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 21 - 30 of 1718

September 23, 2024 Who Was Bill Anders? Story | Air & Space Quarterly

Remembering astronaut Bill Anders.

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September 23, 2024 Artifacts in Orbit Story | Air & Space Quarterly

A 2013 expedition funded by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos recovered dozens of parts from the Saturn V rocket that launched Apollo 11 into space in 1969. 

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September 23, 2024 Toy Story Story | Air & Space Quarterly

The story of NASM's three-foot-tall doll wearing a scaled-down copy of the real Mercury spacesuit. 

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September 23, 2024 X-Ray Vision Story | Air & Space Quarterly

In its operation for over 25 years, NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory has changed our understanding of the universe. 

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September 18, 2024 Michael López-Alegría - Spacewalking Astronaut Story

Michael López-Alegría, also known as “L-A,” is one of America’s most experienced astronauts. He has completed six space missions so far and commanded three of them, spending 296 days (about 9 and a half months) in space. He shares the current United States record for spacewalks with 10 total. And he isn’t finished yet.

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September 12, 2024 AirSpace Season 9, Episode 9: Birds of a Feather Story | AirSpace Podcast

It's a bird? It's a plane? Its a guy pretending to be a bird?? We have a very odd aircraft in the collection. 

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August 30, 2024 Forty Years of Discovery Story

In total, six of unique Space Shuttle orbiters were built but Discovery stands out with the greatest flight history record: 39 missions and 365 total days spent in space. That’s quite a feat for the journeys the orbiter took, but it’s also a testament to the team that made each of those flights possible. On its 40th anniversary, Discovery’s curator Jennifer Levasseur takes a look at features that distinguish the vehicle from the other orbiters and looks back on its first flight and crew.

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August 19, 2024 AirSpace Season 9 Episode 8: Limited Edition Story | AirSpace Podcast

Back in the 'Golden Age' of air travel in the 50s, 60s and 70s going on a trip in an airplane was an event. On those flights you would often get a little souvenir of your air travel; a deck of cards, a little toy, a trading card, captain's wings and a hat for your little tyke.

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August 16, 2024 Is the “Dark Side of the Moon” Actually Dark? Story

This dark side is also known as the farside (and the side facing Earth is called the nearside). The phrase "dark side of the Moon" is used to refer to something mysterious or unknown. For most of human history we did not know what the farside of the Moon looked like. It wasn’t until 1959 when the Soviet Union launched the Luna 3 spacecraft that we got our first look at the farside.

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August 09, 2024 The Martin K-III Kitten Story

When the K-III’s designer James Vernon Martin offered the diminutive aircraft to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum in 1924, he presented it as “the first aeroplane in the entire world to incorporate the retractable chassis.”  The aircraft is a one-of-kind, experimental World War I era single-seat scout biplane.

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