All Stories

Raise a glass and cheers to a new season of AirSpace! And to help us get in the celebratory mood, today's episode is about a truly intoxicating period of American history – prohibition. You might know [we didn’t] that NASCAR has its roots in bootleggers driving illicit hooch in the 1920s. But it turns out, not all bootleggers were driving their contraband around in cars. Today on AirSpace, learn how prohibition and passenger airlines went hand-in-hand.

Explore the innovative metalworking techniques developed by the Museum’s restoration specialists to fabricate the mast elbows from the radar array of the World War II night fighter.

"Thirty-six years flying fighters!” The Museum reflects on the life of one of the most highly regarded military pilots who passed away on July 24, 2021.

We’re just two weeks away from a brand new season of AirSpace!  Today, though, we’re revisiting a favorite from May 2020 – the first installment of the AirSpace Movie Club. Join us on this trip down memory lane and listen to Emily, Matt, and Nick break down the Voyager-referencing, Bowie-fueled, and endlessly endearing Troop Zero. And don’t miss new episodes of AirSpace beginning September 9th!

Before his death in 2008, famed science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke had contact with the Smithsonian Institution, both directly and indirectly, throughout the years. This blog explores the correspondence between Clarke and members of the Smithsonian found in his personal papers held by the National Air and Space Museum Archives.

We’re hard at work on Season 5 (launching this September!) but before then, we’re giving you a second bite at a topic we spent a long time thinking about this year: what’s in a name? Earlier this season we explored how planetary bodies and their geological features get named. We also recorded an explainer on how NASA names their spacecraft, but we just didn’t have time for it in the original episode. So, what do Snoopy, Spider, and Gumdrop have in common? Find out in this bonus episode!

A brief treatise on the historic tools used in the construction and restoration of the National Air and Space Museum’s Standard J-1 aircraft.

Earl Swift sought out the full story of the LRV’s origins, development, and traverses  in his new book “Across the Airless Wilds.” In this interview, he tells us he believes the LRV changed everything about the Apollo program.

The 1900 Olympic Games, held in Paris as part of the Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair), was the only year in which ballooning was an official event.

Every rock can tell us a story, once we know how to read it. The sample designated 15016 tells a story of how two visitors from another world happened to collect it.