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. 

Showing 11 - 20 of 353

September 20, 2023 Museum of Dreams Story | Air & Space Quarterly

The National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center turns 20.

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September 19, 2023 Restoring the Museum’s V-2 Missile Story

One of the icons of the Museum was the black-and-white German V-2 ballistic missile. Ever since the building opened in July 1976, it stood in Space Hall, which in 1997 was revised to become Space Race. That rocket will return in a new guise, with green camouflage paint, when the hall reopens in a few years as RTX Living in the Space Age.

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June 17, 2023 The Caretaker Story | Air & Space Quarterly

A conversation with aerospace engineer Dennis Jenkins who works with the space shuttles, relying on his expertise in orbiter construction to ensure their maintenance as museum artifacts. 

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June 16, 2023 Archives Spotlight: R. E. G. (Ron) Davies Air Transport Collection Story | From the Archives

Throughout his career, Museum curator Ron Davies collected everything--tickets, timetables, brochures, photographs, public relations releases, and baggage labels—from airlines around the world from his travels. He encouraged his friends and colleagues to save their materials for him. He wrote to airlines and aircraft manufacturers soliciting information. This material, totaling over 62 cubic feet, became the basis for the R. E. G. (Ron) Davies Air Transport Collection at the National Air and Space Museum Archives.

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June 02, 2023 Technical Study and Treatment of an Early Battery Assemblage Story

Discover the process behind the conservation treatment of a set of batteries that Samuel Langley used in laboratory experiments, providing power to Langley’s later aviation and scientific experiments.

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May 18, 2023 Conservation Treatment of Gilmore the Flying Lion: Making Decisions Story | Inside the Conservation Lab

As a cub in the 1930s, Gilmore made aviation history when he traveled around the United States with the flamboyant and colorful aviator Roscoe Turner as a mascot for the Gilmore Oil Company. This is the second in a three-part blog series about the conservation treatment of Gilmore the Flying Lion. Explore how the Museum balanced caring for the original taxidermy with the goal to present Gilmore as lifelike as possible.

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May 03, 2023 Continuum: Towards A Final Destination Story

Sitting atop a pedestal in front of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum is the abstract sculpture Continuum, 1976, by Charles O. Perry, known for his public art installations located at buildings, universities, and parks. Continuum is typically described as a Möbius strip, a star shooting through a black hole, a design inspired by geometry, or the continuous flow of the universe.

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March 22, 2023 Rebuilt to Last Story | Air & Space Quarterly

A small group of enthusiasts keeps World War I airplanes aloft.

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March 22, 2023 Milestones of Flight Story | Air & Space Quarterly

A preview of the upcoming Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall.

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February 07, 2023 Conservation Treatment of Gilmore the Flying Lion: Examination Story | Inside the Conservation Lab

As a cub in the 1930s, Gilmore made aviation history when he traveled around the United States with the flamboyant and colorful aviator Roscoe Turner as a mascot for the Gilmore Oil Company. Read and see images of the detailed discoveries made during the initial examination of the conservation treatment of Gilmore.

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