 | |
 Ad Astra sculpture at the museum entrance on theNational Mall | |
  Location within Washington, D.C. Show map of Central Washington, D.C. National Air and Space Museum (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
Former name | National Air Museum |
|---|---|
| Established | 1946; 79 years ago (1946) (as the National Air Museum) |
| Location | Washington, D.C. |
| Coordinates | 38°53′18″N77°01′12″W / 38.88833°N 77.02000°W /38.88833; -77.02000 |
| Type | Aviation museum |
| Accreditation | American Alliance of Museums |
| Visitors | 3.1 million visitors (2023)[1] |
| Director | Chris Browne |
| Curator | Peter Jakab |
| Public transit access |  Washington Metro     atL'Enfant Plaza |
| Website | airandspace |
TheNational Air and Space Museum (NASM) of theSmithsonian Institution is a museum inWashington, D.C., in the United States, dedicated tohuman flight andspace exploration.
Established in 1946 as theNational Air Museum, its main building opened on theNational Mall nearL'Enfant Plaza in 1976. In 2023, the museum welcomed 3.1 million visitors, making it thefourth-most visited museum in the United States andeleventh-most in the world.
The museum is a center for research into the history and science of aviation andspaceflight, as well asplanetary science and terrestrial geology andgeophysics. Almost all of its spacecraft and aircraft on display are original primary or backup craft (rather than facsimiles). Its collection includes theApollo 11Command ModuleColumbia, theFriendship 7 capsule which was flown byJohn Glenn,Charles Lindbergh'sSpirit of St. Louis, the model of thestarshipEnterprise used in the science fiction television showStar Trek: The Original Series, and theWright brothers'Wright Flyer airplane near the entrance.
The museum operates a 760,000-square-foot (71,000 m2) annex, theSteven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, atDulles International Airport. It includes the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar, which houses the museum's restoration and archival activities. Other preservation and restoration efforts take place at thePaul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility inSuitland, Maryland.
The museum's National Mall building is undergoing a $360-million renovation that started in 2018. As of August 2024, 13 of the museum's galleries were open to the public, with the other 10 expected to reopen by 2026.[2] On October 12, 2025, the museum was closed by thefederal government shutdown.[3]
The Air and Space Museum was originally called theNational Air Museum when formed on August 12, 1946, by an act ofCongress and signed into law by PresidentHarry S. Truman.[4][5] Some pieces in the National Air and Space Museum collection date back to the 1876Centennial Exposition inPhiladelphia after which the Chinese Imperial Commission donated a group of kites to the Smithsonian after Smithsonian SecretarySpencer Fullerton Baird convinced exhibiters that shipping them home would be too costly. TheStringfellow steam engine intended for aircraft was added to the collection in 1989, the first piece actively acquired by the Smithsonian now in the current NASM collection.[6]
After the establishment of the museum, there was no one building that could hold all the items to be displayed, many obtained from theUnited States Army andUnited States Navy collections of domestic and captured aircraft fromWorld War I. Some pieces were on display in theArts and Industries Building, some were stored in the Aircraft Building (also known as the "Tin Shed"), a large temporary metal shed in the Smithsonian Castle's south yard. Larger missiles and rockets were displayed outdoors in what was known as Rocket Row. The shed housed a large Martin bomber, aLePere fighter-bomber, and anAeromarine 39Bfloatplane. Still, much of the collection remained in storage due to a lack of display space.[6]
The combination of the large numbers of aircraft donated to the Smithsonian afterWorld War II and the need for hangar and factory space for theKorean War drove the Smithsonian to look for its own facility to store and restore aircraft. The current Garber Facility was ceded to the Smithsonian by theMaryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission in 1952 after the curatorPaul E. Garber spotted the wooded area from the air.Bulldozers fromFort Belvoir and prefabricated buildings from theUnited States Navy kept the initial costs low.
