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 211 - 220 of 1763

Black and white photo of a man standing by a table with many large books on it.

June 07, 2023

The Life and Legacy of Owen Gingerich

Story

Reflecting on the life and legacy of Owen Gingerich, one of the most respected names in modern astronomy and in the study of its history.

An oil painting on a 73.25” x 94.75” canvas depicting a bomber crew of nine airmen in the foreground, standing or kneeling in front of the tail section of a large Allied aircraft. Three of the airmen are wearing yellow life-vests. The interplay of light and shadow on the men’s faces and throughout the painting creates a somber feeling.

June 05, 2023

The Art of War

Story | Air & Space Quarterly

The healing power of art.

A gold bracelet has four space-theme charms: an Atlas rocket, a Gemini spacecraft, a Mercury spacecraft, and a Redstone rocket. The bracelet has two other charms: An octagonal charm reads “1st Grade” / “62”. A heart-shape charm is engraved with “1967”.

June 05, 2023

Hidden Workers

Story | Air & Space Quarterly

The touching story behind a 1960s charm bracelet.

An engineer in a hazmat-type suit and mask inspects the James Webb Space telescope's primary mirror segments, large octagonal mirrors that are the size of the engineer.

June 05, 2023

Up to Speed

Story | Air & Space Quarterly

The latest news in aviation and space.

An early battery that resembles a jar with substance inside is photographed against a dark background.

June 02, 2023

Technical Study and Treatment of an Early Battery Assemblage

Story

Discover the process behind the conservation treatment of a set of batteries that Samuel Langley used in laboratory experiments, providing power to Langley’s later aviation and scientific experiments.

Grainy image of an aircraft flying with a trail of contrails.

May 26, 2023

Northrop P-61 Black Widow: First American Airplane Designed and Built to Fight at Night, Part II

Story

On January 30, 1942, the Army Air Corps awarded Northrop a contract to build two XP-61 prototypes. Rediscover the Northrop P-61 Black Widow aircraft in part two of the blog series.

AirSpace, a podcast, logo

May 24, 2023

AirSpace Season 7, Episode 12: It's a Barbie World and We’re All Living In It

Story | AirSpace Podcast

When Barbie first became an astronaut in 1965, she was more than a decade ahead of NASA sending a woman to space. Since then, there have been several versions of astronaut Barbie.

A side by side comparison of a lion.

May 18, 2023

Conservation Treatment of Gilmore the Flying Lion: Making Decisions

Story | Inside the Conservation Lab

As a cub in the 1930s, Gilmore made aviation history when he traveled around the United States with the flamboyant and colorful aviator Roscoe Turner as a mascot for the Gilmore Oil Company. This is the second in a three-part blog series about the conservation treatment of Gilmore the Flying Lion. Explore how the Museum balanced caring for the original taxidermy with the goal to present Gilmore as lifelike as possible.

An image of Skylab taken by the third and final crew of astronauts.  The original parasol sunshade installed by the first crew, which is a slightly darker color, can be seen under the twin pole sunshade that was installed by the second crew.

May 12, 2023

Saving Skylab

Story

During launch, the micrometeoroid shield surrounding the Skylab Workshop ripped loose. Designed to protect the workshop from tiny space particles and the sun's scorching heat, its loss caused sunlight to raise internal temperatures to over 130° F, making the station uninhabitable and threatening foods, medicines, films, and experiments that were onboard. Astronaut Rusty Schweickart was responsible for testing a parasol on Earth and developing procedures for deploying it in space in an effort to save America’s first space station.

AirSpace, a podcast, logo

May 09, 2023

AirSpace Season 7, Ep. 11: Mars!

Story | AirSpace Podcast

From Dante to Matt Damon, Percival Lowell to Perseverance, humans have long wondered about, studied, and eventually explored our closest planetary neighbor, Mars.