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. 

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March 06, 2015 Happy Birthday to the World's First Woman in Space Story

Happy birthday Valentina Tereshkova! March 6 marks the birthday of the world’s first woman to fly in space.

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March 05, 2015 Celebrating "Star Trek," Remembering Nimoy Story | At the Museum

News of Lenoard Nimoy’s passing was felt far and wide at the National Air and Space Museum. It may come as no surprise that many members of our staff—the same folks who have dedicated their careers to inspiring and educating the public about aerospace history—are also huge Star Trek fans. As we remember Nimoy’s legacy, we can’t help but recall our own experiences meeting the man and celebrating the series. In 1992, the Museum opened a temporary exhibition on Star Trek and cast and crew of the beloved show descended upon the Museum throughout its run. Two staff members, past and present, reflect on that experience.

 
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March 03, 2015 To Me, Mr. Nimoy Was Mr. Spock Story | At the Museum

All actors create characters. Some of these characters even achieve iconic status. However, what Leonard Nimoy created was legendary. 

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February 27, 2015 Vance Marchbanks' Contribution to Public Health Policy on Sickle Cell Disease Story

Dr. Vance Marchbanks, Jr. is famous in both the black history and aerospace history communities for his accomplishments as one of the first in his field. He was one of two black MDs to complete the United States Army Air Corps School in Aerospace Medicine at the beginning of World War II. His fame continued through his association with the 99th and 301st Fighter Groups, who later became known as the Tuskegee Airmen.

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February 17, 2015 WWI U.S. Army Protective Helmet Used by American Rocket Society Story | Under the Radar

What does a piece of World War I Army surplus have to do with early rocketry?

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February 13, 2015 Scoffing at Superstition Story | From the Archives

Friday the Thirteenth always puts me in the mood to listen to Stevie Wonder's hit, “Superstition.” Although I’m not particularly superstitious, I’m probably not going to take chances like a group of aviation cadets did at the Air Corps Training Detachment, Hawthorne School of Aeronautics, Orangeburg, South Carolina, in February of 1942.

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February 06, 2015 The Armstrong Purse: Flown Apollo 11 Lunar Artifacts Story | Highlights from the Collection

When Neil Armstrong's family contacted the Museum about artifacts he left in his home office in Ohio, museum curators Margaret Weitekamp (social and cultural history of space exploration), Alex Spencer (personal aeronautical equipment), and I (as Apollo curator) traveled to Cincinnati and were warmly greeted by his widow, Carol.

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February 03, 2015 Heinkel Night Fighter He 219: Wing Painting Complete Story

Another important step in finishing the Museum's He 219 Uhu (Owl) night fighter has been completed. Recently, the wing was painted and transported to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, for the aircraft’s final assembly.

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January 30, 2015 Remembering Milton W. Rosen Story | At the Museum

Milton Rosen was a pioneer of American rocketry development.

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January 27, 2015 Five Things I Learned While Curating Outside the Spacecraft: 50 Years of Extra-Vehicular Activity Story

At the height of the summer of 2013, when I was getting ready to go on maternity leave to have my second child, I found myself as the only curator signed on to an anniversary exhibition celebrating the first spacewalks done in 1965...Feeling a bit under qualified and overcommitted, I went on to find out just what it took to make something notional only 18 months ago into a beautifully vibrant reality. Here are some of the lessons I learned and proudest moments from this experience.

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