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Aerospace

The latest developments in aviation, satellites, astrophysics, space flight, and space exploration
AerospaceTopicMagazineTypeFeatureSpecial ReportsJanuary 2023

Top Tech 2023: A Special Report

These two dozen technical projects should make significant advances in the coming year

2 min read
Top Tech 2023: A Special Report
Curved streak in night sky as rocket climbs toward space in time exposure
AerospaceTopicNewsType

Relativity Space Launches First 3D Printed Rocket. How'd It Do?

Successful liftoff of 3D-printed rocket, but second stage engine fails

4 min read
A man holding a helmet stands in front of a black eVTOL in an empty landscape.
AerospaceTopicArticleType

I Fly Opener’s BlackFly eVTOL

A gripping preview of urban air mobility

3 min read
Report: Global Patent Renewal Trends—Unpicking What Survives
ComputingTopicWhitepaper

Report: Global Patent Renewal Trends—Unpicking What Survives

Unpicking what survives to better understand maintenance behaviors and unleash annuities' strategic value

A photo of a plane taking off with "zeroavia" on the front.
AerospaceTopicMagazineEnergyTypeNews

Skies Begin to Clear for Hydrogen-Powered Flight

Startups and big aerospace vie for their shot at turning H2 into tomorrow’s jet fuel

5 min read
A combination of two concept images showing different Liberty Lifter aircraft
AerospaceTopicTypeNews

Two Companies Working Toward Full-Scale Liberty Lifter X-Plane

DARPA’s massive ground-effect seaplane enters the design phase

2 min read

Robotics News in your inbox

Subscribe to IEEE Spectrum’s Robotics News.
A lightweight gold-colored square frame for a solar power array, seen flying in space with Earth in background.
AerospaceTopicMagazineEnergyTypeNews

Caltech Tests Space-Based Solar Power

Using a satellite as testbed for wirelessly beaming power from orbit

4 min read
A green laser shooting up into a cloud-filled sky on the side of a cliff.
AerospaceTopicEnergyTypeNews

Lasers Shot At Sky Can Guide Lightning

Lightning rods of the air can help protect airports, rocket launchpads, and nuclear power plants

4 min read

James Webb Telescope

IEEE Spectrum explores the Webb Telescope’s groundbreaking engineering
See the full collection →
NASA's James Webb space telescople
Two men fix metal rods to a gold-foiled satellite component in a warehouse/clean room environment
AerospaceTopicMagazineTypeFeatureSpectrum CollectionsSeptember 2022Telecommunications

The Webb Space Telescope’s Profound Data Challenges

Rendering of James Webb Space Telescope including its 18-segmented primary mirrors and its five-layered sun shade
AerospaceTopicMagazineTypeFeatureSpectrum CollectionsSeptember 2022

Inside the Universe Machine: The Webb Space Telescope’s Chilly Sun Shield

Fourteen technicians in clean-room suits guide the hoisting of a honeycombed, hexagon-mirrored telescope inside a giant cleanroom construction space
AerospaceTopicMagazineTypeFeatureSpectrum CollectionsSeptember 2022

Inside the Universe Machine: The Webb Space Telescope’s Staggering Vision

Get the latest technology news in your inbox

Subscribe to IEEE Spectrum’s newsletters by selecting from the list.
A white rocket, seen from below as it launches into the sky
AerospaceTopicTypeRoboticsNews

Relativity Space Aims for Orbit

Inaugural launch pending, the SpaceX competitor seeks to close the deal on 3D-printed rockets

4 min read
Illustration of a plane flying over a city.
AerospaceTopicTypeNewsTransportation

Maxwell, NASA’s e-Plane, Is Running Out of Runway

The X-57's first flight is imminent, but it won't be airborne long

5 min read
An unusual aircraft with two wings and eight propellers flies above a snow-covered plain.
AerospaceTopicMagazineTypeFeatureSpecial ReportsJanuary 2023

Finally, an eVTOL You Can Buy (Soon)

