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National Air and Space Museum

Silver twin engine flying boat over a vast ocean. A small boat leaves it's wake below.

Flying Boats Were Once the Luxury Liners of the Air

Flying boats opened up travel destinations around the world—then they went to war

An illustration depicts a large planet orbiting a distant star, amid a cloud of dust and rocky debris.

Patience Is a Virtue for Astronomers Searching for Signs of Extraterrestrial Intelligence

The search for radio signals from an extraterrestrial civilization

An artist's renderign of a cavernous museum exhibit space with a dark ceiling illuminated by images of bright white stars and a spiral galaxy. On the floor of the gallery, numerous visitors wander past glass display cases filled with artifacts.

A New Museum Exhibit Gives a Grand Overview on the History of the Telescope

Behind-the-scenes of the upcoming U.S. National Science Foundation Discovering Our Universe gallery

A composite of multiple images. In the background is a landscape of pine trees and fields. Over it in speia tone is an image of pilots in military uniforms. In the foreground is a grey airplane, banked in a turn.

Did the Nazis Kill German Test Pilot Melitta von Stauffenberg?

A National Air and Space Museum researcher solves a World War II mystery

A sleek jet aircraft painted red, white, and black flies over an air base in the desert.

Does a Fighter Pilot Have to Be Human?

Artificial intelligence proves it can dogfight. What’s next?

On a black background is a white, angular-shape aircraft with no cockpit. The opening for the jet engine air intake is the front of the aircraft. Painted in black letters on the rear fuselage is: "Boeing Phantom Works." The right wing is marked: "X-45A."

A Drone Named Elsie May Becomes a Museum Artifact

The X-45A is part of an elite group of aircraft that were tested in the skies above Mojave

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