Alan Radecki's photos of X Prize event and Mojave airport

Alan Radecki is an aviation historian, a photographer, and probably one of the most knowledgeable people on the planet with regard to the life and lore and Mojave airport — now America's first spaceport. When I was out at Mojave covering the SpaceShipOne launch for NPR, he generously served as a guide for me, my "Day to Day" producer Nihar Patel, and fellow shooter Jason DeFillippo. Alan drove us down desert dirt roads to some amazing airplane graveyards, and introduced us to incredible characters who live and work out there. More on that soon, on the radio show.

Alan took some great photos out there earlier this week, and has just published them online. He maintains a blog about the Mojave airport, and has a new book coming out — Mojave Scrapbook — about the site's rich aerospace and aviation history.

Link to Alan's latest batch of photos. This one's pretty magical. (Thanks, Wayne, and thanks Todd Lappin!)