All Stories

Maj. Robert C. “Bob” Mikesh, United States Air Force (ret.), died in February 2022, less than two weeks short of his 94th birthday. Bob was a combat pilot, Smithsonian curator, accomplished author, and a builder of museum-quality aircraft models.

Meet Wally Funk and The Mars Ingenuity Team, the recipients of the Michael Collins Trophy. Soar to new heights with an air taxi eVTOL prototype and test a supersonic aircraft.

Using an artistic technique dating back to the Renaissance era known as a “triangle” perspective, artist Hubert Jackson establishes a layered hierarchy to convey contributions made by Black women and men in the space program.

The first episode of our "QueerSpace" limited series spotlights the history and community built by male flight attendants.

Stephanie Wilson is now one of 18 members of the Artemis astronaut team, a group of nine men and nine women from diverse backgrounds. Since NASA has announced its intent to send the first woman and the first person of color to the Moon, she is a strong candidate.

Donated by Ahmed A. “Sammy” Rayner, Jr,  these images, paired with his remembrances of his time as a Tuskegee Airman, provide vivid examples of the daily lives of the 477th Bombardment Group and experiences as a Black officer.

When John Glenn splashed down at the end of his planned three-orbit mission, he became a national hero because he was the first American to orbit the Earth. Celebrate the 60th anniversary of Glenn’s historic spaceflight by learning about the origin of the seven-orbit myth.

Engineer Mary Golda Ross made lasting contributions to the United States aerospace industry while opening doors for women and Native students to pursue S.T.E.M. education and careers.

Wiley Post was an oil-worker and armed robber-turned-record breaking pilot who discovered the jet stream while wearing a sweet eye-patch and a suit straight out of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (it was a lewk). That should be enough but wait! There’s more! That steampunk getup, which Wiley designed and built with tire company BF Goodrich, was the very first successful pressure suit. And it did more than unlock the stratosphere, it laid the groundwork for the first spacesuits—and modern spacesuits aren’t much different. This tall tale keeps getting higher, but again—trust us (we’ve got the suit!). Special thanks to Tested’s Adam Savage, whose answer for “history’s most important spacesuit” was both unexpected and absolutely on the mark.

Brig. Gen. Charles E. McGee, the eldest of the surviving Tuskegee Airmen, passed away on January 16, 2022. His life of dedicated service included flying combat aircraft in three major wars—a feat that was unthinkable before his career began, when the US military banned African Americans from combat flying roles.