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 61 - 70 of 1759

Photo illustration of a small, unpiloted biplane with a metal and brown wood chassis flying over a countryside with a tiny white biplane below.

September 23, 2024

The Secret History of Drones

Story | Air & Space Quarterly

A short history of early 20th-century drones.

A black-and-white image shows three white men in their 30s, waving from the open door of a military helicopter. The men are wearing white shoes, pants, and shirts with a NASA logo.

September 23, 2024

Who Was Bill Anders?

Story | Air & Space Quarterly

Remembering astronaut Bill Anders.

A massive rocket engine, clearly old and used—and divided into separate parts—is mounted in a museum display.

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. 

In this black-and-white image, three young white girls standing in a yard play with a 3-foot-tall doll wearing a silver astronaut spacesuit. Two of the girls have pigtails and are wearing white tank tops and short skirts. A rocket model labeled "United States" stands to the side.

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. 

Against the black background of the cosmos is a large cloud containing streams of pink, blue, and white gas moving outward from the center.

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. 

A portrait of astronaut Michael López-Alegría in a white space suit, holding his helmet under his left arm. The suit features various patches, including a NASA emblem, an American flag, and mission insignia. An American flag is visible in the background.

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.

AirSpace, a podcast, logo

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. 

Discovery

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.

AirSpace, a podcast, logo

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.

An illustration of a realistic image of the Moon where a darker side is at the foreground of the image.

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.