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The Cuban Missile Crisis

Maj. Richard Heyser had been sitting 14 miles above the Earth for 5 hours. Soaring at the edge of space, he flew from northern California, around the Gulf of Mexico, and approached the small island of ...
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The Space Race

What exactly was the Space Race? Why did we care so much? The Space Race grew out of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, the most powerful countries after World War II. For a ...
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Apollo 11: The Moon Landing

Visit us in Washington, DC and Chantilly, VA to explore hundreds of the world’s most significant objects in aviation and space history. Free timed-entry passes are required for the Museum in DC.
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Chair, Lawn, Larry Walters

Visit us in Washington, DC and Chantilly, VA to explore hundreds of the world’s most significant objects in aviation and space history. Free timed-entry passes are required for the Museum in DC.
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Vought V-173 "Flying Pancake"

Visit us in Washington, DC and Chantilly, VA to explore hundreds of the world’s most significant objects in aviation and space history. Free timed-entry passes are required for the Museum in DC.
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Mitsubishi A6M5 Reisen (Zero Fighter) Model 52 ZEKE

No other aircraft surpasses the Mitsubishi A6M Reisen ("ree-sin," Japanese for Zero Fighter) as the symbol of Japanese air power during World War II. Mitsubishi designed the Zero fighter but ...
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World War II Aviation

Discover our exhibitions and participate in programs both in person or virtually. Facing a two-front war in Europe and the Pacific, the United States mobilized its vast human and industrial resources ...
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Wright Cyclone R-1820-97 (Studebaker), Radial 9 Engine

Visit us in Washington, DC and Chantilly, VA to explore hundreds of the world’s most significant objects in aviation and space history. Free timed-entry passes are required for the Museum in DC.
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Heinkel He 162 A-2 Spatz (Sparrow)

The German jet fighter that is now synonymous with the project that inspired it, the Volksjäger or People's Fighter program, first flew on December 6, 1944. The Reich Air Ministry issued ...
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Planetary Probe, Viking, Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer

Visit us in Washington, DC and Chantilly, VA to explore hundreds of the world’s most significant objects in aviation and space history. Free timed-entry passes are required for the Museum in DC. The ...
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Beechcraft D18S Twin Beech

The Beechcraft Model 18 made its first demonstration flight in 1937 and production continued for an impressive thirty-two years, with move than 9,000 aircraft built. The low-wing, all-metal, ...
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This Day in History

Visit us in Washington, DC and Chantilly, VA to explore hundreds of the world’s most significant objects in aviation and space history. Free timed-entry passes are required for the Museum in DC.