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 71 - 80 of 494

October 28, 2022 Landings are Mandatory: Lt. Don Engen and the Mirror Landing System Story

For more than 30 years this partnership between LSO and naval aviators remained crucial to aircraft carrier landing operations. Almost overnight this partnership changed when jet aircraft altered the calculus of a carrier landing. Soon after, the Mirror Landing System (MLS) was born.

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October 26, 2022 A Decade Since the Long Fall from Red Bull Stratos Story

It has been 10 years since the high-altitude balloon flight of Felix Baumgartner in the Red Bull Stratos capsule and his exhilarating return to Earth. Baumgartner landed safely back on Earth after 4 minutes and 20 seconds, cementing his place in the history of lighter-than-air flight.

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October 19, 2022 From Ann Arbor to Orbit: Celebrating the Life of James A. McDivitt Story

To honor his passing at the age of 93, curator Jennifer Levasseur reflects on the life of two-time astronaut Gen. James A. McDivitt and his connection with the Museum.

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October 13, 2022 Breaking the Sound Barrier: Chuck Yeager and the Bell X-1 Story

Seventy-five years ago, U.S. Air Force Captain Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager piloted the Bell X-1 Glamorous Glennis to become the first airplane to fly faster than the speed of sound (Mach 1).

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October 13, 2022 AirSpace Season 6, Ep. 11: October Sky Story | AirSpace Podcast

On October 4, 1957 the Soviet Union successfully launched the first artificial Earth satellite, Sputnik. For some, Sputnik's launch inspired an interest in rocketry and brought many scientists into the space industry. One of those people was Homer Hickam, a high schooler in a small West Virginia mining town who would go on to work for NASA, write a memoir, and inspire a movie. On today’s episode we unpack that film – October Sky.

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October 06, 2022 Mario Andretti's Against-All-Odds Indy 500 Win Story

As Mario Andretti's 1969 Indy 500-winning race car goes on display at the National Air and Space Museum, we reflect on his against-all-odds win and legacy in the motorsports community.

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September 30, 2022 Eric Sloane: An Artist in The Clouds Story

With the Museum’s west-end galleries re-opening, two murals by artist Eric Sloane will be on display. The Earth Flight Environment mural was re-installed in the lobby and a lesser-known mural titled Weather Mural is displayed again for the first time in almost 40 years. Both murals emphasize artist Eric Sloane’s integral role in communicating the relationship between weather and flight through art.

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September 28, 2022 Spaceflight and the Art of Vargas-Suarez Universal Story

Museum curator Matt Shindell interviewed artist Rafael Vargas-Suarez, whose work engages with spaceflight, space technologies, and human futures. Examine his various artwork and what he has to say.

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September 22, 2022 What was the Mercury Program? Story

In the late 1950s, he United States and the Soviet Union were locked in a competition for global influence and prestige—the Cold War—and began to compete on a new frontier: space. Both nations started programs to send humans into space. In the United States, that program was Project Mercury.  

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September 21, 2022 40 Years Building a Dream Story | Air & Space Quarterly

Al Casby is not only working to restore a Vought F7U Cutlass, but its reputation as well.

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