You won’t need a pilot’s license to fly Opener’s BlackFly

9 min read

Journal Watch

The latest engineering and computer science advances in context from IEEE Spectrum and the Xplore Digital Library
BiomedicalTopicTypeNews

Mini Robot Enters Blood Vessels, Completes Surgery

3 min read
microscopic view of a narrowed blood vessel
Artificial IntelligenceTopicTypeNews

Combating Hate Speech Online With AI

2 min read
speech bubbles with special characters on a red background
Consumer ElectronicsTopicTypeNews

Wireless Chargers Reach for the Megahertz Range

3 min read
an illustration of a blue wireless cell phone above a wireless charger on a purple background
EnergyTopicMagazineTypeNews

Water Heaters Have Battery Potential

3 min read
A water heater in a basement with a fusebox and blue tool box.
TransportationTopicMagazineTypeNewsMarch 2023

3 Ways to Help NASA’s All-Electric Aircraft Take Off

3 min read
illustration of an aircraft in flight among the clouds
AerospaceTopicMagazineTypeFeatureSpecial ReportsJanuary 2023

The Tech Is Finally Good Enough for an Airship Revival

LTA Research’s Pathfinder 1 aims to solve humanitarian-relief and supply-chain bottlenecks

4 min read
People are arranged around the rear end of a white, cylindrical airship above a white floor and inside of a large aircraft hanger.
In an artist’s rendering, a truck is shown with five sets of wheels—two sets for the cab, the rest for the trailer—and a box on the top of the trailer, from which a red ray is projected on an angle, upward, ending in the silhouette of an airplane, which is being destroyed
AerospaceTopicMagazineTypeFeatureSpecial ReportsJanuary 2023

Economics Drives Ray-Gun Resurgence

Laser weapons, cheaper by the shot, should work well against drones and cruise missiles

5 min read
Left, a telescope pointed at the sky. Right, a drone in flight.
TelecommunicationsTopicAerospaceTypeNews

This Free-Space Optics System Could Boost Space Comms

A 100-gigabit-per-second ground-to-drone link achieved with laser optics

4 min read
Reuters Events logo
EnergyTopicTypeWhitepaper

Small Modular Reactors: Capital Funding, Financing & Economic Viability

Download the report to learn about advancing financing to support SMRs and advanced reactors deployment

rocket taking off into space with Earth behind it
AerospaceTopicNewsType

India’s First Private Space Rocket Blasts Off

The launch is a signal of the country’s ambitious spacefaring plans

4 min read
An orange survival space suit reclines inside of a a cramped space capsule
AerospaceTopicTypeNews

Here’s All the Science Hitching a Ride on Artemis I

A small fleet of CubeSats joins three mannequins, fungus, algae, and more on a trip to the moon and back

4 min read
A camera view of a flock of birds. Inset photo shows a robotic falcon with a camera on its head.
AerospaceTopicMagazineTypeRoboticsNewsFebruary 2023

Robotic Falcon Keeps Birds Away From Airports

Is its large silhouette the real scare factor?

3 min read
A shot from overhead of a helicopter, with its rotors spinning. A large cylindrical object hangs from it on a cable.
AerospaceTopicTypeNewsTransportation

Chopper Rocket Chasers Played “Catch Me if You Can”

Update: D’oh!! Next time!

4 min read
Who Will Fix Hubble and Chandra?
AerospaceTopicTypeRoboticsNews

Who Will Fix Hubble and Chandra?

Private enterprise seeks to service storied space-science missions

4 min read
A cubesat with 2 large solar panels in front of two grey asteroids in space, with a smaller cubesat nearby.
AerospaceTopicTypeNews

NASA’s DART Mission Aims to Save the World

A robotic probe has been sent to crash into an asteroid in a test of planetary defense

4 min read
TopicAerospaceMagazineTypeFeatureMarch 2022

Satellite Imagery for Everyone

Here’s how you can order up a high-resolution image of any place on Earth

12 min read
This image shows are variety of blue and green hues, interwoven in a geometrically intriguing way.