America 250: The Air & Space Power Story

This week we visit Florida! Famous for being the home of Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center, Florida’s Space Coast was the launch site of numerous missions, including the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle programs. NASA’s Artemis missions and the Space Force continue to use Florida’s launch facilities. On the air side, Pan Am launched operations in Key West during 1927 and would...

This week we visit Michigan! The Great Lakes State—famous for being a center of automobile manufacturing—was also an important hub of aircraft production during World War II. The Ford Motor Company built B-24 Liberators at their Willow Run plant, producing a bomber every hour at its peak in 1944. On the space side, the Michigan Ordnance Missile Plant was a production site for Redstone rockets. The...

This week we visit Arkansas! The “Natural State” was the home of Louise Thaden, a pioneering female aviator who set multiple flying records, including the women’s altitude record in 1928, plus records for speed and endurance in 1929. Those flying into Bentonville, AR will take off and land at Thaden Field. On the space side, Arkansas suppliers provide important components for NASA’s Artemis progra...

This week we visit Missouri! The "Show Me State" is a long-standing center of air and space power industrial production. The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation—founded in St Louis during 1939—built the Mercury and Gemini capsules for NASA, as well as iconic aircraft like the F-4 Phantom and F-15 Eagle. This production facility is alive and well as part of Boeing.

This week we visit Maine! Learn about astronauts Charles Hobaugh and Dr. Jessica Meir and the "Vacationland's" contributions to the Artemis program. On the air side, we delve into the state's role in helping form the Civil Air Patrol on the eve of World War II, plus the group's role helping secure the eastern coastline during the conflict.   To learn more, please visit these websites: Civil Air Pa...

This week we visit Alabama! Learn about the incredible contributions of the Tuskegee Airmen, who fought a dual war against both discrimination and Axis forces during World War II. Alabama is also home to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, which provides vital propulsion systems and hardware for NASA’s space programs.   To learn more, please visit these websites: New Home for U.S. S...

This week we visit Illinois! Learn how the USS Wolverine and USS Sable— originally Great Lakes luxury cruise liners that were converted into aircraft carriers—helped train thousands of naval aviators during World War II. On the space side, the Prairie State is the home of 15 astronauts and the Henry Crown Space Center at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, where visitors can see the Apollo...

This week we are visiting Mississippi! 3 astronauts call the Magnolia State home, which also hosts the Stennis Space Center and NASA’s Rocket Propulsion Test Program Office. On the air side, Mississippi was the site of the incredible 27-day-long endurance flight conducted by the Key Brothers in 1935 and was a pioneering area of operations for Huff Daland Dusters—a crop dusting company that would g...

From wartime production lines to the launchpad of space exploration, Indiana’s impact on American air and space power is undeniable. In this episode of America 250: The Air and Space Power Story, we explore how the Hoosier State helped shape America’s defense and aerospace legacy. From Evansville’s massive World War II P-47 Thunderbolt production effort to the groundbreaking achievements of Indian...

This week we visit Louisiana! This state is home to the Michoud Assembly Facility, which has built some of our most important spacecraft components: everything from sections of the Apollo Saturn V rocket to the Space Shuttle's main liquid fuel tank and key elements of for the Artemis program. On the airpower side of things, we learn about the crucial role air racing played in advancing aviation in...

This week we visit the Buckeye State! Ohio is the home of the Wright Brothers and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. So, whether talking about building the Wright Military Flyer, or overseeing programs for modern types like F-47 and CCA--all paths tie back to this state. On the space side of the equation, a long line of astronauts called Ohio home, including John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, and Judith Re...

This week we visit Tennessee! The Volunteer State is home to Arnold Engineering Development Complex, which is key for both air and space test efforts. This includes a thermal vacuum chamber used to ensure satellites can withstand the extreme environment of space. We also learn about the contributions of Lieutenant General Frank Andrews, who was a pivotal leader that helped lay the foundations for...

