Art of the Airport Tower takes you on a photographic journey to airports in the United States and around the globe. Smithsonian photographer Carolyn Russo explores the varied forms and functions of ...

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) has captured dramatic landscapes of the Moon since it was first launched in 2009. A New Moon Rises showcased those breathtaking images from Apollo ...

In 1941, a new air base at Tuskegee, Alabama, became the center for the training program of Black air personnel. First with the 99th Fighter Squadron and later with the 332nd Fighter Group, African ...

From 1943 to 1944, over 1,000 women flew over 60 million miles ferrying aircraft and personnel, towing targets, and other transport duties as part of the WASP. The WASP flew every military aircraft ...

The Wright brothers’ inventive work produced three major accomplishments. The Aircraft - The aircraft the Wrights designed and built between 1900 and 1905 were truly revolutionary, incorporating ...

Forty-two helium-filled weather balloons lifted Larry Walters in this aluminum lawn chair from San Pedro, California, on July 2, 1982. Walters reached 16,000 feet (4,880 meters), drifting into the ...

The original Wright brothers engines were four cylinder types. In 1910, needing a more powerful engine for the Gordon Bennett Cup Race, the Wrights built a single V-8 for this major event using much ...

This is a diagram of the 1903 Wright Flyer Engine. The engine had no fuel pump, carburetor, spark plugs, or throttle. Yet the simple motor produced 12 horsepower, well above the Wrights’ minimum ...

In this free planetarium show, join Big Bird and Elmo as they explore the night sky with Hu Hu Zhu, a Muppet from "Zhima Jie," the Chinese co-production of Sesame Street.Together they take an ...

Two Cessna T-37 Tweets fly in formation over Texas. The T-37 was the Air Force’s primary trainer for decades until its retirement in 2009. An ROTC familiarization flight in the Tweet is what got ...

After four days traveling to the Moon, the Lunar Module Eagle, carrying Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon.. Neil Armstrong exited the spacecraft and became the first human to walk on ...

Visit us in Washington, DC and Chantilly, VA to explore hundreds of the world’s most significant objects in aviation and space history. Free timed-entry passes are required for the Museum in DC.