of a secret US military project carried out in the early years of the Cold War. Two prototypes were built as "proof-of-concept" test vehicles for more advanced USAF fighter and US Army tactical combat aircraft. The Avrocar intended to exploit the Coandă effect to provide lift and thrust from a single "turborotor." Thrust from the rotor was diverted out the rim of the disk-shaped aircraft to provide anticipated VTOL-like performance. In the air, it would have resembled a flying saucer. In flight testing, the Avrocar proved to have unresolved thrust and stability problems that limited it to a degraded, low-performance flight envelope; subsequently, the project ended ignominiously with the program cancellation in 1961.

Type: experimental "proof-of-concept" vehicle
Manufacturer: Avro Aircraft Ltd.
Designed by: John Frost
Maiden flight: 12 November 1959
Introduced: 1958
Retired: 1961
Status: experimental
Primary users: United States Air Force (intended)United States Army (intended)
Produced: 1958-1959
Number built: 2
Unit cost: Project cost: $10 million (USD)

sr-71 blackbird

The SR-71 remained the world's fastest and highest-flying operational manned aircraft throughout its career. From an altitude of 80,000 ft (24 km) it could survey 100,000 square miles per hour (72 square kilometers per second) of the Earth's surface. On 28 July 1976, an SR-71 broke the world record for its class: an absolute speed record of 2,193.1669 mph (3,529.56 km/h), and a US "absolute altitude record" of 85,068.997 feet (25,929 m). Several planes exceeded this altitude in zoom climbs but not in sustained flight. When the SR-71 was retired in 1990, one was flown from its birthplace at United States Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California to go on exhibit at what is now the Smithsonian Institution's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (an annex of the National Air & Space Museum) in Chantilly, Virginia. The Blackbird, piloted by Colonel Ed Yielding and Lt. Col. J.T. Vida, set a coast-to-coast speed record at an average 2,124 mph (3,418 km/h). The entire trip was reported as 68 minutes and 17 seconds. Three additional records were set within segments of the flight, including a new absolute top speed of 2,242 mph measured between the radar gates set up in St. Louis and Cincinnati. These were accepted by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA), the recognized body for aviation records in the United States. An enthusiast site devoted to the Blackbird lists a record time of 64 minutes. The SR-71 also holds the record for flying from New York to London: 1 hour 54 minutes and 56.4 seconds, set on 1 September 1974. This is only Mach 2.68, well below the declassified figure of 3.0+. (For comparison, commercial Concorde flights took around 3 hours 20 minutes, and the Boeing 747 averages 6 hours.)

General characteristics
Crew: 2
Payload: 3,500 lb (1,600 kg) of sensors
Length: 107 ft 5 in (32.74 m)
Wingspan: 55 ft 7 in (16.94 m)
Height: 18 ft 6 in (5.64 m)
Wing area: 1,800 ft2 (170 m2)
Empty weight: 67,500 lb (30 600 kg)
Loaded weight: 170,000 lb (77 000 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 172,000 lb (78 000 kg)
Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney J58-1 continuous-bleed afterburning turbojets, 32,500 lbf (145 kN) each
Wheel track: 16 ft 8 in (5.08 m)
Wheel base: 37 ft 10 in (11.53 m)
Aspect ratio: 1.7
Performance
Maximum speed: Mach 3.3+ (2,200+ mph, 3530+ km/h) at 80,000 ft (24,000m)
Range:
Combat: 2,900 nm (5400 km)
Ferry: 3,200 nm (5,925 km)
Service ceiling: 85,000 ft (25,900m, 16 miles)
Rate of climb: 11,810 ft/min (60 m/s)
Wing loading: 94 lb/ft2 (460 kg/m2)
Thrust/weight: 0.382

more info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SR-71_Blackbird

military laser experiment

"A military scientist operates a laser in a test environment. The Directorate conducts research on a variety of solid-state and chemical lasers."

YB49

The Northrop YB-49 was a prototype jet-powered flying wing medium bomber aircraft developed by Northrop for the United States Air Force shortly after World War II. It was a development of the piston-engined YB-35, and the two YB-49s actually built were both converted YB-35 test aircraft. The aircraft was never to enter production, however, being passed over in favor of the more conventional Convair B-36 in service.

General characteristics

Crew: 7
Length: 53 ft 1 in (16.20 m)
Wingspan: 172 ft 0 in (52.40 m)
Height: 20 ft 3 in (6.2 m)
Wing area: 4,000 ft² (371.6 m²)
Airfoil: NACA 65-019 root, NACA 65-018 tip
Empty weight: 88,442 lb (40,116 kg)
Loaded weight: 133,559 lb (60,581 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 193,938 lb (87,969 kg)
Powerplant: 8× Allison/General Electric J35-A-19 turbojets, 3,800 lbf (17 kN) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 493 mph (793 km/h)
Range:
Combat: 1,615 mi (2,599 km)
Ferry: 3,578 mi (5,758 km)
Service ceiling: 45,700 ft (13,900 m)
Rate of climb: 3,758 ft/min (19.1 m/s)
Wing loading: 33 lb/ft² (163 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.23

Armament

Guns: 4 x .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns
Bombs: 32,000 lb (14,500 kg)

uss iwoa

(click for full view)

USS Iowa (BB-61), the lead ship of the U.S. Navy's last class of battleship, was the fourth ship of the same name to serve in the United States Navy, but the second to be commissioned, to be named in honor of the 29th state.
Iowa's keel was laid down on 27 June 1940 at the New York Navy Yard. Nicknamed "The Big Stick," the battleship was launched on 27 August 1942 sponsored by Ilo Wallace (wife of Vice President Henry Wallace), and commissioned on 22 February 1943 with Capt. John L. McCrea in command.

Iowa earned nine battle stars for World War II service and two for Korean War service.

Status:
Maintained as part of the US Reserve FleetSlated to be donated for use as a museum ship on or around 2008