Book of Flight - The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
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The Smiths
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Judith
E.
Firefly
Rinard
Books
A Firefly Book
Shuttle Liftoff
Cover: Blasting into the
sky,
the space
shuttle Endeavour roars toward space.
Copyright
2001
Judith E.Rinard
All rights
reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
system or transmitted
retrieval
in
Acknowledgements
in a
any form or by any means, electronic,
The author gratefully acknowledges the

assistance of the curators and other staff
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written

at
the National Air and Space
Museum
permission of the Publisher.
Amazing Sight
Pagel:
who made
British children
monoplane
watch
as the
2001
First printing
Pisano,
of Louis Bleriot soars above
this
book possible. Dominick
Chairman of the Aeronautics
Division,
and Michael Neufeld, Curator
in
U.S. Cataloging-in-Publication Data
the English coast.This photograph
was
the Space History Division, read the
(Library of Congress Standards)
manuscript and offered many helpful
probably taken soon after Bleriot's

historic flight across the English
Rinard, Judith
E.
suggestions. Valerie Neal, Curator

The book of
Channelin 1909.
Museum
[128]
In
p.
flight
/Judith
:
col.
ill.
E.
questions throughout the project. Special
thanks to Melissa Keiser of the Archives

Summary:The major milestones
Flying in close formation,
the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds practice

a
high-speed maneuver.
diagrams explaining
5:
During
astronaut
Owen
1973 spacewalk,
Garriott deploys a solar
Flight
I.
Includes the development of flight and
and technology.
Museum.
History.
II.
3. Aeronautics -
highly useful information. Thanks also to
Flights.
Clare Cuddy,
Title.
2001
Manager
of Educational
Programs, and Patricia Graboske, Chief of

Publications, for their invaluable
U.S. Cataloging-in-Publication Data
(Library of Congress Standards)
shield to shade the U.S. space station
gathered the photographs
questions about them with detailed and
History. 2. Aeronautics
21
who
the book and patiently answered
(pbk.)
National Air and Space
629.1309
Division,
for
ISBN 1-55209-619-X
Space Repair
from the collections of
in flight history illustrated
Museum.
flight science
ISBN 1-55209-599-1
Page
Space
gave assistance and answered
Includes index.
Perfect Form
Pages 2-3:
History,
cm.
in
the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space
Rinard. 1st ed.
assistance throughout the project.
Skylab from the Sun.

Rinard, Judith
The book of
E.
flight
the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space
Museum
Includes index.
the assistance of her colleagues at the

ISBN 1-55209-599-1 (pbk.)
ISBN 1-55209-619-X (bound)
I.
3.
Aeronautics
The photo editor gratefully acknowledges
Museum.
United States
2.
Aeronautics
United States
History. 4. Aeronautics
History.
I.
Title.
History.
particularly
Dana
Bell,
Museum,
Kate Igoe, Kristine
Kaske, Dan Hagedorn, and Brian Nicklas

(Archives) for historical and photographic
629.1'074753
TL506.U62W37 2001
C2001-930715-2
assistance; Barbara Weitbrecht (Archives)
for
Published
in
Canada
Published
in
unflagging
IT
support; Joanne London
the United States

(Aeronautics) for assistance with the
in
2001 by
Firefly
3680
Books
in
Firefly
Victoria Park
M2H
Books
(U.S.) Inc.
(Aeronautics) for assistance with the
Avenue
P.O.Box 1338, Ellicott Station
Willowdale, Ontario
Canada
2001 by
Poster Collection; Alex Spencer
Ltd.
Buffalo,
3K1
New
trophy and flight materiel collections as

York
well as assistance
14205
in
scanning images;
David Gant (Exhibits) for assistance
in
scanning images; Cathleen Lewis and
Produced by
Martin Collins (Space History) for
Charles 0.
Hyman, Visual Communications,
Inc.,
Washington,
D.C.
assistance with Soviet photographs and

