National Air and Space Museum

This exhibition celebrates some of the most significant airplanes, rockets, and spacecraft in history. They tell tales of ingenuity and courage, war and peace, politics and power, as well as society and culture. These milestones have made our planet smaller and the universe larger.

Among the achievements celebrated here: Charles Lindbergh's solo trip across the Atlantic in his Spirit of St. Louis; the first American jet aircraft, the Bell XP-59A Airacomet; the Bell X-1 in which "Chuck" Yeager first broke the mythical "sound barrier;" the Mercury capsule Friendship 7 flown by John Glenn; Mariner, Pioneer, and Viking planetary explorers; and the first privately-developed, piloted vehicle to reach space, SpaceShipOne.

As you explore, ask yourself, “How have aviation and spaceflight transformed my world?”