This week we visit Kentucky! U.S. aviation—both civil and military— progressed after World War I thanks to the airmail industry. This sector developed new aircraft, increasingly sophisticated means of navigation, and the economic model necessary to advance flight in those pioneer years. Bowman Field of Louisville, Kentucky was a key airmail hub and later served as an important base in World War II...

This week we visit Vermont! You can't discuss airpower in that part of New England without reflecting upon the contributions of the Green Mountain Boys. First formed in 1946, the Vermont Air National Guard plays a critical role at home and abroad with their F-35s. In the space domain, we also highlight key industry players that have a long history of supporting the nation’s space endeavors. This e...

This week we visit Rhode Island! World War II Army Air Force airpower in the Pacific wouldn't have been possible without the US Navy's Seabees. They constructed the runways, fuel depots, operations facilities, and everything else required to advance combat flight operations. The Seabee Memorial Park and Museum in North Kingston, RI commemorates this crucial history. We also learn about spacepower'...

Mitchell Institute travels to North Carolina, where we visit the Sullenberger Aviation Museum in Charlotte, which houses a YF-102A prototype—an aircraft that formed the backbone for America’s homeland defense during some of the darkest days of the Cold War. We learn how it tied into the sophisticated SAGE air defense system. On the space side, 10 astronauts come from North Carolina, and the state...

This week we visit New York! The Empire State was a World War II industrial powerhouse that built a major percentage of the planes the Allies used to defat Axis forces. New York is also a key contributor to the space domain. Whether considering it’s the home of 31 NASA astronauts, or the role Eastman Kodak Company played in developing many of the optics and film used for space reconnaissance syste...

This week we visit Virginia, home of many locations and artifacts that have been instrumental in America’s air and space power story. Virginia is the home of the National Reconnaissance Office and the Wollops Flight Facility which served as the launch site for many historic space missions. In Virginia you’ll also find Langley Air Force Base which has a storied history and is the current home of Ai...

This week we visit New Hampshire! Early in World War II, the Granite State witnessed a massive expansion of critical airpower infrastructure at Grenier Field in Manchester. This base served as the key launching point for single aircraft that took the northern route to the European Theater, while also sustaining a variety of additional missions—everything from training sorties to anti-submarine pat...

This week we are travelling to South Carolina! In February 1942, then-Lt Col Jimmy Doolittle visited Columbia Air Base to recruit the airmen who would serve as the famed Doolittle Raiders.  His words were direct: “We have a mission. Can’t tell you what it’s going be. It’s very, very dangerous. We only want volunteers.”  Visitors can learn more about this at the South Carolina Historic Aviation Fou...

This week we travel to Maryland! It’s the birthplace of 8 astronauts and is home to the NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, which pioneered mission control functions early in the space race and still operates systems like the Hubble and the James Webb telescopes. Additionally, we also explore College Park Airport, where Army aviation literally first took flight under the tutelage of Wilbur Wright...

This week we travel to the birthplace of America, Massachusetts! We visit the American Heritage Museum in Hudson, MA which includes some of the world’s best warbirds—including a P-40 that was at Pearl Harbor. The collection also features two actual cells from the Hanoi Hilton—a powerful reminder of the bravery, sacrifice, and dedication to duty displayed by American POWs. The Bay State is also the...

Join us on a visit to Connecticut, where we learn about where some of the most famous aircraft were built—from the flying boats that explored the world to WWII-era fighters and pioneering helicopters. Plus, we also explore where key parts of the Apollo program were constructed, plus new technology for NASA’s Artemis program. 

This week, we visit Georgia to discover where the famed 8th Air Force was created in the opening months of WWII and where you can see a fantastic museum celebrating this heritage. We also learn about how Georgia Tech is a key spacepower partner for the nation—yesterday, today, and looking towards tomorrow.

On this week’s episode of the America 250: Air and Space Power podcast, we continue our tour around the nation to learn more about the key artifacts, places, and people that helped pioneer air and space power. Heather, Doug, and Charles visit New Jersey and explore a site where U.S. Army scientists first bounced radar waves off the moon in a quest to detect ballistic missiles. We also discuss how...