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 1211 - 1220 of 1662

May 22, 2015 Glenn Curtiss Motorcycle Story | Under the Radar

You may know the name Glenn Curtiss in association with early aviation, but did you know he was a pioneer in motorcycle design too?

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May 19, 2015 Three Pilots - One War: Commemorating World War I Story

Starting just 11 years after the invention of powered flight, the Great War was the first major conflict in which pilots and airplanes were involved, experiencing their baptism by fire. At the beginning of the war, military applications of the new technology were barely known. At the end of the war, there was a vast array of fighter planes, reconnaissance planes, and bombers. Dogfighting tactics and bombing strategies had been developed, with weapons and armaments now essential elements in military aircraft.

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May 14, 2015 Finding Pluto With the Blink Comparator Story

It all started at a special public lecture at the Museum in July 2014 given by Alan Stern, the lead scientist for the New Horizons mission, which will fly past Pluto this July. Among the attendees was William Lowell Putnam IV, sole trustee of the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona—the place where Pluto was found in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh. It was an exciting evening, not only to learn about the impending flyby but also having a chance to speak with Putnam and the director of the Lowell Observatory, Jeff Hall.

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May 12, 2015 Did the Brooklyn Dodgers help get us to the Moon? Story

In his memoir Moon Lander, Grumman project manager Thomas Kelly describes the exhilaration at Grumman for winning the contract to build what became the Lunar Module (LM), followed by trepidation when the design team realized the severe weight restraints they had to work under in order to get two astronauts safely to the lunar surface and back to lunar orbit. At the outset, Grumman and NASA worked with an initial estimate of 30,200 pounds, which was within the limits of the Saturn V’s booster capability; but this began to grow ominously as the work progressed. 

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May 10, 2015 Happy Mother's Day Story | From the Archives

On Sunday, May 10, the United States and many other countries will be celebrating Mother’s Day. Several National Air and Space Museum Archives collections contain photographs of aviators and their mothers. Here are a few.

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May 09, 2015 Alexander de Seversky: Influential World War II Air Power Advocate Story

Russian naval pilot Alexander de Seversky, that country’s top naval ace in World War I, later became one of the most influential proponents of the use of strategic air power in warfare — and Disney film star — in the United States.

 
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May 06, 2015 Bringing History to Life: Honoring Our World War II Veterans Story

In the morning hours, before the National Air and Space Museum opens to the public, I’m often in the galleries going about my work among some of the great aviation treasures of the world. At every turn there is an airplane that left its mark on history or pointed the way to the future. It’s an inspiring setting. History’s ghosts swirl in your imagination. But, as rich as this experience is, there are times, alone in the quiet of the Museum, that I cannot help but imagine what it would be like to see these airplanes come back to life—to experience the sights and sounds of these world-changing machines before they became silent milestones of history in the Museum.

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May 04, 2015 Archiving the Arthur C. Clarke Collection Story | From the Archives

The National Air and Space Museum Archives recently had the honor of receiving the Arthur C. Clarke Collection. My colleague, space history curator Martin Collins, recently wrote a post about the importance of these materials. As an acquisition archivist for the Museum, I accompanied Martin to Sri Lanka to pack up this historic collection and ensure its safe transfer to our care.

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April 30, 2015 The Last Hours of MESSENGER Story | From the Archives

Today, the MESSENGER spacecraft will succumb to the influence of gravity and impact on the surface of Mercury

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April 28, 2015 Apollo Soucek’s High Altitude Flying Helmet Story | Under the Radar

What did Alaskan Natives contribute to the realm of high altitude flying? Their knowledge of the physics of warmth.

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