AirSpace

In 1940, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt broadcast a new goal in one of his famous Fireside Chats: he wanted to see 50,000 planes a year built in the United States. Up until that point, the U.S. had built just over 30,000 military planes . . . total . 50,000 seemed like an impossible goal. But with war looming, "Rosie" rolled up her sleeves and said "We can do it!" And she did. Millions of war...

In 1937, there were fewer than 20,000 licensed pilots in the United States. The Civilian Pilot Training Program increased that number to more than 400,000 in less than five years. With national "airmindedness" as their goal in the run-up to World War II, the US government created the program to train students (10% of whom could be women) on the ground and in the air at colleges and universities ac...

The Women's Airforce Service Pilots were a huge part of civilian aviation during WWII. Ahead of our new limited series, Home Front, we've brought back our season four episode. Episodes of Home Front start August 14th. On this episode of AirSpace we’re spotlighting the heroic service and enduring legacy of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASP. More than 1,000 of these fearless women flew as c...

In just a few weeks, five brand new galleries are opening in the museum down on the mall, including galleries where we are once again hanging some (really big) things from the ceiling. We're revisiting this season eight behind-the-scenes episode to remind you just how they get up there.  AirSpace is looking up! (We know, we know, we're usually looking up what with the air and the space-ness of our...

AirSpacers are watchers of movies, but we are also readers of books. In our inaugural Book Club we're reading The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy by Dr. Moiya McTier. This book is a non-fiction romp through the Milky Way's life (and future death) told from its perspective. How does the Milky Way feel about consuming other galaxies? Does watching us humans get boring? Can a galaxy be self...

If you've been to visit us on the National Mall in the last several years you may have noticed that we've been under construction. Which is very exciting! But even more exciting is some of that construction is done! On July 28, we're welcoming visitors into five brand new galleries. But you, lovely AirSpace listener, get a little bit of a sneak peek. A behind the scenes look at Futures in Space, o...

Pancho Barnes was larger than life. Born at the turn of the century, she spent the next 75 years defying every societal norm she found stuffy, boring or just plain stupid. She rode horses and then flew planes in the movies. She raced airplanes and briefly held the women's airspeed record. She owned a notorious inn/restaurant/club/hotel/airport in the desert near what would become Edwards Air Force...

If you were curating a mixtape that might be heard by aliens billions of years from now, but definitely would be seen by your fellow Earthlings, what would you put on it?  In 1977, two Voyager spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral on a journey that would take them out to our outer solar system and beyond. Affixed to the side of these two planetary explorers was the Voyager Golden Record. This ul...

Bats are the only mammals that truly fly. And the way they do it is very different from other flying things. The way they fly has only recently been understood and there are still questions. Scientist and engineers are trying to use what they do know to create bat-inspired flying machines, but things like bats self-cambering stretching wings skin, skeleton muscles and tiny hair sensors are proving...

There are a lot of different aircraft that fight wildfires, from Host Matt's favorite Sky Crane helicopter to giant cargo jets that dump tons of fire retardant. But today we're taking about a truly unique, purpose-built firefighting airplane: the Super Scooper. This plane skims the surface of a body of water, collects a shocking amount through tiny scoop ports, flies off, and dumps it on a wildfir...

If you haven't listened already, go back and check out Part One. When you hear 'space race' you probably (correctly) think about the 1960s Soviet Union v. U.S. race to put an astronaut on the Moon. But a few hundred years before, the space race was all about Venus. About twice every century we here on Earth get to see Venus pass in the front of the Sun. Back the 18th and 19th centuries, this was a...

When you hear 'space race' you probably (correctly) think about the 1960s Soviet Union v. U.S. race to put an astronaut on the Moon. But a few hundred years before, the space race was all about Venus. Twice every century or so we here on Earth get to see Venus pass in front of the Sun (with proper eye protection. Don't stare at the Sun, kids.) Back in the 18th and 19th centuries, this was a Big De...

The oldest Earth rocks we have are 4.3 billion years old, and samples we've brought back from the Moon are even older. But what does that have to do with craters on Mars? When the Apollo missions brought back samples, those rocks let us confirm the age of parts of our lunar bestie for the first time. Now, scientific models use data from those samples to extrapolate the age of other geologic events...