artifacts;
Rose Steinat,
Priscilla Strain
and
Designed by
Andrew Johnston
Kevin R.Osborn, Research
&
(Center for Earth and
Design, Ltd., Arlington, Virginia
Planetary Studies) for assistance with
photography and maps; and the
NASM
Smithsonian Institution
Office of Information
Publication Director
Patricia
Graboske
IT
Manager Educational Programs
Clare
Chief Photo Archivist
Melissa A.N.Keiser
Photography by
Mark Avino
Eric
F.
Cuddy
Long
Carolyn Russo
Printed
and bound
in
Canada by
Friesens, Altona,
Manitoba
support.
Technology
for
Contents
Introduction
,.8
The Beginnings of
Powered
Flight
Flight: First
12
Attempts
14
The Wright Brothers
16
Wright Brothers
18
in
France
Aviation Takes Off
20
World War
22
"'
i
S^
I:
Fighters
Flying a Fighter
24
World War
26
I:
Bombers
Barnstorming
28
Racing lor the Skies
30
Douglas World Cruisers
32
Going the Distance
34
Charles Lindbergh
36
Amelia Earhart
38
Airmail to Airlines
40
Air Transport
42
Airships
44
Flying Boats
46
World War
II:
Fighters
48
World War
II:
Battle of Britain
50
World War
II:
Bombers
52
World War
II:
War
54
at
Sea
Enola Gay
56
The Sound Barrier
58
Korea and Vietnam
60
Modern
Military Aircraft
62
Modern
Fighters
64
Sky
66
Spy
in the
68
Jet Transport
6
Helicopters
70
Working Planes
72
Modern Record Breakers
74
Rockets and the Space Age
76
To the Edge of Space
78
Mercury and Gemini
80
Comparative Rockets
82
Apollo to the
One
Moon
Small Step
Exploring the
84
86
Moon
88
World
90
Homeward Bound
92
Skylab
94
Apollo-Soyuz
96
Space Suits
98
Different
The Space Shuttle
100
Keeping Cool
102
The Glass Cockpit
104
Shuttle Orbiter
106
Space Telescope
108
Meeting Mir
110
Living
in
Gliding
Space
112
Home
114
Space Station
116
Building the ISS
118
Research and Design
120
Mission to Mars
122
Milestones of Flight
124
Glossary
126
Index
127
7
Introduction
MAGINE
when people only dreamed
a time
when
the sight of a
jet
of flying,
streaking across the sky
would have been astounding, and
the idea of
launching a rocket into space too fantastic to
comprehend. You may be surprised

time was not very long ago.
to learn that
possible that
It is
someone you know was born before airliners

and jets even existed.
The stories you are about to read and the
amazing pictures you will see capture the
wonder and excitement of a history that is still
unfolding. At the
first
powered
dawn
its
Millions of people
Wright Flyer
Museum
By
the
way to becoming a reality. In the

new millennium, engineers are
first
at the
into the history books.
come
to see the original
every year.
People also come to the
of the 20th century, the
aircraft took to the skies.
century's end, the International Space Station
was on
powered airplane
first
Museum
early airplanes like the Spirit

a 25-year-old airmail pilot
of Si.
in 1927, a
New
York
Amelia Earhart
developing reusable space vehicles, designing
trying to achieve. Five years
became
sound and exploring a human mission
Atlantic. Her bright red Lockheed Vega

Museum's Pioneers of Flight gallery.
future
fact
filled
of flight
to
paved the way
Mars.
for a
with adventure and achievement, a
demonstrated every day
at the
Museum.
Smithsonian's
Filled with
to Paris
ttli hour flight that six other pilots died
airplanes that will fly at five times the speed of
The pioneers
it,
named Charles
Lindbergh flew nonstop from
years of the
to see other
Loub. In
the
first
woman
later,
pilot to fly solo across the

sits in
the
Aviation's powerful influence on world
history
is
activities
shown
in
exhibits that describe military
over the decades. In the Book
of Flight,
history-making aircraft and spacecraft, the
you'll learn
Museum
how the first bombers and fighter planes worked.

You will meet heroes like America's World War
and
brings to
who
scientists
lite
the
work
of the inventors
created them, portrays the
courageous aviators and astronauts who flew

them and explains how our world is changing
because of the progress in aviation and space
exploration. The Smithsonian National Air and Space
Museum Book
of Flight
celebrates the
Museum's
famous collection and reveals highlights of its
many
exhibitions.
In the following pages, for example,
be introduced to two brothers

Orville Wright.
kites.
When
will
As children they made and flew
Soon they were able
skills to
On December
near Kitty
you
Wilbur and
they got older they designed and
built bicycles.
mechanical
to put their
use in achieving their dream:
17, 1903,
Hawk, North
on a windswept beach
Carolina, thev flew the
all
about famous battles and discover
flying ace, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, as well as
other military legends such as Baron Manfred von

Richthofen, also known as the "Red Baron." (Do
you know what famous cartoon character is still
waging war on the Red Baron? Look for the
answer in one of the book s many Fun Facts.)
The courage of World War II fliers is shown
in
the inspiring story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the
first
African-American fighter
pilots.
This skilled
and daring group fought against great odds to

defend our country on two fronts against the
enemy
in
Europe and against
racial prejudice
in this country.
By
the middle of the 20th century, aircraft
designers were focusing on speed. Suspended
Touch the Moon

