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 281 - 290 of 1765

AirSpace, a podcast, logo

November 11, 2022

AirSpace Bonus! Hubble Trouble

Story | AirSpace Podcast

Season 7 of AirSpace is just around the corner, but today we have a special bonus drop from our friends at the Sidedoor podcast! You’ve likely seen recent awe-inspiring images from the James Webb Space Telescope, but this episode focuses on its predecessor: the Hubble Space Telescope. Sidedoor explores how America's first large space telescope went from a "billion-dollar blunder" to one of history's most important scientific instruments. Look for more episodes of Sidedoor wherever you get your podcasts!

A large metal dome-like structure, as seen from underneath it, hangs from the ceiling. A mirror is used to create the illusion that there are four of these structures hanging.

November 02, 2022

A New View of the Rocketdyne F-1 Engine

Story

The Rocketdyne F-1 engines powered the first stage of the Saturn V rocket that launched the Apollo lunar missions. The Air and Space Museum’s redesigned F-1 installation offers a new perspective on the most powerful liquid-fuel rocket engine in U.S. history.

Black and white image of a mirror on a carrier ship with an aircraft in its reflection

October 28, 2022

Landings are Mandatory: Lt. Don Engen and the Mirror Landing System

Story

For more than 30 years this partnership between LSO and naval aviators remained crucial to aircraft carrier landing operations. Almost overnight this partnership changed when jet aircraft altered the calculus of a carrier landing. Soon after, the Mirror Landing System (MLS) was born.

AirSpace, a podcast, logo

October 27, 2022

AirSpace Season 6, Ep. 12: If the World Was Ending

Story | AirSpace Podcast

 It’s Halloween eve, 1938, and you're listening to the radio when you hear a breaking news bulletin that there's been a Martian attack!... On New Jersey? Obvious spoiler: there was no Martian attack that night. But there was a radio play — a performance of Orson Welles’ adaptation of “War of the Worlds” by H.G. Wells.

Red Bull Stratos - Mission Jump

October 26, 2022

A Decade Since the Long Fall from Red Bull Stratos

Story

It has been 10 years since the high-altitude balloon flight of Felix Baumgartner in the Red Bull Stratos capsule and his exhilarating return to Earth. Baumgartner landed safely back on Earth after 4 minutes and 20 seconds, cementing his place in the history of lighter-than-air flight.

A person lying on top of a large umbrella shaped satellite antenna while cleaning it.

October 24, 2022

Making the Most of Treating a 30-Foot Diameter Umbrella-Shaped Antenna

Story | Inside the Conservation Lab

Conservator Rachel Greenberg reflects on the conservation and restoration of a 30-foot parabolic antenna that is part of a full-scale engineering model of the Applications Technology Satellite-6 (ATS-6). Read about the large umbrella-shaped antenna that now hangs from the ceiling in the new One World Connected gallery.

A picture of James McDivitt in space inside of a spacecraft and looking directly at the camera

October 19, 2022

From Ann Arbor to Orbit: Celebrating the Life of James A. McDivitt

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To honor his passing at the age of 93, curator Jennifer Levasseur reflects on the life of two-time astronaut Gen. James A. McDivitt and his connection with the Museum.

Entrance to a gallery with a red helicopter hanging in it and exhibition cases within.

October 14, 2022

10 Highlights of the New Air and Space

Story

There’s a lot to see and do at the new Air and Space in DC, including eight new exhibitions, hundreds of new artifacts, 50 digital interactives, and more. Not sure where to start? We’ve pulled together 10 can’t-miss highlights from our new galleries.

Bell X-1 aircraft photographed from a side angle against a dark backdrop

October 13, 2022

Breaking the Sound Barrier: Chuck Yeager and the Bell X-1

Story

Seventy-five years ago, U.S. Air Force Captain Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager piloted the Bell X-1 Glamorous Glennis to become the first airplane to fly faster than the speed of sound (Mach 1).

AirSpace, a podcast, logo

October 13, 2022

AirSpace Season 6, Ep. 11: October Sky

Story | AirSpace Podcast

On October 4, 1957 the Soviet Union successfully launched the first artificial Earth satellite, Sputnik. For some, Sputnik's launch inspired an interest in rocketry and brought many scientists into the space industry. One of those people was Homer Hickam, a high schooler in a small West Virginia mining town who would go on to work for NASA, write a memoir, and inspire a movie. On today’s episode we unpack that film – October Sky.