Right now there are seven women on Mars... kind of. The women of Hypatia Mars started out as a small group of friends from Catalonia who wanted to work together tp advance space science and women in STEM. Today they're on their second analog mission at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, testing systems and equipment, doing multidisciplinary research, and continuously working to reach out to...

We want to hear from you! Fill out our listener survey at s.si.edu/airspace2025 All the military aircraft and some of the civilian ones in our collections have to be demilitarized before they go on display or into storage. This process, usually called demilling, means taking anything out that might leak, corrode, explode or give away military secrets. Thanks to our guest in this episode: Dr. Mike...

We want to hear from you! Fill out our listener survey at s.si.edu/airspace2025 Our museum collection, like a lot of other museums' collections, can be a working collection. That means that scientist come to do air or space research using objects in the museum. Sometimes it's as simple as an engineer coming after hours to look a little closer at a plane or spacecraft so they can better understand...

In the lead up to Season 10 we're reviving some of our favorite episodes. Today we bring you Emily's favorite, The Ninety-Nines.  It took a certain amount of pure grit to be a pilot in the early days of aviation – and even more for the women who had to defy convention just to get up in the air.  And if you’re thinking the only aviatrix was Amelia Earhart – think again. She was just one of a daring...

In the lead up to Season 10 we're reviving some of our favorite episodes. Today we bring you Matt's favorite, Smoke from a Distant Fire. Wildfire season is getting longer, according to the US Forest Service, making firefighting a bigger, more vital operation each year. In this episode, Emily, Matt, and Nick take a look at how the pros fight wildfires with everything from large water-carrying airta...

We were devastated when we heard of Nikki Giovanni's passing earlier this week. Her poetry evokes life on Earth and in the universe in such a beautiful, thoughtful and inclusive way. We are in the process of sharing our favorite episodes from the past and felt it was fitting to bring you back our QueerSpace episode featuring Nikki among other futurist artists.   When researching QueerSpace, we rep...

Hey Y'all! Since we've made it to season 10 (!!!) we thought we'd take the opportunity to re-introduce ourselves. In this episode you can hear a little more about Hosts Matt and Emily as well as a little bit about the rest of the team behind your favorite pod (we hope). We reference a lot of past episodes, here's some links for your listening pleasure: AirSpace, Live at South by Southwest Rock on...

While we get Season 10 ready we're bringing you this episode from our friends at the Federal Aviation Administration's Podcast, The Air Up There . Find our transcript here . Did you know that airplanes have two black boxes and they are actually orange? Or that airplanes have closets? Or that one of the tools used to fix an airplane’s auxiliary power unit is referred to as a fishing rod?  In this e...

As we wait for season TEN (!!!) we're looking back on this season six favorite. Every day, satellites orbit Earth taking pictures. These images are used for everything from intelligence to weather prediction and even today’s topic – archaeology. When you hear the term “space archaeology” you might envision a khaki-clad astronaut excavating the Moon. But these space archaeologists are actually Eart...

Have you ever wondered how astronauts on the ISS or elsewhere in space vote? It turns out there's a whole Texas law about it. We'll tell you exactly how to cast a ballot from 250 miles up in orbit on AirSpace. Thanks to our guest in this episode: Katherine Schaur - NASA Near Space Network Find the transcript here . Sign up here for the monthly AirSpace newsletter

I don't think we're in Kansas anymore! There are so many things that fly in Oz, from broomsticks to monkeys to bubbles. With the Wicked movie coming out this November, we thought we'd look back on all things flight in the land of Oz and tell you all about how those effects were made for the screen and the stage.  Thanks to our guest in this episode: Ryan Lintelman - Entertainment Curator, Smithson...

During WWII one plane survived more missions than any other in Europe. Named ' Flak-Bait, ' this medium bomber was saved from the scrap heap after the war and immediately donated to the Smithsonian. However, public display and outdated restoration techniques have taken a toll on the plane. We're taking you inside our restoration hanger to learn all about how the Museum's conservators are reversing...