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 1641 - 1650 of 1685

October 05, 2009 A Beautiful Bird Grounded Story

Concorde service came to an end in 2003 when British Airways made the last commercial Concorde flight from New York to London. 

Read more
September 25, 2009 Fourteen Days on “The Moon” in Arizona Story

It’s a quarter of a million miles to the Moon, we’ve got fully charged batteries, half a pack of space food, it’s daytime, and we’re wearing spacesuits. Hit it.

Read more
September 14, 2009 From Collecting to Curating Story

The Museum-going public doesn’t often get the opportunity to observe the work that goes on behind the scenes in a museum. The National Air and Space Museum’s poster collection is a case in point. The items in this collection, which range from notices for early aviation exhibitions to commercial airline advertising, were collected over many years. It is only recently, however, that the posters have been curated; i.e., cared for as a collection. 

Read more
September 08, 2009 This Android is no Dummy Story | Highlights from the Collection

First of all there is a question of just what to call this device. Is it a “dummy”? That’s what its creators called it sometimes, but that sounds too pejorative and does not give credit to its complexity. Is it a “robot”? That’s what it looks like. Or is it an “android,” defined by the dictionary as “an automaton made to resemble a human being”?

Read more
September 01, 2009 Contest Winners, and I, Enjoy a Real Night at the Museum Story

Recently I was involved in a “first” in my career here at the National Air and Space Museum – a sleepover! About six winners (and their families) in the Post Cereal Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian contest spent the night in the National Mall building on Friday, August 7. The lucky slumber-partygoers had competed in an online sweepstakes that was promoted on Post cereal boxes.

Read more
August 24, 2009 Personal Connections Make the Museum Meaningful Story

Confession: I used to think airplanes were boring.

Read more
August 10, 2009 The Day I Met a Communist Defector Story | From the Archives

When you are visiting the Udvar-Hazy Center, you will come across a display case that holds the flightsuit of a former MiG pilot named Frank Jarecki. 

Read more
August 04, 2009 Q. and A. in the Archives Division Story | From the Archives

It was about twenty years ago, but no one in the Museum’s Archives Division can now remember who first asked us the immortal question - what‘s the wingspan of a Lockheed P-38 Lightning?

Read more
July 31, 2009 Missing Something? Story

Most of us have a "junk drawer" that contains, among other oddments, stray keys.  Restoration specialists working on the Douglas World Cruiser "Chicago" recently found two such strays in the aircraft.

Read more
July 29, 2009 The Veteran Behind the Airplane Story

The docents at the Udvar-Hazy Center enjoyed meeting a special visitor on May 16, 2009. His name is Jim Henry, a WWII naval aviator. Henry was one of the pilots that flew the F4U-1D Corsair that is on display at the Center.

Read more