A young
Space
Hands-on Learning
visitor at the National Air
Museum
and
In
delights in touching the
Moonrock, collected by Apollo 17

astronauts
in
1972. The
Museum
Johnson Space Center
in
compare
with modern
is
can touch lunar rock.The other
interpreter Katherine
visitors
one of only two places on Earth where

visitors
the Hall of Air Transportation,
model DC-3
is
Houston, Texas.
early
travel.
airliner
and recent
Tuow helps young
early passenger aviation
She shows them
and
pilot
"Discovery Cart."
lets
them
try
uniforms from
on
from the Museum's ceiling
is
the Bell X-l, a
bright orange, bullet-shaped plane equipped
with a rocket engine. In 1947 an American

pilot
named Chuck Yeager
accelerated
to
it
test
700
miles per hour to break the sound barrier for
the
time.
first
It
was not long
alter this milestone that the
was on. In 1962 America's

effort to orbit the earth was successful. Astronaut
John Glenn's Mercury Friendship "capsule is
now on display in the Milestones of Flight
race to conquer space
Other Museum exhibits trace the
gallery.
expansion and progress of space exploration, as

well as the science and technology behind the
breakthroughs. Hundreds of displays and

artifacts
rockets, capsules, tools, vehicles,
equipment, space
tell this
New
(enter
(top) will be the largest facility of

in
its
kind
the world. Hangars will display
hundreds of airplanes and spacecraft, and

visitors will see
how
experts restore
them. Above, curators use Plexiglas

cutouts to plan the displays.
even space food
continuing story.
One
The Museum's new Udvar-Hazy Center
suits,
of the National Air and Space
Museum's
most popular displays features a rock from the

Moon. This four-billion-year-old sample was
taken from the lunar surface
in
1972 by
astronauts participating in the Apollo 1/ mission.
opened on the National Mall in

Washington, D.C. in 1976, the Air and Space
Since
Museum
people.
it
has welcomed more than 212 million
The world's most
visited
museum,
00
CD
CM
CO
o
CO
CO
00
CO
the length of three city blocks and has
it is
exhibitions on
there
is
room
two
floors.
For
this reason, the
and space
museum
As
an additional 80 percent of the collection.
December 2003, we
will celebrate the
Udvar-Hazy Center
It is
named
for the
Udvar-Hazy Center
Visitors to the
among
also along elevated

aircraft.
Many
artifacts
in
will
museum
and experimental
setting.
Over 200
first
aircraft
one of the luckiest
not only have the chance to
it is
pilot. In addition,
my
flying
be
like to
in the
many years
and play a
was
as a
privileged
role in the space
flying
time
way. But for future generations, the best
and
to
will
be
view hanging
be displayed for the
am
most fascinating museum every
know what
Marine Corps
man who
engines, rockets, satellites,
helicopters, airliners
machines
to
program by working at the National Aeronautics

and Space Administration.
Although my career has included many roles,
the one I care most about is being a father and
grandfather. It is for this reason that I want to
preserve and share the magnificent history and
technology of aviation and space exploration
with you and others.
Over the past century, we have come a long
on the floor and
"skyways"
also
to continue
at
provided a major contribution to help construct

able to walk
feel
cockpit, having served for
Washington Dulles International Airport. This

amazing facility will be ten stories high and three
football fields long.
the planet.
in the world's
day,
Wright's historic flight will be celebrated by

F.
men on
be
100th anniversary of Wilbur and Orville
opening the Steven
the Director of the National Air and
Space Museum,
building that will be large enough to display
In
ride thrilling simulators.
artifacts.
constructing a
is
Visitors will also be able to enjoy
exciting movies in a large-screen theater, and
for only 10 percent of the national
collection of aviation
new
and shops.
Amazingly, however,
it.
is
come.
135 spacecraft will be on view, including the
prototype space shuttle Enterprise and the
SR-71 Blackbird, the world's fastest airplane.

There will be an observation tower
overlooking Dulles air
traffic,
plus restaurants
GeneralJolmR. "Jack" Dadey,

'
USMC (Ret)
Director
National Air and Space Museum
yet
The Beginnings of Flight

NCE
ancient times, people have dreamed of flying
Greek myths, heroes made wings to

zoomed through
like birds. In
fly.
In Persian legends, people
The ancient Chinese
the sky on magic carpets.
invented
humans
kites,
and some reportedly carried
During the Middle Ages, mam-
aloft.
people tried to
fly.
cloth or leathers
Some strapped on wings
and jumped
towers or
off
of
cliffs.
Yet nothing worked, and many died.
Then in 1783, two French brothers,

Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier,
invented the hot-air balloon. Working
paper factory, they
in their family's
noticed that paper put on a

lifted
up the chimney. They
fire.
The hot
lighter than
air,
and
air
made
air
the balloo
recorded
first
flight.
Englishman George Cay ley invented
In 1804,
the
rose over Pans, carrying
it
two noblemen. This was the
human
filled
bag with hot
large cloth-and-paper
from a
was
fire
heavier-than-air craft, a model glider.
first
Later piloted by
German Otto
were the ancestors
Lilienthal, gliders
modern
of the
Sir
airplane.
George Caylcy (1773-1857)
Often called the "Father of Aeronautics,"
George Cayley
Sir
established the
first
scientific principles of heavier-than-air
Studying
flight.
wings create
birds,
he understood that
a force called "lift."
He also
understood propulsion and control

flight
in
and he predicted powered
the future. He
first built a
five-foot-
long model glider based on a

in
1853, he built
kite. Later,
a large glider that
carried his unwilling
Fun Fact: What
in
aircraft
coachman
a short
way. Afterward, the frightened coachman
Gas!
resigned, saying
"I
was
hired to drive,
Ihe Montgolfier brothers thought by

not
fly!"
burning straw and wool, they had created a
new
into the
air.
gas that sent their balloons
They called it"Montgolfier
gas." Actually,
it
was simply hot
air.
Later in 1783, Jacques Charles created
the hydrogen balloon. He
filled
with the gas hydrogen.
weighs
one-fourteenth as
It
much
as
air.
balloons
Fun Fact: Early Flight Plans

As long ago as the 15th century,
artist
Italian
Leonardo da Vinci was designing
ideas for flying machines.
He sketched
flapping-wing machines,
ornithopters, and even early he
Up, Up,
and Away
On November
Pilatre
d'
21, 1783, Jean Francois
de Rozier and the Marquis
Arlandes took off
in a
Montgolfier
balloon before astonished Parisians.
The brightly colored balloon rose 300 feet
and floated
for
about
5 miles over Paris.
Flight Control
Lilienthal steers his glider by
and shifting
legs
of control
sails
into the wind, Otto Lilienthal
through the
his
method
limited and dangerous.
Otto Lilienthal (18^9-1896)
Gliding Pioneer
Jumping
was
swinging
his weight. This
air in a
hang glider as
spectators watch. Lilienthal tested
many
Otto Lilienthal was
German engineer who
studied bird flight and was the
person
first
to actively pilot, or control, a glider.
of his glider designs by leaping off a
Between 1891 and 1896, he
custom-made, cone-shaped
18 glider designs of lightweight cotton,
Berlin.
He flew over 2,500
feet high
and nearly
hill
near
flights,
up to 64
quarter mile long.
willow, and
built
bamboo. Unpowered, they
glided on winds and updrafts, the
way
and flew
same
birds soar. Lilienthal scientifically
recorded his research, which greatly helped

later inventors.
crashed
fearless
when he
flier,
wind. He died the next day. His

were:"Sacrifices
60
he
lost control in a
finally
gust of
last
words
must be made."
Fly a Kite
Some 19th-century
dea of kites as
Here, Alexander
thinkers returned to the
ways
to carry
Graham
Bell,
people
aloft.
inventor of the
telephone, explains his idea for a large kite
made up
High-Flying Act
Ballooning and gliding
spectator sports
in
became
the 1800s. This
19th-century German poster

features a
young
woman
balloonist and aerial acrobat
named
K.Paulus.
exciting
of
many
triangular surfaces.
Powered
LLOONING was
gliders,
birds.
in the 1800s.
And with
people could actually soar on wings like
Yet balloons and gliders were hard to con-
They
trol.
popular
Flight: First
drifted with the wind. Inventors
began trying
In 1852,
now
powered, controlled
to achieve
flight.
Frenchman Henri Giffard attached a
steam engine to a cigar-shaped, hydrogen-filled balloon.
He
called
it
a "dirigible," meaning steerable. Yet
was heavy and
the airship's steam engine
proved slow and
still
the craft
hard to maneuver. Others tried
adding power to heavier-than-air flying machines.
Many were
hopped
bizarre contraptions.
briefly off the
In 1896,
A few hovered
or
ground, but never flew.
an American
scientist, Dr.
Samuel
Langley, launched an unpiloted steam-powered
model
aircraft. It flew nearly a mile.
Langley
Yet
when
launching a large piloted version,
tried
it
crashed on takeoff twice.
This seemed to prove

what most people believed: powered, pilot-controlled flight was simply impossible.
Samuel Pierpont Langley
(1831,-1906)
Professor Samuel
P.
Langley, the third
secretary of the Smithsonian Institution

in
Washington,
D.C.,
was
respected
astronomer.The public was stunned

his
when
unmanned steam-powered model
Aerodrome
No. 5 flew over the
Potomac
River in 1896.
1903, Langley attempted to launch
In
a full-size
"Great Aerodrome" with a pilot
aboard. The craft

large
new
means
was equipped with
of control.
takeoff, the big
On two attempts
handful of mortar,"
reported,
the
at
Aerodrome's flimsy wings
collapsed.The craft sank

a
gasoline engine, but no real
in
the water'like
newspaper
dumping the unlucky
pilot in
Ready for Takeoff
Men
prepare the Aerodrome No. 5 for
launch from a houseboat on the Potomac

