Search the Collection

The National Air and Space Museum holds in trust over 60,000 artifacts and more than 20,000 cubic feet of archival materials. Historic aircraft and space artifacts, such as the 1903 Wright Flyer and the Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia, highlight the National Collection.

Thousands of additional artifacts—including engines, rockets, uniforms, spacesuits, balloons, artwork, documents, manuscripts, and photographs—document the richness of the history of flight. A wide variety of these artifacts are on display at the Museum in Washington, DC and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.

 

About the collection About the archives

Multimedia Gallery

 

Objects on display
Wood frame and fabric wing bi-plane displayed in gallery.

Collection Highlights at the National Air and Space Museum in DC

Featured Object Group
The SR-71 blackbird on the museum floor with the space shuttle “Discovery” visible in the back gallery.

Collection Highlights at the Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia

Featured Object Group
Image of nose of Spirit of St. Louis airplane

Aircraft

Featured Object Group
Browse all object groups
Two women next to a spacesuit working to conserve it with tools.

How we care for our collections

Our collections specialists actively work on the conservation, preservation, restoration, and long-term care of the objects in our collection. From full-scale restoration projects to applying preservation techniques and doing regular assessments, these activities form a crucial part of our stewardship of the National Collection.

Collections Care