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

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  • Strategic Air Command

    World War II proved what the proponents of air power had been championing for the previous two decades -- the great value of strategic forces in bombing an enemy's industrial complex and of tactical forces in controlling the skies above a battlefield. As a result, the Strategic and Tactical Air

  • Sikorsky MH-53M Pave Low IV

    U.S. Air Force special operations forces used the Sikorsky MH-53M to covertly enter enemy territory. Capable of operating at day or night or in bad weather, these helicopters conducted long-range, low-level missions to insert, extract, and resupply special operations forces. The MH-53 helicopters

  • Space Foods

    One of the early problems associated with space flight was the development of foods and techniques for feeding astronauts. Space and weight limitations aboard the space vehicle were critical and there often were no facilities for heating or refrigerating. In addition, foods had to be low in bulk to

  • Space Hardware

    The effort to operate freely in the environment of space encountered a host of challenges never before experienced in such magnitude by earth-bound humanity. Weightlessness or Zero "G" was one of the most difficult to overcome, and a variety of unique devices were designed and tested to make human

  • SV-5D PRIME Lifting Body

    The PRIME project was the second part of the Spacecraft Technology and Advanced Re-entry Tests (START) program. It had the dual objective of testing advances in space hardware and further exploring the development of manned and unmanned lifting body vehicles. Four SV-5D vehicles were built by the

  • Sentinels of Freedom: Air Force Strategic Missiles

     Since 1959, U.S. Air Force strategic nuclear-armed missiles and the Airmen who operate and maintain them have been on constant alert. The Missile & Space Gallery features USAF missiles that helped maintain peace among Cold War superpowers. They have shaped the world's strategic balance for more

  • Sputnik I

    The space age began on Oct. 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, the first artificial earth satellite. The event was a milestone in space exploration and a defining moment of the Cold War. It caused great anxiety in the United States because the public equated space achievements with

  • Security Police Weapons

    The M16: American IconSince the 1960s, the 5.56mm M16 and its later variants have been the standard rifle for all U.S. armed services. It has also been widely exported to military services around the world.The U.S. Air Force was the first military service to acquire and adopt the M16. Personally

  • South Vietnam: Tet Offensive and Vietnamization

    TURNING POINTLate in January 1968, the communists launched their famous Tet Offensive throughout South Vietnam. They hoped to achieve a dramatic victory that would force South Vietnam and the US to accept defeat. First, they attacked Khe Sanh, a U.S. Marine base in far northwest South Vietnam. Nine

  • Spiritual Support: Chaplain Chris Martin

    Chaplains like Col. Chris Martin could regularly be seen on the flight line blessing the aircrews as they taxied out for takeoff. They also provided needed counseling between missions.Chaplain Martin originally served in the U.S. Air Force as a transport pilot in the 1950s. After attending divinity