River.
A catapult drove the steam-
powered model
into the
air. It
flew
3,300 feet before running out of steam.
river.
Fun Fact: Leviathan

Some
early flying
machines were huge.
One, called "Leviathan," was
a triple-
winged monster with two steam

engines and a wingspan of 103
hovered
few inches
feet!
off the ground.
It
Attempts
,.,,/*
.75"
Airborne!
In this
as
painting, the launching crew watch
Aerodrome
Potomac
in
No. 5 takes flight over the
May
model was the
of 1896. This unpiloted
first
powered
considerable weight to
craft of
fly.
Wings ok Wheels
Inspired by the Ferris Wheel, this early
French flying machine was designed by

the Marquis d'Equeviltey.
wings were intended

Instead, the
to
<
Its
multiple
to increase
lift.
machine proved too heavy
lift off.
Early Triplane
A different attempt
at
multiple-wing
design was this early French triplane.
Although
it
looked more
the craft could not
<
like
an airplane,
fly either.
GlVAUDAN No.
A third French invention, the aeroplane
Givaudan No.
was
a fanciful flying
machine. Equipped with odd front and

rear cyclinder
wing
sections,
it
never
got off the ground.
Fun Fact: Engine Power

The
first
powered
flying
machines used
steam engines. Yet these were much too

heavy and too weak
to be practical for
flying large aircraft. In the late
Otto Daimler invented the
gasoline
first
800s,
engine. Eventually, lighter-weight and
Aerodrome No.
This
more
model of Langley's Aerodrome No.
shows the machine's tandem
in
center.The No. 5 had

1
3 feet, a
size Great
cloth wings,
wingspan of
fourth as big as the
Aerodrome.
gas engines helped make
manned powered
twin pusher propellers, and steam engine,
about
efficient
5
flight possible.
The Wright Brothers

ILLE and Wilbur Wright were fascinated by
flying. As children, they received a toy rubberband helicopter from their father. They soon
copied it. As boys, they loved building and flying
kites. When they grew up, they designed and
built bicycles in their own business. They were
brilliant
mechanics.
Otto Lihenthal's work prompted the brothers

probe the puzzle ol powered
to
Cay ley,
studied
Lilienthal,
experimented and
and cotton
flight. First,
and others. Then they
built a large glider ol
cloth, with
Next, they invented a
curved wings lor
way
they
spruce
lilt.
to control the craft's
side-to-side rolling motion in the air
by twisting,
or warping, the wings. Last, they built a small
12-horsepower gasoline engine and attached
it
with bicycle chains to propellers. The result
was
the Flyer, the
On December
flew the Flyer
first
powered airplane!
the brothers
17, 1903,
ai Kitty
Hawk
North Carolina. They had

unlocked the secret
controlled
BlRDWATCHING
of..
his
idea. "My observations
.buzzards," he wrote/leads
me
to
believe that they regain their lateral bal-
ance,
when
wind, by
partly overturned by a gust of
the tips of the wings.'
a torsion of
Pilot Control
A model shows
flyer,
today
in
how
Orville controlled the
Museum. He moved
his hips to control
wing-warping cables and moved

with
his
hand
to
make
a lever
the Flyer's nose go
up or down.
Fun Fact: Coin Toss

The brothers flipped
would
next,
a coin to see
test-pilot the Flyer
won, but the

and the
first.
who
Wilbur
Flyer stalled. Orville tried

rest
is
at last
powered,
flight.
The First Flight
Observing buzzards gave Wilbur
wing-warping
human
ol
beach,
history.
On December
17,
1903
at Kitty
North Carolina, Orville takes off

Flyer, as
Wilbur watches. The
Hawk,
in
the
flight lasted
12 seconds and covered 120 feet. A beach

lifeguard took this
famous photograph.
PLANE'S MOVEMENT
AIRFOIL (SHAPE WITH
LIFT
CURVED UPPER SURFACE)
"Isn
't
it
astonishing that all these secrets
have been preserved for so
many years
just so we could dLf cover them!!"
FASTER AIRFLOW
LOW PRESSURE
Orville Wright, 1903