The museum's prominent site on theNational Mall once housed the city's armory, which becameArmory Square Hospital during the Civil War; it nursed the worst wounded cases who were transported to Washington after battles.[7] The rest of the site was occupied by a cluster oftemporary war buildings that existed from World War I until the 1960s.[8]
Thespace race in the 1950s and 1960s led to the renaming of the museum to the National Air and Space Museum, and finally congressional passage of appropriations for the construction of the new exhibition hall,[9] which opened July 1, 1976, at the height of theUnited States Bicentennial festivities under the leadership of DirectorMichael Collins, who had flown to the Moon onApollo 11.[10]
In 1988, a glass-enclosed pavilion named the Wright Place was constructed and opened at the east end of the museum. It contained a restaurant known as Flight Lane, but the restaurant closed in 2001 and reopened as a food court on May 24, 2002, withMcDonald's (later added with aMcCafé),Boston Market, andDonato's Pizza serving as the tenants.[11][12]
The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center opened on December 15, 2003, funded by a private donation.
The museum receivedCOSTAR, the corrective optics instrument installed in theHubble Space Telescope during its first servicing mission (STS-61), when it was removed and returned to Earth afterSpace Shuttle missionSTS-125. The museum also holds the backup mirror for the Hubble which, unlike the one that was launched, was ground to the correct shape. There were once plans for it to be installed to the Hubble itself, but plans to return the satellite to Earth were scrapped after theSpace ShuttleColumbia disaster in 2003; the mission was re-considered as too risky.
In 2018, the museum received Schmitt Space Communicator, the device with the on-flight internet connection launched bySolstar on aNew Shepard rocket to send the first tweet from space.[13][14][15]
The Smithsonian has also been promised theInternational Cometary Explorer, which is currently in a solar orbit that occasionally brings it back to Earth, should NASA attempt to recover it.
Because of the museum's close proximity to theUnited States Capitol, the Smithsonian wanted a building that would be architecturally impressive but would not stand out too boldly against the Capitol building.St. Louis–based architectGyo Obata ofHOK designed the museum as four simplemarble-encased cubes containing the smaller and more theatrical exhibits, connected by three spacious steel-and-glass atria which house the larger exhibits such as missiles, airplanes and spacecraft. The mass of the museum is similar to theNational Gallery of Art across theNational Mall, and uses the same pinkTennessee marble as the National Gallery.[16] Built byGilbane Building Company, the museum was completed in 1976. The west glass wall of the building is used for the installation of airplanes, functioning as a giant door.[17]
Since 1976, the Air and Space Museum has received basic repair. In 2001, the glasscurtain walls were replaced.[18]
The Air and Space Museum announced a two-year renovation of its main entrance hall, "Milestones of Flight" in April 2014. The renovation to the main hall (which had not received a major update since the museum opened in 1976) was funded by a $30 million donation fromBoeing. The gift, which will be paid over seven years, is the largest corporate donation ever received by the Air and Space Museum. Boeing had previously given donations totaling $58 million. The hall will be renamed the "Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall". The renovation (whose total cost was not revealed) began in April 2014, and will involve the temporary removal of some exhibits before the hall is refurbished. Because some exhibits represent century-old achievements that no longer resonate with the public, some items will be moved to other locations in the museum while new exhibits are installed.[19]
The first new exhibit, a 1930s wind tunnel, will be installed in November 2014.[needs update] Following completion,[when?] the hall will present a "more orderly" appearance, and allow room for the placement of future new exhibits (which will include moving the filming model of theUSSEnterprise from the original 1960sStar Trek television series into the hall). The renovation will also include the installation of a "media wall" and touch-screen information kiosks to allow visitors to learn about items on display. An additional gift from Boeing is funding the renovation of the "How Things Fly" children's exhibit, new museum educational programming, and the creation of anaccredited course on flight and space technology for elementary and secondary school teachers.[19]
