All Stories

Explore the innovative metalworking techniques developed by the Museum’s restoration specialists to fabricate the mast elbows from the radar array of the World War II night fighter.

Before his death in 2008, famed science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke had contact with the Smithsonian Institution, both directly and indirectly, throughout the years. This blog explores the correspondence between Clarke and members of the Smithsonian found in his personal papers held by the National Air and Space Museum Archives.

A brief treatise on the historic tools used in the construction and restoration of the National Air and Space Museum’s Standard J-1 aircraft.

Welding and fabrication specialist Meghann Girard takes us through the way she combined contemporary technology with traditional metalworking techniques to fabricate missing parts from our Lincoln-Standard H.S.

The Museum’s Anzani A 2 was missing the cast aluminum intake elbows, rockers arms, and push rod assemblies on each cylinder. Fabrication specialists in the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hanger endeavored to recreate these missing components so that the engine could be displayed in a more complete and accurate state.

Get a sneak peek at the first eight reimagined galleries that will open at the Museum in DC in late 2022.

The upcoming Kenneth C. Griffin Exploring the Planets Gallery at the National Air and Space Museum will give visitors a new perspective on the many worlds within our solar system.

The National Air and Space Museum marks an important milestone in its renovation project. Moving artifacts back into the west end of the Museum, which has been under renovation for two years.

Our conservators and curators recently faced an interesting question: Is it practical to retain perishable material and what long-range obligations are required? To find the answers, a collaborative effort was required, allowing for preservation of our collection of space food.

Some of the language once used in the early days of human spaceflight has not kept pace with the evolution of America’s space program. We now use "crewed" or "piloted" instead of "manned," for example. The era of “manned” spaceflight ended long ago, and the continued use of this language diminishes and erases six decades of women’s contributions to spaceflight.