SLOWER AIRFLOW
HIGH PRESSURE
An
How Wings
airplane's
Lift
wing produces
curved shape, called an
lift
by
its
"airfoil." Air
passing over the rounded upper surface

rushes faster than
air
moving over the
bottom surface.This creates
flat
low
pressure area over the wing.The high

pressure area under the wing pushes
the wing upward.
__^H
|
1
Pedal Power
The Wrights attached model wings
bicycle wheel,
to test the
and turned
wings'
lift.
it
to a
by pedaling
The bicycle men
believed a pilot could learn to control an
much
aircraft
as a cyclist learns to
balance and control
a bike.
Fun Fact: The Wright Stuff

The key methods the Wrights used to
achieve powered flight were:1) wings
to
lift
the plane; 2) an engine to propel
the plane forward; and 3) movable

surfaces, such as
wing edges,
for
control.
These are the same principles
used to
fly a
Boeing 747 today.
Time
It!
Wilbur and Orville used this stop
watch
to
time their historic
Hawk. On
flights at Kitty
December
made
852
<
1903,the f/yer
four flights, the longest
feet in
New
T7,
59 seconds.
Propeller
The Wrights were the

airplane propeller
is
first to realize
really a small,
twisted wing that rotates.They
designed propellers of carved wood.
an
Wright Brothers
OR years
after their first flight, the
in
France
Wright brothers
received almost no credit or recognition for their
Many at home and abroad

and refused to believe they had even
actually flown. Then in 1908, Wilbur went to
France and demonstrated an improved Flyer, the
Type A. Before a large, skeptical crowd, Wilbur
accomplishment.
scoffed
took
oft".
Soaring triumphantly into the sky. he
circled the air field,
making
wild. Before this, they
banked
The crowd went
tight, steeply
turns and perfect figure eights.
had only seen flying
machines that could barely lurch
and
fly
with
control.
little
off the
ground
Wilbur was a hero. He
flew over 100 demonstrations, lasting up to two

hours, and took
many
passengers up for rides.
After these European demonstrations, the
Wrights were widely accepted as masters

flight.
The next year, Wright planes
at the world's first air meet, the
Semaine d'Aviation
in
of
led the
way
1909 Grande
Reims, France.
French Souvenir
Back
in
America
in
1910, Wilbur adjusts
a toy kite at Bayside,
New
He brought the toy from
Jersey.
Paris for the
son of friend Frank Coffyn.
~^*%i&#
ar*
'^--
dE
>*
4
In
Family Affair
1909, the Wright family was the toast
of Europe. Here, Wilbur takes sister
Katharine on her
first flight in
She and other lady

hobbled, their
new
fliers tied
full skirts.
Pau, France
down,
or
This started a
fashion fad: the hobbled
skirt.
Seeing
During
Believing
is
1908 demonstration
Wilbur Wright
country
field.
France,
in
passenger over
flies a
Two farmers watch
awe.
in
Off to the Races
Wright planes were showcased

world's
meet
first air
1909. Flying
in
at the
Reims, France,
in
Wright Type A, Eugene
Lefebvre rounds
pylon
in a race.
Fun Fact: Lifelong Hobby

After achieving
powered
flight,
the
Wright brothers remained fascinated by

kites
and
gliders.
They glided
pleasure until Wilbur's death
He died of typhoid
lived to see
aviation.
at
for
in
age 45. Orville
amazing advances
He died
in
1912.
1948
at
in
age 77.
Fun Fact: Legal Wars

The Wright brothers sued inventors
who
copied their idea of wing-warping with

ailerons. These
moveable devices on
wings are
used today. They allow
still
the pilot to bank the plane,
wing while lowering the
lifting
other,
one
on turns.
The courts ruled that ailerons are based

on the Wrights' idea.
Aviation Takes Off

N
the decade after the Wright brothers' success,
Racing for Prizes
powered flight captured the world's imagination.

The first international air meet was held in Reims,
France in 1909. There, excited crowds watched as
fliers competed for fastest speed, highest altitude,
sharpest turns, and longest flight.
European plane designers now built sleeker,
A poster
spanning great distances.
One
goal
seemed
nearly impossible to cross the English Channel.
Then, on July 25, 1909, Frenchman Louis Bleriot

took
In
off
from France
in
own design.
He had
a plane of his
37 minutes, he reached England.
French
races grew, pilots
United States
flight across the
30 days.
in
took Rodgers 84 days to
Unfortunately,
it
finish the long,
dangerous
trip.
much
Successful pilots were greeted
like
ern sports champions or movie stars. Soon,
mod-
women
also joined in the thrill of taking to the skies.
Louis Bleriot (1872-1936)

A postcard cartoon pictures Louis
Frenchman who was the

the English Channel
world-famous
in
to try
From
1909. He
of
across
in a
flying event lies
became
milestone
was among the
in
first
he flew 22 miles to
England, and crash-landed near the white

cliffs
of Dover.
many
One
monoplanes, or single-wing planes.