In June 2015, the Smithsonian made public a report which documented the need for extensive renovations to the Air and Space Museum. Many of the building's mechanical and environmental systems were redesigned during its construction from 1972 to 1976, which left them inadequate to handle the environmental, visitor, and other stresses placed on the building and its exhibits. Subsequently, these systems are in serious disrepair and exhibits are being harmed. The report noted that theHVAC system is close to failure, and the roof has been compromised so badly that it must be replaced. The Tennessee marble façade has cracked and become warped, and in some areas is so damaged it could fall off the building.[a]
The museum's glass curtain walls (among those elements of the 1976 structure whose design was altered for cost reasons) are too permeable toultraviolet radiation. Several exhibits (such as thespacesuit worn byJohn Young during theGemini 10 mission, and the coating on theSpirit of St. Louis aircraft) have been damaged by this radiation.[18] Additionally, the Smithsonian's report noted that cutbacks in building design prior to and during construction left the museum with too few amenities, main entrances which are partially obscured, and exhibit space which does not meet currentADA accessibility standards. New security measures, required after theSeptember 11 attacks in 2001, have created extensivequeues which extend outside the building. Exposed, lengthy queues are both a security hazard and often cause visitors to wait in inclement weather.[18]
On June 30, 2015, the Smithsonian began seeking approval for a $365 million renovation to the National Air and Space Museum. The agency hired the firm of Quinn Evans Architects to design the renovations and improvements. Interior changes include improving handicapped accessibility, main entrance visibility, and perimeter security. The entire façade will be replaced (using Tennessee marble again).[b] The glass curtain walls will be replaced with tripleglazed,thermally broken panels set in an aluminumframe. The curtain walls will be reinforced with steel to help improve their resistance to explosive blasts.[18]
Additional changes the Smithsonian would like to make, but which are not contained in the $365 million price tag, include the installation of 1,300solar panels on the roof and theIndependence Avenue side of the museum, the construction ofvestibules over the main entrances, and reconstruction of theterraces (which leak water into theparking garage and offices beneath the structure).[18] The Smithsonian said it would submit its designs to theNational Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) on July 9, 2015, for review and approval. If the NCPC authorizes the changes, the museum could begin work in 2018 and finish in 2024.[18][needs update]
In March 2016, Smithsonian officials said the project's cost had risen to $600 million.[20]
In late June 2016, Smithsonian officials projected the museum's renovation to cost $1 billion. This included $676 million for construction, $50 million to build new storage space, and $250 million for new exhibits. The Smithsonian said it would raise the exhibit funds from private sources, but asked Congress to appropriate the rest. Demolishing the building and erecting a new structure would cost $2 billion, the agency stated.[20]
In October 2018, the museum announced a 7-year renovation process and began closing some galleries between December 2018 and January 2019, began closing some of the galleries.[21] The museum remained open throughout the renovation process until its closure in early 2020 with the other Smithsonian museums because of theCOVID-19 pandemic.
On March 3, 2022, the museum temporarily reopened as it continued to operate through the month until March 28, 2022, when it closed for six months.[22][23] The renovation includes demolishing the food court pavilion (closed in 2017) to make way for the 50,000-square-foot (4,600 m2), three-story,Jeff Bezos Learning Center.[24] The western side of the museum featuring eight new galleries, the planetarium, museum store and a cafe reopened on October 14, 2022, as part of Phase I while the eastern side scheduled to reopen in 2024.[25][26]
 | This"criticism" or "controversy" sectionmay compromise the article'sneutrality. Please helpintegrate negative information into other sections or removeundue focus on minor aspects throughdiscussion on thetalk page.(April 2024) |
Controversy erupted in March 1994 over a proposed commemoration of the 50th anniversary of theatomic bombing of Japan. The centerpiece of the exhibit was theEnola Gay, theB-29 bomber that droppedLittle Boy on the Japanese city ofHiroshima. When the first draft of the script for the exhibit was leaked byAir Force Magazine, the responses were very critical. Two sentences described as infamous that sparked controversy were, "For most Americans, this war was fundamentally different than the one waged against Germany and Italy – it was a war of vengeance. For most Japanese, it was a war to defend their unique culture against western imperialism."
