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 31 - 40 of 96

March 24, 2021 Explore the Wright Flyer Story | Air and Space Photos

Explore all of the rich content about the Wright brothers' 1903 Flyer that can be found on the Museum's website.

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September 29, 2020 Chauffeur of the Skies: A. Roy Knabenshue’s Passenger Registries Story | From the Archives

A. Roy Knabenshue became interested in lighter-than-air flight after seeing a balloon ascension when he was 5 years old and would become the first person to successfully pilot a dirigible in the United States, flying Thomas S. Baldwin’s California Arrow at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition.

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October 01, 2019 Transforming the Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight Gallery Story

The Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight Gallery, home of the Lindberghs, Earhart, Doolittle, and Piper, among many other pioneers, closes on October 7 as part of the transformation of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, but it will be back in 2022. We explore the many versions of Pioneers of Flight.

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August 29, 2019 Back to School Story | From the Archives

As the summer comes to an end, it’s time for many to go back to school.  Most students have mixed feelings of excitement and trepidation at the thought of returning. Imagine how the students at the earliest aviation schools felt!

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August 23, 2019 AirSpace Season 2|Ep.12
Every Rose Has Its Thorn
Story | AirSpace Podcast

Today on the show, we tackle the meaning of life. Well… not really. But definitely matters of consequence. 

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February 25, 2019 Inside Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Vega Story | Air and Space Photos

Introduced in 1927, the Vega was the first product of designer Jack Northrop and Allan Loughead's Lockheed Aircraft Company. Sturdy, roomy, streamlined and fast, the innovative Vega became favored by pilots seeking to set speed and distance records. 

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July 19, 2018 Katherine Stinson: Stunt Flier, Record Setter Story

Pilot Katherine Stinson flipped the conventions of her era on their head--literally and figuratively--when she became the first female pilot to fly the loop on July 18, 1915.

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December 20, 2017 Preserving a 170 Year-Old Chinese Kite Collection Story | Inside the Conservation Lab

Conservation work is continuing on the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum’s collection of traditional Chinese paper kites at our Emil Buehler Conservation Lab.

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May 19, 2017 Wheeling and Flying Story

May 19 is Bike to Work Day. Whether you walked or wheeled your way into work this morning, you may be interested in the surprising connection between cycling and flight.

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January 18, 2017 Crossing the Channel in a Balloon Story

Ballooning had wide-spread popularity in France during the 18th century, but English intellectuals were initially skeptical about the balloon’s utility. At the request of King George III, French experimenter François Pierre Ami Argand flew a small hydrogen balloon from Windsor Castle in November 1783, the first such flight in England.

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