Publications
Our staff write books on a wide variety of aviation- and space-related topics, including our exhibitions; the collection; the history of science and technology; and planetary science.
Curators also edit other titles, from the Smithsonian History of Aviation and Spaceflight series to children's books on flight. In addition, Museum curators edit book series with Cambridge University Press (Cambridge Centennial of Flight series), Palgrave Macmillan (Palgrave Studies in the History of Science Technology), Texas A&M University Press (Centennial of Flight series), and the University of Missouri Press (Sports and American Culture).
You can explore more peer-reviewed articles, stories, and more with Smithsonian Research Online.
Showing 1 - 9 of 9
Globalizing Polar Science: Reconsidering the International Polar and Geophysical Years
Palgrave Studies in the History of Science and Technology
The Space Telescope: A Study of NASA, Science, Technology, and Politics
With contributions by Paul A. Hanle, Robert H. Kargon, and Joseph N. Tatarewicz.
Winner of the Watson Davis Prize, History of Science Society, 1990.
Radioisotope Power Systems: An Imperative for Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Space Exploration
Dr. Roger D. Launius, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, is a member of the Radioisotope Power Systems Committee, National Research Council of the National Academies.
The Wind and Beyond: A Documentary Journey into the History of Aerodynamics in America, Volume I: The Ascent of the Airplane
*NASA/SP-2003-4409/VOL1, Document ID 20040031410, price code A99 (within U.S. $35.00 plus $2.00 S&H). Order online at: https://www.sti.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/ordersti.pl.
The Wind and Beyond: A Documentary Journey into the History of Aerodynamics in America, Volume II: Reinventing the Airplane
*NASA/SP-2007-4409/VOL2, Document ID 20070039007, price code EA7 (within U.S. $35.00 plus $2.00 S&H, outside U.S. $70.00 plus $17.00 S&H). Order online at: https://www.sti.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/ordersti.pl.
A History of Aerodynamics, and Its Impact on Flying Machines
Science with a Vengeance: How the Military Created the US Space Sciences after World War II
Space Science Comes of Age, Perspectives in the History of the Space Sciences
Science, Cold War and the American State: Lloyd V. Berkner and the Balance of Professional Ideals
A publication by staff of the National Air and Space Museum.