Calais, France,
(rash Landing at Reims
Bleriot, a
first to fly
for this feat, a
aviation history. Bleriot
crashed. This
casualties, a contestant
was
upended where
common
it
occurrence
for the fragile aircraft at early air
shows
meet features
sharpened their
more
races
skills
were organized, spanning
whole countries and even
all
of Europe.
Bleriot XI
This
in
museum model shows
English Channel. Bleriot,
compass, wrote:"lt
to
its
Louis Bleriot
the XI monoplane he flew across the
is
who had no
strange position
be alone, unguided...over the middle
of the Channel...!
become the first to cross the Channel and bridge

two nations by air. A hero, he won a prize of
1,000 offered by the London Daily Mail.
In 1911, American Cal Rodgers flew
coast to coast in an attempt to win a
$50,000 prize. It was offered for the first
air
and flew longer distances. Soon, many
faster machines. Pilots vied for cash prizes offered
for
for a
racing Antoinette plane. As cash prizes for
own
let
the aeroplane take
course."
ORANDE OU1NZAINE
D AVIATION
E LA
LE
HAVRE
BA1E 0E SEINE
BA
DEAUVILLE
TROUV1LLE
'
Harriet Quimby
WOWtt WCORO
FUGHT FROM
(1884-1912)
Harriet
Quimby was
woman
pilot in the
1912, she
the
first
licensed
United States.
became the
first
across the English Channel. She

killed
when
In
woman
to fly
was
later
gust of wind overturned
her plane. With no seatbelt, she
fell
to her death. Amazingly, the plane
landed by
itself!
Flying Cross-Country
This
map shows
who
flew from
the route of Cal Rodgers,
New
York to California
1911. His Wright plane,

for a
named
in
the Vin Fiz
grape drink, crashed 19 times.
In a
crash near the end of the 84-day

trip,
HARRIET QUIMBY
the pilot broke both legs and
his collarbone.
Glenn Curtiss (1878-1930)

Motorcycle racer Glenn Curtiss also built and
flew airplanes. He
became
competitor of
the Wright brothers.They sued him for using

ideas similar to theirs. Curtiss
Reims speed
"Jenny,"
race. His best
became
won
known
World War
the 1909
plane, the
trainer.
World War
HEN World War
airplanes
broke out
Fighters'
I:
nobody thought
in 1914,
would play an important
role. Aircraft
had only been invented about a decade
Germans and
The
earlier.
the Allies each had just a few hun-
dred planes. Most could

miles an hour. At
first,
fly
only about 60 to 70
the planes were used for
reconnaissance, or gathering information behind
enemy
pilots
lines.
These planes were unarmed. Enemy
even waved to each other.
Yet soon, reconnaissance pilots began taking

aerial
photographs. These allowed military leaders
to see
enemy
Now,
to chase
positions
and plan attack
away enemy
strategies.
aircraft, pilots carried
guns. These early planes were called "scouts."
Today,
we
call
them
"fighters."
weapons
Fighters quickly developed into
war.
They were
built for
speed and equipped with
machine guns. The planes whirled

in
duels called "dogfights." Pilots
five or
after each other
who
more planes became legendary

"
of
down
shot
"aces."
Eddie Rickenbacker (1890-1973)
Captain Eddie Rickenbacker was America's

highest-scoring ace
in
World War
I.
He
flew only between March and April of
1918. Yet he scored 26 victories.

Before the war, Rickenbacker
world-famous race
car driver.
United States entered the war
he trained as
a pilot
was
When
the
1917,
in
though he was
considered old at 27. He joined and later
commanded
to fight the
became
the
first
American sguadron
Germans. Rickenbacker
famous war hero and
The Red Baron's Last Flight
later
served as president of Eastern Airlines.
Closing
in
Red Baron
triplane
History Fact:
open
of forward-firing
was the invention
through the propellers. A device called
Planes were marked with symbols to
an interrupter timed the guns to
through the spinning blades without
German planes had
flies his
down
fire
roundel,
to him,
about to
the Baron
1918.
Knights of the Air
fire
portrayed World
War
aces as dashing
heroes with glamorous
often short.
target-like
kills,
in April
is
Popular magazines of the 1920s and 1930s
fighter pilot's
and Allied planes wore
Unknown
on him. After 80
harming them.
black crosses
trademark red Fokker
to attack.
machine guns. They
show which
side they fought on.
Sopwith Camel, Germany's
was himself shot down
allowed pilots to aim and shoot directly
Fun Fact: Identification Marks
another Camel just behind him
New Guns
A major help to pilots
on
life
lives. In reality, a
was grim, dangerous, and
A new
pilot's life
expectancy
emblem.
averaged just three
II
to six
weeks!
hg Observer
To take a photograph, a reconnaissance
had
pilot
plane
to lean out of the side of his
70-mile-per-hour wind and
in a
snap the picture. He had
to
then change
the plate before taking another shot.
'
Aerial Spy
A French reconnaissance plane
enemy
German Manfred von Richthofen was the
CURSE
highest-scoring ace of the war and one

