Did you know…
Did you know… Questions and answers about aviation and space
The most searched questions about planes, rockets, pilots and astronauts, answered in two lines and explained in depth, with sources.
Aviation
Julian Herzog (Website) (CC BY), vía commons Commercial aviation
Why could the A320neo carry much larger engines without changing its structure?
The A320neo wasn't left untouched: it keeps 95% airframe commonality with the A320, but received wing and fuselage reinforcement for larger, heavier engines… more…
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Steve Jurvetson from Los Altos, USA (CC BY), vía commons Military aviation
Why are drones banned in Nicaragua?
It isn't an absolute ban, but a regime so restrictive it almost amounts to one: importing or flying a drone in Nicaragua requires prior authorization from the… more…
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Military aviation
How did German submarines know a Sunderland was approaching?
Through a radar warning receiver: the Metox, informally nicknamed the "Biscay Cross" for the look of its receiving antenna, was tuned to the frequency of the… more…
Aviation history
Was there automatic landing in 1937?
Yes, at least in one unmanned aircraft: the Airspeed AS.30 Queen Wasp, a flying target, carried an automatic landing device made up of a trailing aerial that… more…
Mateo fzo (CC BY SA), vía commons Aviation history
What was the worst accident involving a Constellation L-049?
Paradise Airlines Flight 901A. On March 1, 1964, the L-049 flying from San Jose to Tahoe Valley, California, crashed near Genoa Peak, east of Lake Tahoe… more…
Mateo fzo (CC BY SA), vía commons Aviation history
What happened to Air France's first Constellation?
It still exists. The L-049 with construction number 2072, delivered to Air France in June 1946 as F-BAZA, was re-registered in the US as N9412H and ended up… more…
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Space
Moon and Mars
Why did apollo 11 go to the moon?
Because the United States had publicly committed itself to it. On 25 May 1961 Kennedy asked Congress to back landing a man on the moon and returning him… more…
Astronauts and life in space
What is gravity like in space?
There is gravity in space, and plenty of it: at the 400 km altitude of the International Space Station it works out to about 8.7 m/s², close to 90% of the… more…
Foto: SpaceX (CC0) Rockets and launches
When does Falcon 9 launch?
There's no single date: Falcon 9 launches several times a week, often more than once on the same day, from Cape Canaveral, Kennedy Space Center, and… more…
Astronauts and life in space
When do astronauts return to Earth?
When their expedition ends: aboard the International Space Station that's usually about six months, with the spacecraft that brought them staying docked the… more…
Moon and Mars
How much apollo 11 cost?
NASA never published a price for Apollo 11 on its own; what is documented is the program. The United States spent $25.8 billion on Project Apollo between 1960… more…
Foto: SpaceX (CC0) Rockets and launches
How do rockets get from Earth into space?
A rocket reaches space in about nine minutes: it lifts off vertically, tilts eastward to take advantage of Earth's rotation, drops the first stage once it… more…
