Press Releases

The National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center will host its annual “Innovations in Flight Outdoor Aviation Display,” Saturday, June 17, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visitors will be able to view over 50 vintage, modern and commercial aircraft that will fly in for the day and be on display outside the museum.

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum awards its Michael Collins Trophy annually for Lifetime and Current Achievements in aerospace science and technology. The 2023 recipients are Bill Anders for Lifetime Achievement and the James Webb Space Telescope Team for Current Achievement; they will receive their awards at a ceremony March 23 at the museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum has received $1 million from the Aerojet Rocketdyne Foundation in support of the new “Destination Moon” exhibition. The gift will contribute to the safe preservation and display of the F-1 rocket engine. The redesign of the exhibition is part of the museum’s ongoing transformation of all its galleries in the flagship building in Washington, D.C.; “Destination Moon” reopened Oct. 14.

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum reopens Friday, Oct. 14, with eight new and renovated galleries in the west wing of its building in Washington, D.C. The planetarium and museum store will also reopen, along with the new Mars Café. The east wing of the museum will remain closed while it is renovated.

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum will reopen half of its flagship building on the National Mall Friday, Oct. 14. Eight new and renovated exhibitions, the planetarium, museum store and Mars Café will open on the building’s west end. The museum has been undergoing a seven-year renovation that began in 2018 and includes redesigning all 23 exhibitions and presentation spaces, complete refacing of the exterior cladding, replacement of outdated mechanical systems and other repairs and improvements.

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum is closing out another successful “S.H.E. Can” STEAM Aviation Camp in Springdale, Arkansas. The two-week camp in northwest Arkansas will culminate with a graduation ceremony June 28 with participation from the U.S. Air Force and special appearance by Col. Angela Ochoa, 19th Airlift Wing and Installation Commander of Little Rock Air Force Base. Ochoa will be flying in on a C-130J Super Hercules with a nearly all-female flight crew. Campers will meet with the flight crew and tour the C-130J before returning to Har-Ber High School for the closing ceremony where Ochoa will be the keynote speaker.

For the first time since opening in 1976, the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum is unveiling a new brand and identity, just ahead of the opening of the first phase of the renovated flagship building on the National Mall anticipated this fall.