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 81 - 90 of 1759

Bruce McCandless and the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU)

July 16, 2024

Bruce McCandless II: Eyes in the Sky

Story

It is perhaps one of the best-known images of the 20th century. Floating free against the velvety blackness of space was Bruce McCandless II. What is perhaps less well-known was the fact that, underneath the gold visor of his helmet, McCandless was wearing glasses.  

AirSpace, a podcast, logo

July 09, 2024

AirSpace Season 9, Episode 5: X-Ray Vision

Story | AirSpace Podcast

When the Chandra X-Ray Observatory launched 25 years ago, it showed us our universe in a whole new light (literally). 

A collar photographed in a studio-like setting.

July 01, 2024

On Elephants and Dirt: Conserving an Elephant Tracking Collar

Story | Inside the Conservation Lab

An elephant tracking collar from the Smithsonian Institution’s Conservation Ecology Center at the National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is now in the collection of the National Air and Space Museum. Conservation explains why the collar is in the collection, the decision-making behind leaving the dirt on the surface, and how the museum decided to mount the collar for display.

AirSpace, a podcast, logo

June 25, 2024

AirSpace Season 9, Episode 4 - Welcome to Roswell

Story | AirSpace Podcast

The city of Roswell, New Mexico is kind of in the middle of nowhere. Out in the desert west of Texas, this small oasis in the dessert was first home to indigenous peoples, then cowboys, ranching and farming and then the military before becoming the crash site of a possible UFO in 1947.

Four military jets fly in a diamond formation across a blue sky. On the underside of each jet's wings, "US Navy" is painted in bold yellow letters. White airshow smoke streams from each jet. The moon is visible in the sky.

June 20, 2024

Diamonds in the Sky

Story | Air & Space Quarterly

Amanda Lee is the first woman to fly jet formations as a Blue Angel.

Silver twin engine flying boat over a vast ocean. A small boat leaves it's wake below.

June 20, 2024

Luxury Liners of the Air

Story | Air & Space Quarterly

The history of how flying boats opened up travel destinations around the world then they went to war.

A woman in her 40s wearing pilot gear sits in the cockpit of a German bomber, flying the aircraft with an airman by her side.

June 20, 2024

The Countess Who Crossed Hitler

Story | Air & Space Quarterly

The mystery surrounding the shoot-down of Melitta von Stauffenberg aircraft over the skies of Germany has finally been solved.

Three quarter side view of flat spear-shaped white and blue Boeing X-45A aircraft

June 20, 2024

Drones in the Desert

Story | Air & Space Quarterly

Pulling back the curtain on artifacts in storage. For this issue, we feature the Boeing X-45A UAV.

A sleek jet aircraft painted red, white, and black flies over an air base in the desert.

June 20, 2024

Up To Speed

Story | Air & Space Quarterly

What's new in Aviation and Space

Three white men in their 20s or early 30s use hand tools to adjust the curved metal framing of a machine gun emplacement on a World War II airplane. All three men wear ballcaps, and two of them are shirtless in the bright sunlight.

June 20, 2024

Team Navy

Story | Air & Space Quarterly

A message from the John and Adrienne Mars Director of the National Air and Space Museum.