All Stories

Happy Pride Month! Today, we’re bringing you a special installment of QueerSpace, our limited series featuring stories and people at the intersection of aviation, space, and LGBTQ+ history and culture. Seven years ago this month, the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v Hodges that same-sex couples have the fundamental right to marry under the constitution. If you dig into an amicus brief for Obergefell, you’ll see mention of another case, Norton v Macy. This case set the first precedent ruling that the federal government can’t fire an employee for being gay. We talk a lot about pilots and astronauts who’ve made history, but today’s aerospace trailblazer was a humble NASA civil servant and petitioner named Clifford Norton.

Although some may presume Top Gun was the first time a major Hollywood film joined forces with U.S. naval aviation, that honor belongs to the 1931 film Dirigible.

When researching QueerSpace, we repeatedly saw creators blending themes of space and themes of queerness in their art. Many of these artists use their art to envision new futures. Futurist thinking uses the experience of the past and present to contextualize and reimagine what the future could be, often creating a future that’s more equitable and radically different than what we have now.

Despite being known as a leader in terms of gender and racial integration, it wasn't until 2017 that the first openly gay characters were introduced in a Star Trek television show. We talk to curator Margaret Weitekamp about Star Trek's history with LGBTQ+ stories and characters.

In science fiction, the possibilities are seemingly endless. Authors can literally rewrite a world in terms of gender, sexuality, and culture, making something that is more inclusive and often more interesting. We talk to bookseller Hannah Oliver Depp of Loyalty Books about the history of queer worldbuilding in sci-fi literature.

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

How we picture space and our world within it has changed dramatically in the second half of the 20th century. 

In late 1959, the FAA released its “Age 60 Rule,” which essentially required mandatory retirement for airline pilots over age 60. As his 60th birthday rapidly approached, Captain Michael Gitt appealed with an age discrimination lawsuit against Eastern Airlines to help him overturn the age disqualification. Read about his attempt to leverage the new Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA).

Traveling for the holidays? Would you rather take a trip to the Moon? On this episode of AirSpace, we’re breaking down Georges Méliès' iconic 1902 film “Le Voyage Dans La Lune.” Silent and only about 13 minutes long, this classic might lack a bit of 21st century movie pizazz but it was absolutely groundbreaking to science fiction and filmmaking.  Based on Jules Verne’s “From the Earth to the Moon,” it was the first film to depict space travel. It also features many moviemaking techniques Méliès pioneered in filming, editing, and storytelling that are still used by the film industry today.  We hear lunar weather this time of year is lovely – come on in, the spaceship is fine!

In 1978, Congress passed a law allowing airlines to set their own fares and routes, an event that transformed the commercial airline industry and the passenger experience.