All Stories

Over the years the Museum's Conservation Unit has received grant funding from the National Collections Program to help care for our most vulnerable artifacts. These projects showcase the artistry and engineering innovations of early aviation while addressing unique treatment challenges posed by fragile materials and past repairs.

Beginning in the late 1920s, spaceflight enthusiasts banded together into groups known as "rocket societies" to advance their cause. 

We pick up where Part One left off! When you hear 'space race' you probably (correctly) think about the 1960s Soviet Union v. U.S. race to put an astronaut on the Moon. But a few hundred years before, the space race was all about Venus. 

In preparation for its new display in the Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight gallery, Amelia Earhart's chest came to the Emil Buehler Conservation Laboratory at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center for assessment and treatment.

A look at the NASA's manned maneuvering unit (MMU) in detail.

The Cold War story of the Nuclear Test Aircraft, the NB-36H, the world’s first flying nuclear reactor. 

A new National Air and Space museum gallery explores how American military aviation evolved, grew, and shaped our world in the years since World War II.

Aviation and space in the news.

From the Director

In depth story of Jay Flanagan, a restoration specialist and master woodworker at the National Air and Space Museum, and his restoration of the Lincoln-Standard H.S. at the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.