Veterans' groups, led by theAir Force Association andThe Retired Officers Association, argued strongly that the exhibit's inclusion of Japanese accounts and photographs of victims politicized the exhibit and insulted U.S. airmen.[27] Editorials called the National Air and Space Museum "an unpatriotic institution"[28] due to the political nature of initial proposed script. Due to harsh backlash from the Air Force Association, The Retired Officers Association, and numerous members of Congress, a revision was created and a second draft proposed.[28] This second revision was greeted with a large amount of Congressional involvement that resulted in line-by-line reviews of the script, which led to the less radical display that was seen in 1995. This was not met without resistance from the scholarly community, though. The Organization of American Historians felt as if Congress's attempts to police and penalize the Smithsonian Institution led to a "transparent attempt at historical cleansing."[29]
Also disputed was thepredicted number of U.S. casualties that would have resulted from aninvasion of Japan, had that been necessary, after the museum director,Martin O. Harwit, unilaterally reduced the figure by 75% on January 9, 1995, at the height of the dispute. On January 18 theAmerican Legion called for a congressional investigation of the matter, and on January 24, 1995, 81 members of Congress called for Harwit's resignation. Harwit was forced to resign on May 2. Although the exhibit was "radically reduced" and criticized by theNew York Times as "the most diminished display in Smithsonian history,"[30] the Air and Space Museum placed the forward fuselage of theEnola Gay and other items on display as part of a non-political historical exhibition. Within a year, it had drawn more than a million visitors, making it the most popular special exhibition in the history of the NASM, and when the exhibition closed in May 1998, it had drawn nearly four million visitors.[31]
On October 8, 2011, the museum was temporarily closed after demonstrators associated with theOccupy D.C. demonstration attempted to enter the museum. Some protesters were pepper sprayed by museum security after a guard was pinned against a wall. One woman was arrested.[32][33][34][35]
On December 5, 2013, Smithsonian food workers protested about aliving wage.[36][37] A journalist was detained for illicit filming.[38][39]
Carl W. Mitman was the first head of the museum, under the title of Assistant to the Secretary for the National Air Museum, heading the museum from 1946 until his retirement from the Smithsonian in 1952.[40]
Directors have included:
The main museum on the mall includes 61 aircraft, 51 large space artifacts, over 2,000 smaller items as of June 1, 2007.[45]
ThePhoebe Waterman Haas Public Observatory opened its doors to the public in 2009 as part of the celebration of theInternational Year of Astronomy. It has a 16-inchBoller & Chivens telescope, aSun Gun Telescope andhydrogen-alpha (red light, to see thechromosphere) andcalcium-K (purple light) telescopes. The observatory opens to public from Wednesdays through Sundays from noon to 3 P.M. and is open about once a month at night time.
In 2014, the museum began a television show for middle school students, calledSTEM in 30. The show teaches students science, technology, engineering, math, art and history through artifacts at the museum and special guests from air and space history. The show is currently in its seventh season. The museum also has regular programs called What's New in Aerospace that feature special guests.
The museum has four research fellowships:Charles A. Lindbergh Chair in Aerospace History (also known as the Lindbergh Chair,) the Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Fellowship, theVerville Fellowship, and the Postdoctoral Earth and Planetary Sciences Fellowship.[46] The Lindbergh Chair is a one-year senior fellowship to assist a scholar in the research and composition of a book about aerospace history. Announced in 1977 at the 50th anniversary of Lindbergh's famous solo flight,[47] 1978 was the first year that the Lindbergh Chair was occupied—British aviation historianCharles Harvard Gibbs-Smith was selected as the first recipient.[48]
Reproduced with kind permission of The Times ©Times Newspapers Limited
