All Stories

The Tuskegee Airmen’s fight for equality involved more than their skills in the air. It required coordinated, collective actions of civil disobedience in which 162 officers risked their careers and their lives to stand up against systemic racism in the US Army Air Forces (AAF).

On February 24, 2020, Katherine Johnson passed away at the age of 101, after a long life of learning and teaching—and quietly helping the United States reach our destiny in space.

Julius Montgomery, a pioneering African American in the space program, died on January 22, 2020, in Florida. He was the first African American ever hired at the Cape Canaveral space facility to work as a technical professional. Additionally, he integrated the Florida Institute of Technology and was the first black member of the Melbourne, Florida, City Council.

The 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, the only unit that stormed the beach at Normandy on June 6, 1944, that was comprised entirely of African American soldiers, played a vital role in protecting the ships and soldiers during the D-Day invasion.

National Air and Space Museum director reflects on the trailblazing women in aviation and space that inspire her.

While Bessie Coleman never realized her dream of opening a flight school for African American pilots, her legacy as the first African American woman to earn a pilot’s license has impacted and inspired flight students for decades.

The personal papers of William J. Powell, an early African American aviation pioneer, highlight his career with the American Expeditionary Forces and his work to support African Americans in aviation.

Janet Waterford Bragg was a pioneer female African American pilot whose leadership in black pilot organizations in the 1930s paved the way for other aviators. 

What is it like to train as an astronaut? Victor Glover, part of NASA’s 2013 astronaut class, is one of the few who knows what it’s like to prepare for a journey beyond Earth’s atmosphere.

Aerospace pioneers make all kinds of new discoveries during their careers—some even find that special someone along the way.