Russians are proud of their space history. On any given month in Moscow and St. Petersburg, there are anniversaries, retrospectives, and commemorations featuring veterans ready to talk about yet another memoir, exhibition, or “definitive” history book. One part of this growing nostalgia industry is the expanding number of motion pictures based on the nation’s space program. In the Soviet era, there was a long and distinguished tradition of thought-provoking (and occasionally mind-blowing) science fiction movies set in outer space. That lineage traces its roots back to the classic silent...…Russians are proud of their space history. On any given month in Moscow and St. Petersburg, there are anniversaries, retrospectives, and commemorations featuring veterans ready to talk about yet another memoir, exhibition, or “definitive” history book. One part of this growing nostalgia industry is the expanding number of motion pictures based on the nation’s space program. In the Soviet era, there was a long and distinguished tradition of thought-provoking (and occasionally mind-blowing) science fiction movies set in outer space. That lineage traces its roots back to the classic silent...WW…

On September 13, 1985, at 12:42 p.m., Major Wilbert “Doug” Pearson pushed the “pickle button” in the cockpit of his F-15A, launching a missile high over the Pacific Ocean. He was in a steep vertical climb, flying at just under Mach 1, and was at 36,000 feet. The missile roared toward its target, the Solwind P78-1 satellite moving at 17,500 mph, almost 300 miles above Pearson’s aircraft. As the missile disappeared from view, all Pearson could do was wait—he wouldn’t be able to see if it had hit the target. But his friend Scott in the control room would know. They worked out a code so Pearson...…On September 13, 1985, at 12:42 p.m., Major Wilbert “Doug” Pearson pushed the “pickle button” in the cockpit of his F-15A, launching a missile high over the Pacific Ocean. He was in a steep vertical climb, flying at just under Mach 1, and was at 36,000 feet. The missile roared toward its target, the Solwind P78-1 satellite moving at 17,500 mph, almost 300 miles above Pearson’s aircraft. As the missile disappeared from view, all Pearson could do was wait—he wouldn’t be able to see if it had hit the target. But his friend Scott in the control room would know. They worked out a code so Pearson...WW…

On the afternoon of January 27, 1967, the three crew members of the first Apollo mission left the transfer van that took them to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral. There, astronauts Roger Chaffee, Gus Grissom, and Ed White entered the command module and began a “plugs out” test (that is, with the spacecraft detached from all umbilicals and external power sources) of the launch vehicle and spacecraft designed to carry them on their mission.At 6:31 p.m., a spark ignited in the lower equipment bay of the spacecraft. The atmosphere inside was 100 percent oxygen. The astronauts didn’t have a...…On the afternoon of January 27, 1967, the three crew members of the first Apollo mission left the transfer van that took them to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral. There, astronauts Roger Chaffee, Gus Grissom, and Ed White entered the command module and began a “plugs out” test (that is, with the spacecraft detached from all umbilicals and external power sources) of the launch vehicle and spacecraft designed to carry them on their mission.At 6:31 p.m., a spark ignited in the lower equipment bay of the spacecraft. The atmosphere inside was 100 percent oxygen. The astronauts didn’t have a...WW…

Ben Shertzer, wildlife administrator at Pittsburgh International Airport, has hustled deer off the airfield, removed ducks from the airport’s retention basin, and escorted wayward raccoons from various terminal buildings. But in August 2012, when thousands of honeybees landed on the winglets of a Delta aircraft headed to New York, interrupting refueling and baggage loading, he turned to master beekeeper Steve Repasky and said, “This one’s all you. I’ll stay in the truck.”It was the fourth swarm Shertzer had confronted in the last few months. In May, roughly 15,000 bees had obscured a light...…Ben Shertzer, wildlife administrator at Pittsburgh International Airport, has hustled deer off the airfield, removed ducks from the airport’s retention basin, and escorted wayward raccoons from various terminal buildings. But in August 2012, when thousands of honeybees landed on the winglets of a Delta aircraft headed to New York, interrupting refueling and baggage loading, he turned to master beekeeper Steve Repasky and said, “This one’s all you. I’ll stay in the truck.”It was the fourth swarm Shertzer had confronted in the last few months. In May, roughly 15,000 bees had obscured a light...WW…