All Stories

Philip Van Horn Weems became a world’s leading expert in navigational techniques for aviators by the late 1920s. So much so that aviation luminaries availed themselves of his navigational instruction. Read about his life and access some of the navigation-related artifacts and archival documents he donated to us.

Initially called the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory was renamed to honor a pioneer in astronomy, particularly in the field of dark matter. The observatory is perched on Chile’s Cerro Pachón in the foothills of the Andes Mountains and stands as a doorway into exploring the women of Chilean astronomy.

For many, their knowledge of Sally Ride begins and ends at her NASA career and the title of the first American woman in space. After she retired from NASA, Sally Ride utilized her groundbreaking status to launch a variety of business ventures (including Space.com and Sally Ride Science) which would inspire the next generation of astronauts and scientists.

Anne Noggle (1922–2005) confronts themes of gender equality and aging through portraits of World War II women pilots in the United States and the Soviet Union. Her photographs convey their grit, defiance, femininity, and love of flying. Above all, they capture a spirit that bonds the rare group of aviation heroines together.

Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, hosted the Lindberghs for three weeks in the summer of 1933 and one of their stops was the southern town of Julianehaab, now known as Qaqortoq.

In 1896, Ethiopians had turned back an Italian invasion at Adwa (Adowa), serving as an example of a Black-led country’s defiance of Europe. Taking inspiration from Ethiopia’s long history as an independent Black nation, two Black aviators—Hubert Julian and John C. Robinson—were drawn to Ethiopia by the events of 1935.

Astronautical engineer and astronomer George Robert Carruthers, a name well-known and dearly regarded in the space science community, and a good friend of the National Air and Space Museum, passed away on Saturday, December 26 after a long illness.

As I have been scanning the correspondence that science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke received over his lifetime, a constant staple of correspondence always crops up near the end of a year. These being the abundant number of Christmas cards Clarke would get around the holidays.

Discover what it's really like to live and work in space! Astronaut Victor Glover shares his thoughts and little-known facts about being an astronaut.

December 15, 2020 marks the 100th birthday of aviation ‘sheroes’, Bernice “Bee” Falk Haydu, a WWII Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP), entrepreneurial aviator, and lifelong advocate for women military pilots. Happy birthday, Bee!