Stories of daring, stories of technological feats, stories of prevailing against the odds ... these are the stories we tell at the National Air and Space Museum. Dive in to the stories below to discover, learn, and be inspired.
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April 05, 2019A Guiding Light: The Airway Beacon TowerStory
| Air and Space Photos
The first pioneering pilots flew the airways during the day without purpose-designed maps. This presented a problem for the U.S. Post Office: Without flying at night, airmail was slower than by railroad and the higher cost of air transport had no value.
The world of sport aviation suffered a tragic loss on March 25, 2019, with the death of Julian R.P. Nott after an accident on the ground following a successful landing of an experimental balloon. Nott was one of the founders of the modern sport ballooning movement and an innovator in the field.
As you may have heard, astronauts Christina Koch and Anne McClain were scheduled to perform a spacewalk today. AirSpace hosts Emily, Matt, and Nick break down why this changed.
Read moreMarch 28, 2019AirSpace Season 2|Ep. 2 Rover R-E-S-P-E-C-T Story
| AirSpace Podcast
AirSpace listeners know that no space mission is complete without a cool name, and there’s no “higher” recognition than having a space probe named in your honor (see what we did there?).
Read moreMarch 28, 2019The Many Flights of the Czar of BaseballStory
| From the Archives
In the wake of the Black Sox Scandal, Baseball was looking to restore its integrity with a leader with his feet firmly on the ground. They elected Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis as the first Commissioner (or “Czar”) of Baseball. A long-serving jurist from Chicago, Landis was known for his decisions against big businesses, such as Standard Oil, and for slipping out to Cubs and White Sox games. But Landis also had his head in the clouds, a true aviation enthusiast!
Read moreMarch 27, 2019Going Subsonic: Moving the T-38 TalonStory
Pioneering female pilot Jackie Cochran set eight world speed, altitude, and distance records in our Northrop T-38 Talon. In this blog, we talk to a member of our collections team about the process of moving the aircraft's fuselage from Maryland to Virginia in December 2018.
Read moreMarch 26, 2019Women Who DefyStory
National Air and Space Museum director reflects on the trailblazing women in aviation and space that inspire her.
Read moreMarch 22, 2019"A Fog-Filled Canal on Mars"Story
In this guest blog post, Chesley Bonestell expert Melvin Schuetz reflects on the Bonestell artwork "A Fog-Filled Canal on Mars."
Read moreMarch 20, 2019Decades of Inspiration from Chesley BonestellStory
This guest blog post by space artist Ron Miller explores the impact illustrator Chesley Bonestell had on his life, and recounts 50 years of telling Bonestell's story.
Read moreMarch 14, 2019AirSpace Season 2|Ep. 1 Get Off of My CloudStory
| AirSpace Podcast
Welcome to SEASON 2 of AirSpace! We’re back with more stories that defy gravity, and in this exciting episode, we’ll hear about one man’s terrifying ordeal trying to get back down to the ground.