Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

57 facts cite this source

Technology Transportation

A jet engine works by squeezing air, setting it on fire, and shoving it backward

70 sec read

Space Space Exploration

Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space

50 sec read

Space Space Exploration

Alan Shepard tees off on the Moon

40 sec read

Technology Transportation

Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly the Atlantic solo

45 sec read

History Modern

Amelia Earhart vanished over the Pacific Ocean

45 sec read

Space Space Exploration

Apollo 11 launched on its way to the Moon

45 sec read

Space Space Exploration

Apollo 13 launched toward the Moon before its near-fatal accident

45 sec read

Space Space Exploration

Apollo 13's oxygen tank exploded, prompting 'Houston, we've had a problem'

45 sec read

Space Space Exploration

Apollo 17's crew shot the Blue Marble, Earth's most famous portrait

40 sec read

Space Space Exploration

Apollo 7 launched, restoring crewed American spaceflight

45 sec read

Space Space Exploration

Apollo 8 launched, carrying the first humans to the Moon

45 sec read

Space Space Exploration

Apollo 9 gave the lunar module its first crewed test

45 sec read

Technology Transportation

Charles Lindbergh lands in Paris, conquering the Atlantic alone

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Technology Transportation

Charles Lindbergh takes off on the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight

45 sec read

Technology Transportation

Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier

45 sec read

Technology Transportation

Concorde made its first test flight

40 sec read

Technology Transportation

Concorde crossed the Atlantic in under three hours

80 sec read

Space Space Exploration

Ed White became the first American to walk in space

45 sec read

Space Space Exploration

Eugene Cernan became the last human to walk on the Moon

45 sec read

Technology Transportation

First aircraft landing on a ship

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Technology Transportation

First manned balloon flight in the Americas

40 sec read

Space Space Exploration

Gemini 4 began America's first long-duration spaceflight

45 sec read

Space Space Exploration

Germany's V-2 rocket reached space on its first successful flight

50 sec read

Space Space Exploration

Joseph Kittinger leapt from the edge of space

50 sec read

Space Solar System

Jupiter is so massive the Sun doesn't actually orbit its own center

60 sec read

Technology Transportation

Louis Bleriot made the first airplane flight across the English Channel

45 sec read

Space Space Exploration

Monkeys Able and Baker become the first to survive a spaceflight and return alive

50 sec read

Space Space Exploration

NASA launched the final Space Shuttle mission

50 sec read

Space Space Exploration

NASA launched the Mars Pathfinder mission

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Space Space Exploration

Neil Armstrong took the first human steps on the Moon

40 sec read

Space Space Exploration

President Kennedy commits the US to landing a man on the Moon

50 sec read

Space Space Exploration

Robert Goddard launched the first liquid-fueled rocket

40 sec read

Space Space Exploration

Sally Ride became the first American woman in space

45 sec read

Space Space Exploration

A shuttle takes flight bolted to a jumbo jet's back

45 sec read

Space Space Exploration

SpaceShipOne made the first private crewed spaceflight

45 sec read

Technology Transportation

The SR-71's speed record has stood since 1976

70 sec read

Language & Communication Media & Communication

Telstar, the first communications satellite, launched

45 sec read

Technology Transportation

The airship Hindenburg bursts into flames at Lakehurst, New Jersey

40 sec read

Space Space Exploration

The Apollo 1 fire kills three astronauts

45 sec read

Technology Transportation

The first flight around the world landed back in Seattle

45 sec read

Technology Transportation

The first crewed transatlantic balloon flight succeeded

45 sec read

Technology Transportation

The first licensed female pilot earned her wings

45 sec read

Technology Inventions

The first recorded parachute jump took place

45 sec read

Space Space Exploration

The first Saturn V thundered off the pad on Apollo 4

45 sec read

Society & Economy Politics & Law

A pilot's 'flying saucers' sparked the modern UFO era

45 sec read

Technology Transportation

The Hawker Hurricane took to the air for the first time

40 sec read

Space Space Exploration

The Soviet Lunokhod 1 became the first rover to drive on another world

40 sec read

History Modern

The Soviet Union lifts the Berlin Blockade

50 sec read

Space Space Exploration

The Space Shuttle Challenger breaks apart after launch

45 sec read

Space Space Exploration

The world's first communications satellite reached orbit

45 sec read

Space Space Exploration

Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space

45 sec read

Technology Transportation

Voyager flew nonstop around the world without refueling

40 sec read

History Modern

Wiley Post became the first person to fly solo around the world

50 sec read

Technology Transportation

The first powered flight lasted just 12 seconds

90 sec read

Nature & Animals Mammals

Bats are the only mammals that truly fly

40 sec read

Space Solar System

Mercury is slowly shrinking and wrinkling its own crust

50 sec read

Religion & Beliefs Mythology

The planets are named after Roman gods

45 sec read