Press Releases

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum will reopen half of its flagship building on the National Mall Friday, Oct. 14. Eight new and renovated exhibitions, the planetarium, museum store and Mars Café will open on the building’s west end. The museum has been undergoing a seven-year renovation that began in 2018 and includes redesigning all 23 exhibitions and presentation spaces, complete refacing of the exterior cladding, replacement of outdated mechanical systems and other repairs and improvements.

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum is closing out another successful “S.H.E. Can” STEAM Aviation Camp in Springdale, Arkansas. The two-week camp in northwest Arkansas will culminate with a graduation ceremony June 28 with participation from the U.S. Air Force and special appearance by Col. Angela Ochoa, 19th Airlift Wing and Installation Commander of Little Rock Air Force Base. Ochoa will be flying in on a C-130J Super Hercules with a nearly all-female flight crew. Campers will meet with the flight crew and tour the C-130J before returning to Har-Ber High School for the closing ceremony where Ochoa will be the keynote speaker.

For the first time since opening in 1976, the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum is unveiling a new brand and identity, just ahead of the opening of the first phase of the renovated flagship building on the National Mall anticipated this fall.

Christopher Browne has been named the John and Adrienne Mars Director of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, effective immediately. He has served as acting director since January 2021. Browne first joined the museum as deputy director in 2017, and he has helped lead the museum’s multi-year renovation of its flagship building in Washington, D.C.

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum has received a $3 million donation from Iridium to support the renovation of the museum’s flagship building on the National Mall. The “One World Connected” exhibition will tell the story of how satellites fostered the ease of making connections across vast distances and provided a new perspective of Earth as humanity’s home. It is part of the museum’s ongoing transformation of all its galleries at the flagship building in Washington, D.C., and is scheduled to open in fall 2022.

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum has received a $25 million gift from Raytheon Technologies to support the creation of its new “Living in the Space Age” exhibition. The exhibition is located in one of the museum’s three main halls and will show visitors how innovations in space technology have transformed their lives, and why it matters. The “Raytheon Technologies Living in the Space Age” exhibition is part of the museum’s ongoing  transformation of its galleries at the flagship building in Washington, D.C., and scheduled to open in 2025.

The Museum has launched “QueerSpace,” a limited series of its “AirSpace” podcast focusing on stories at the intersection of aviation, space and queer identity. The episodes will explore LGBTQ+ history and culture through an aerospace lens, highlighting how queer culture has shaped the past and future of flight and illustrating the scope and diversity of LGBTQ+ experiences across aviation and space science.

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum awards its Michael Collins Trophy annually for Lifetime and Current Achievements. The 2022 recipients are Wally Funk for Lifetime Achievement and the Mars Ingenuity Helicopter Team for Current Achievement; they will receive their awards at a ceremony March 24 at the museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.