All Stories

It was envisioned that an entire squadron of rigid airships could act as a scouting fleet from 15,000 feet in the air, visually covering thousands of square miles each day. If each of those airships were able to launch and retrieve their own scouting airplanes, that range could be increased exponentially, far more than any naval vessel was capable of. They were essentially creating a flying aircraft carrier. 

Ed Stone’s long and distinguished career in space science connects to many of the planetary exploration objects displayed in the galleries at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. That so many of the Museum’s objects have connections to his professional achievements illustrates Stone’s significant legacy in space science and exploration.

It is perhaps one of the best-known images of the 20th century. Floating free against the velvety blackness of space was Bruce McCandless II. What is perhaps less well-known was the fact that, underneath the gold visor of his helmet, McCandless was wearing glasses.  

When the Chandra X-Ray Observatory launched 25 years ago, it showed us our universe in a whole new light (literally). 

An elephant tracking collar from the Smithsonian Institution’s Conservation Ecology Center at the National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is now in the collection of the National Air and Space Museum. Conservation explains why the collar is in the collection, the decision-making behind leaving the dirt on the surface, and how the museum decided to mount the collar for display.

The city of Roswell, New Mexico is kind of in the middle of nowhere. Out in the desert west of Texas, this small oasis in the dessert was first home to indigenous peoples, then cowboys, ranching and farming and then the military before becoming the crash site of a possible UFO in 1947.

Amanda Lee is the first woman to fly jet formations as a Blue Angel.

The history of how flying boats opened up travel destinations around the world then they went to war.

The mystery surrounding the shoot-down of Melitta von Stauffenberg aircraft over the skies of Germany has finally been solved.

Pulling back the curtain on artifacts in storage. For this issue, we feature the Boeing X-45A UAV.