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National Air and Space Museum

A black-and-white photo of four white women in their late 20s to early 30s walking on a military airfield. The women are wearing flightsuits, boots, and leather flight jackets. Behind the women is the forward fuselage of a World War II military bomber.

Resurrection of a Rare World War II Flight Jacket

Janice Christensen is remembered for her service during the war.

Dramatically-shot portrait of a white female astronaut in an orange spacesuit.

Christina Koch: From Michigan To The Moon

Christina Koch built a solid foundation of achievements to qualify her for the role of mission specialist on the first human mission to reach the Moon since 1972.

Four astronauts (a white man and a black man on the left and a white woman and a white man on the right) in blue astronaut flight suits stand outside on grass with water behind them. The orange SLS rocket can be seen in the distance between them.

What is Artemis 2?

Soon, four astronauts will launch on a mission to the vicinity of the moon for the first time in over 50 years. The mission, called Artemis 2, is the second mission — and first crewed mission — of NASA’s Artemis program.

A white woman in her 30s sits on the launchpad, with the space shuttle (configured for launch) behind her. She has long brown hair and is looking to the side.

A New Book Explains the Delay in Hiring Women as Astronauts

Find out how NASA’s astronaut selection process has evolved.

A large hand-carved teakwood chest with scalloped edges and four round feet. The chest appears to be stained a rich reddish brown. The front panel on the chest has a bas-relief globe pattern flanked by a pair of airplane wings.

This Trophy Chest Belonged to Amelia Earhart

A husband's holiday present for his famous wife is now a museum artifact.

A 65-year-old Black woman sits in the left seat of an airliner cockpit. She is smiling and wearing an airline captain's uniform, including a white shirt and a hat.

Meet the U.S. Air Force's First Black Female Pilot

Theresa Claiborne looks back on her outstanding career in military and civil aviation

Four military jets fly in a diamond formation across a blue sky. On the underside of each jet's wings, "US Navy" is painted in bold yellow letters. White airshow smoke streams from each jet. The moon is visible in the sky.

The Blue Angels Get Their First Female Jet Demonstration Pilot

Air & Space Quarterly talks to Blue Angels pilot Amanda Lee

A young woman wearing a U.S. Navy olive-green flightsuit and black combat boots perches next to the cockpit of her F/A-18C miltary jet. "Lt Sharon Cummins" is stenciled onto the side of the airplane.

Meet the First American Women to Fly Combat Missions

An Air & Space Quarterly exclusive reveals the names of five pioneering women in military aviation.

Dorothy Cochrane with Extra 260

Why Would a Museum Hang an Airplane Upside Down?

The inverted display of Patty Wagstaff's Extra 260 celebrates her aerobatic career

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Barbie: An Astronaut for the Ages

There is perhaps no résumé in existence quite as long as Barbie’s. One of her oldest and arguably most iconic careers is as an astronaut. Let's take a look through some of her most iconic space looks, spanning 1965 to today.

Vera Rubin and Kent Ford (white hat) setting up their image tube spectrograph at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. (Photo: THE CARNEGIE INSTITUTION FOR SCIENCE)

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory and Women of Chilean Astronomy

The Vara C. Rubin Observatory is perched on Chile's Cerro Pachon in the foothills of the Andes Mountains and stands as a doorway to exploring the women of Chilean astronomy.

Christina Koch (left) poses for a portrait with Jessica Meir while preparing for their first spacewalk together. (Image courtesy of NASA)

A Seat in the Cockpit: Recognizing and Replacing Biases with Gender Inclusive Language

The era of "manned" spaceflight ended long ago, and the continued use of this language diminishes and erases six decades of women's contributions to spaceflight

Ruth Law stands in front of her Wright Model B biplane at the New York State Fair, Yonkers, 1913.

Women's Suffrage Stories in the Archives

On August 18, 2020, the United States celebrates the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which declared that the right to vote "shall not be denied...on account of sex." Several collections in the National Air and Space Museum Archives provide short stories along the long path of the women’s suffrage movement and the 19th Amendment.

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