National Air and Space Museum (@airandspace) / X

National Air and Space Museum

49.7K posts

National Air and Space Museum

@airandspace

Sharing inspiring stories, moments of awe, and one-of-a-kind artifacts from aviation and space history. Start exploring: airandspace.si.edu ✈️ 🚀 🪐

Smithsonian, Washington DC

Joined May 2008

National Air and Space Museum
@airandspace
4h
Way back before our Museum was built in DC, there was “Rocket Row” outside the Smithsonian's Arts & Industries Building. During the Space Race, the rockets became a landmark on the National Mall. Explore the story of early Air and Space in a new blog: s.si.edu/4gid69J
National Air and Space Museum
@airandspace
5h
Author Roald Dahl was also a RAF pilot and his first children’s book, The Gremlins, was about creatures sabotaging WWII planes. The WASP adopted a female gremlin, called Fifinella, as their mascot. A Gremlin Gus doll and Fifinella patch are on display in our new WWII gallery.
National Air and Space Museum
@airandspace
7h
In July 1979, NASA research pilot Thomas McMurtry flew a KC-135 Stratotanker equipped with winglets (pictured), demonstrating their potential to improve fuel efficiency.
National Air and Space Museum
@airandspace
9h
On #TDIH in 1985, the “Cola War” hit space when STS-51-F launched carrying carbonated beverages into space for the first time. Coke and Pepsi each developed cans that would work in weightlessness to keep the cola fizzy without spewing out of the can: s.si.edu/47bTu2e
National Air and Space Museum
@airandspace
11h
During World War II, P-47 Thunderbolt pilot George Rarey made an illustrated diary for the newborn son he would never meet. After flying combat missions for less than five months, Rarey was shot down and killed. See reproductions of his work in our new WWII gallery.
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