In support of an official event 

The Museum will be closed Sunday, May 25
In addition, the Fourth Hangar will be closed Saturday, May 24

Access to the Presidential Gallery will be limited from May 15 to June 5
 

Fact Sheet Alphabetical List

Fact Sheet Search

  • Excelsior Gondola

    Project Excelsior successfully tested parachutes to be used for escaping from aircraft at extremely high altitudes. U.S. Air Force Capt. Joseph Kittinger made three jumps from a balloon gondola in 1959-1960, the highest one from a record height of over 102,000 feet.As aircraft like the X-15 began to

  • Stargazer Gondola

    Project Stargazer explored the possibility of doing astronomy from a manned high-altitude balloon. This joint effort by the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Smithsonian Institution and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology flew in December 1962.Air Force Capt. Joseph Kittinger piloted the balloon, while

  • Northrop Grumman Defense Support Program Satellite

    Early Warning SatelliteDefense Support Program (DSP) satellites have provided the U.S. Air Force with early warning of ballistic missile launches and nuclear detonations for more than 40 years. The DSP satellite’s infrared sensors detect heat from missile plumes against the Earth’s background. This

  • Fairchild C-82 Packet

    Note: Visitors are permitted to walk in this aircraft.Airlift experience during World War II demonstrated the need for a large-capacity cargo aircraft that could be loaded from ground level, and Fairchild designed the C-82 Packet to meet the U.S. Army Air Forces’ requirements. The prototype first

  • Lockheed C-141C Starlifter "Hanoi Taxi"

    Note: Visitors are permitted to walk in this aircraft.The C-141 Starlifter was the US Air Force’s first major jet aircraft designed to meet military standards as a troop and cargo carrier. Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin) built a total of 285 C-141s, and for more than 40 years, C-141s performed

  • Lockheed C-141C Starlifter "Hanoi Taxi"

    Note: Visitors are permitted to walk in this aircraft.The C-141 Starlifter was the US Air Force’s first major jet aircraft designed to meet military standards as a troop and cargo carrier. Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin) built a total of 285 C-141s, and for more than 40 years, C-141s performed

  • 166th Aero Squadron Wooden Box

    Note: This item is currently in storage.The 166th Aero Squadron was organized at Kelly Field, Texas, in 1917. Shortly after, it moved to Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio, where the squadron received training with the Curtiss JN-4 and Standard J-1 aircraft. The 166th Aero Squadron served as a day

  • Motor Transport Corps Medallion

    Note: This item is currently in storage.  At the beginning of World War I, the U.S. Army kept horses as its primary means of transportation of soldiers and movement of supplies and equipment. Even though automobiles had been in use for years before the war began, the U.S. Army maintained that horses

  • Motor Transport Corps Insignia

    Note: This item is currently in storage. The use of motor vehicles by the U.S. Army was in its infancy prior to and at the beginning of the United States’ involvement in World War I. Horses remained the main mode of transportation of soldiers and movement of supplies and equipment.  Training in the

  • Metatarsal Pads

    Note: This item is currently in storage. Combat boots during World War I tended to lack the cushion and shock absorption that modern-day combat boots are designed to have. These metatarsal pads were worn with the elastic strap over the top of one’s foot. They hold the pad in place over the bottom