Rebecca Maksel

Rebecca Maksel is a senior associate editor at Air & Space.

From "Hello, Star" written by Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic and illustrated by Vashti Harrison.

Best Children's Books of 2021

The top aviation- and space-themed books for kids.

Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge died at 8:10 p.m. on September 17, 1908, never having regained consciousness after the crash. Orville Wright suffered severe injuries, remaining hospitalized for almost two months.

After Thomas Selfridge

Many people know who the first aircraft fatality was. But who was the next, and the next?

Three acres of the former Tyee golf course on the south end of Sea-Tac Airport has been converted into a pollinator habitat, supporting more than 30 hives.

The Latest in Airport Jobs: Beekeeper

Beehives create green spaces where you'd least expect them.

Why should Jacob fly commercial if he can do it himself?

Best Children's Books of 2020

The year's best aviation- and space-themed books for young readers.

The Northrop Alpha’s transitional design combined both past and present; it’s one of many artifacts marking a milestone in the history of air transportation.

America by Air: Jack Northrop's 'Beautiful Ship'

In 1931, a six-passenger airplane hinted at the many aeronautical wonders to come.

A nursery for hundreds of baby stars is revealed in this infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.

Test Your Knowledge: The Color of Space, Spacey Perfume, and More

Powell's American Expeditionary Forces ID card.

Uncover Aviation History by Helping to Transcribe Smithsonian Collections

The papers of pioneering pilot William Powell is a good place to start.

Moving the Rocketdyne F-1 engine into the new Destination Moon gallery took an entire day. Suspending it from the ceiling took another 10 hours. The hardest part? A sharp left-hand turn out of the old gallery, and another into the new exhibit space.

The Power Beneath the Saturn V

As the Saturn V F-1 engine moves into a new gallery, visitors gain a whole new perspective.

Lucean Headen appeared on the front page of The New York Age in 1912, sitting at the controls of a Curtiss-type biplane. In 1917, the Chicago Defender summed up the laconic barnstormer by saying, “No one knows where he came from, where he is going or what he knows as he says nothing.”

Meet Lucean Headen: Barnstormer, Inventor, and Pioneering African-American Pilot

A new biography gives a mostly forgotten aviator his due.

In 2017, Emily Martin studied “pit chains” in Iceland. The landform may be similar to something found on Saturn’s moon Enceladus.

Smithsonian Scientists Bring the Planets to the Public

A pair of researchers at the National Air and Space Museum want everyone to be able to tour the solar system.

The Museum’s murals were taken down in sections; here, a contractor identifies the canvas seams on Robert McCall’s A Cosmic View.

How Do You Move a Six-Story Space Mural?

Slowly, one panel at a time.

Staff dismantle the Curtiss R3C-2 Racer in which U.S. Army Lieutenant James Doolittle won the Schneider Trophy Race in October 1925.

Behind the Scenes of a Museum’s Makeover

Protecting precious artifacts during the National Air and Space Museum’s multi-year revitalization.

Viola Gentry, just minutes after her flight under the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, March 14, 1926.

A Female Aviator in 1926 Needed a Stunt. So She Flew Under the Brooklyn Bridge.

Ninety-four years ago this week, Viola Gentry decided to make a name for herself.

Sorato is smaller and lighter than any other lunar or Martian space-qualified rover. It was donated last October to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum by ispace, a Japan-based private lunar exploration company.

A Tiny Moon Rover With a Big Impact

A new Japanese donation to the National Air and Space Museum points to the future of lunar exploration.

Elizabeth Haidle’s cover illustration for “The Girl Who Named Pluto: The Story of Venetia Burney,” by Alice B. McGinty.

Best Children's Books of 2019

The year's best aviation- and space-themed books for young readers.

Staff remove the touchable moon rock’s mount while curator Priscilla Strain, second from right, looks on.

How the Museum Got Its Moon Rock

One of the Smithsonian’s rarest and most popular treasures was the inspiration of an Egyptian-born geologist.

Part of the jet set: The Museum’s Concorde was the first in the fleet to open service between Paris and New York.

What Goes Into Displaying a Supersonic Passenger Jet?

What it took to get the Concorde safely inside the National Air and Space Museum.

In July, the Museum’s DC-3, sans wings and engines, made the journey from the National Mall to northern Virginia.

The National Air and Space Museum’s DC-3 Goes Into Storage, But Only for a While

One of the world’s most successful airliners makes a short trip to a temporary home.

“A man can’t just sit around,” Larry Walters explained to a reporter when asked what made him decide to take a patio chair aloft.

How the Balloon-Borne “Flying Lawn Chair” Got Into the Smithsonian

In 1982, truck driver Larry Walters accidentally ended up 16,000 feet above the ground.

A variety of aircraft provided air support during the Woodstock festival.

Without Helicopters, There Wouldn't Have Been a Woodstock

They delivered stranded performers to the 1969 music festival, and carried sick hippies out.

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