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 1 - 10 of 1685

July 25, 2024 “General Joe”: Remembering Pilot and Astronaut Joe Engle Story

Maj. Gen. Joe Engle's experiences as a test pilot of both the X-15 aircraft and Space Shuttle orbiters Enterprise, Columbia, and Discovery made him the first person to ever fly two winged vehicles to space, amongst his many noteworthy achievements. The Museum was most honored to host him as the earliest Space Shuttle commander to attend the arrival ceremony of Discovery at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in 2012.

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July 25, 2024 AirSpace Season 9 Bonus! My Mom the Rocket Scientist Story | AirSpace Podcast

Our conversation with Jack Black and his brother Neil Siegal about their Mother, Judith Love Cohen was too good just to give you just the taste from the end of our Star Search episode. 

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July 25, 2024 AirSpace Season 9, Episode 6: Star Search Story | AirSpace Podcast

There are a lot of air and space celebrities; pilots, astronauts, engineers, etc, etc. But there's another category of celebrities that are famous for other things but also have surprising ties to air or space.

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July 22, 2024 How An Airship Became a Flying Aircraft Carrier Story

It was envisioned that an entire squadron of rigid airships could act as a scouting fleet from 15,000 feet in the air, visually covering thousands of square miles each day. If each of those airships were able to launch and retrieve their own scouting airplanes, that range could be increased exponentially, far more than any naval vessel was capable of. They were essentially creating a flying aircraft carrier. 

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July 19, 2024 Dr. Edward C. Stone's Contributions to Aerospace Story

Ed Stone’s long and distinguished career in space science connects to many of the planetary exploration objects displayed in the galleries at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. That so many of the Museum’s objects have connections to his professional achievements illustrates Stone’s significant legacy in space science and exploration.

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July 16, 2024 Bruce McCandless II: Eyes in the Sky Story

It is perhaps one of the best-known images of the 20th century. Floating free against the velvety blackness of space was Bruce McCandless II. What is perhaps less well-known was the fact that, underneath the gold visor of his helmet, McCandless was wearing glasses.  

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July 09, 2024 AirSpace Season 9, Episode 5: X-Ray Vision Story | AirSpace Podcast

When the Chandra X-Ray Observatory launched 25 years ago, it showed us our universe in a whole new light (literally). 

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July 01, 2024 On Elephants and Dirt: Conserving an Elephant Tracking Collar Story | Inside the Conservation Lab

An elephant tracking collar from the Smithsonian Institution’s Conservation Ecology Center at the National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is now in the collection of the National Air and Space Museum. Conservation explains why the collar is in the collection, the decision-making behind leaving the dirt on the surface, and how the museum decided to mount the collar for display.

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June 25, 2024 AirSpace Season 9, Episode 4 - Welcome to Roswell Story | AirSpace Podcast

The city of Roswell, New Mexico is kind of in the middle of nowhere. Out in the desert west of Texas, this small oasis in the dessert was first home to indigenous peoples, then cowboys, ranching and farming and then the military before becoming the crash site of a possible UFO in 1947.

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June 20, 2024 Diamonds in the Sky Story | Air & Space Quarterly

Amanda Lee is the first woman to fly jet formations as a Blue Angel.

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