NASA transferred the space shuttle Discovery to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum during a ceremony on Thursday, April 19, at the museum’s Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. The keynote address was given by astronaut John Glenn, who is the oldest member of a Discovery crew. Shown here: The start of Discovery’s [...] [...more]
Two IMAX cameras were recently donated to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum by NASA. From 1984 to 1998, the two-dimensional IMAX cameras traveled to space with NASA astronauts on 17 different space shuttle missions. A series of six giant-screen films were produced as a result of footage obtained on the missions, including “The [...] [...more]
The shuttle made its final flight on the back of a modified 747 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to Virginia’s Dulles International Airport Tuesday, April 17. At 9:48 a.m. it flew over the airport at about 300 feet and then went around Washington, D.C., for about an hour and 15 minutes. [...more]
Between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Tuesday, April 17, the space shuttle Discovery will make its final flight over the Washington, D.C. area, resting atop a specially outfitted 747. Discovery will fly near a variety of landmarks such as the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Reagan National Airport, National Harbor and the Smithsonian’s Steven [...] [...more]
New images from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft show the moon's crust is being stretched, forming minute valleys in a few small areas on the lunar surface. [...more]
As command module pilot for the Apollo 15 mission to the moon in 1971, Al Worden spent six days orbiting the moon, including three days completely alone, the most isolated human in existence. In Falling to Earth, Worden tells for the first time the full story around the dramatic events that shook NASA and ended his spaceflight career. [...more]
Tom Crouch, Senior curator in the National Air and Space Museum's Aeronautics Division, discusses Thaddeus Lowe and the birth of American aerial reconnaissance during the Civil War. This presentation was recorded on May 11, 2011 on the National Mall. [...more]
During a press conference Friday, July 22 at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, NASA announced that Gale Crater will be the landing site for the Mars Science Laboratory. Scheduled to launch in late 2011 and arrive at Mars in August 2012, the Mars Science Laboratory is a rover that will assess the planet’s “habitability”—if it ever was, or is today, an environment able to support microbial life. [...more]
Scientists from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center have found that fledgling catbirds living in the suburbs are extremely vulnerable. Almost 80 percent are killed by predators before they reach adulthood. Nearly half of the deaths are connected to domestic cats. The team studied catbird nests in 3 suburban neighborhoods in Maryland: Spring Park, Opal Daniels Park, and Bethesda. Learn more about this 2011 study by clicking here. (Catbird photo by Gerhard Hofmann)
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