of the most
famous
commanded
his
pilots of all time.
REP BARON
He
own squadron, called
vou,
the
territory.
pilot could
locations,
From
his
flies
over
vantage point,
photograph trench
lines,
troop
and arms supplies. Accurate
maps were then drawn. By 1915, planes

had replaced observers on horseback.
"Flying Circus" because the planes had
bright colors. Richthofen's planes were

brilliant red,
earning him the nickname
Fun Fact: Cartoon Hero
"Red Baron."
Snoopy, the world-famous "flying ace" of
The Red Baron relished the hunt of

dogfights. He had silver cups
cartoonist Charles Schulz, continues his
made with
descriptions of each of his victims. He shot
down 80
ongoing battle with the Red Baron.The

cartoon illustrates the enduring popularity
Allied planes before he himself
was shot down
in
1918.
^mjMdkm,.
of the World
War ace legend even

I
today.
Flying a Fighter
RING
the war, pilots developed expert
And
dogfighting.
more
faster,
aircraft
companies turned out
By
agile planes.
the war's end,
fighter planes could fly 130 miles an
climb to over 20,000
speed
faster attack
feet.
skill at
hour and
Climbing high allowed
in diving.
Both German and
Allied pilots developed dogfight strategies:
surprising an
enemy by
diving from above,
sneaking up from behind, or attacking from the

sun, hidden
by the
glare.
Flying a fighter was difficult and often
dangerous.
British
many
A wonderful
plane in expert hands, the
Sopwith Camel was tricky
student pilots because
suddenly cut
off. Pilots
its
to
fly. It
killed
engine tended to
called their planes
"flaming coffins" because of the danger of

bullet hitting the gas tank
behind the
fire.
pilot's seat
could trigger an explosion and engulf the woodand-fabric plane in flames. Pilots could not bail
because
out,
at the
Controlling the Plane
Fun Fact: Flying Scarf

The
a
silk
scarf
many
famous symbol
pilots
time they had no parachutes!
Unlike driving a
car, flying a
requires control
in
three dimensions, or
of brave flying aces.

axes: they are called pitch,
However,
it
was not
plane
wore became
originally
worn
yaw,and
roll.
for
To control the plane's roll, or rotating

style,
but to keep
air aloft.
It
was
wiper" for the
warm
also a
pilot's
in
the freezing
handy "windshield
motion, the pilot moves wing devices

called ailerons in opposite directions. The
goggles.
pilot
moves an
pitch, the
elevator stick to control
up-and-down movement
of
the airplane's nose. Moving the rudder
the plane's
tail
controls the right and
turning motion, called
in
left
yaw.
A Flying Brick
The French SPAD

Allied fighters.
XIII
was one
of the best
More rugged than most,
the plane flew, said American pilot
Ray Brooks/'like
star insignia
is
a brick.
"The shooting
that of the
22nd AeroSguadron.
Double Wings, Single Wings, and Triple Wings

Most early airplanes up through World War
were biplanes
with two sets of wings, one on top of the other).
More wings gave
triplanes (three sets of wings).

stability,
but created
air resistance, or drag. This
Some
(aircraft
pilots favored
a craft extra
lift
and
slowed the planes
down. Triplanes had short wings and were highly maneuverable.

They could zigzag
after an
one-wingers) had the

Yet they
opponent, but were slow. Monoplanes
least
drag and were the fastest racers.
were more unstable.
u rotten for
Thid flying job

one'j nerved
duppoded
and although one u
to ladtdix monthd...
quite a lot ofpeopled nerved
k out after four and a

British
World War
"
half.
Pilot
Sopwith Camel
Upper wing
Roundel
Lower wing
Aileron
Bracing wires
Wooden frame
Canvas "skin"
Wooden
propeller
Two machine guns
fired
between propeller blades

10.
Rotary engine
11.
Control panel
Fun Fact: Hump Power

The Sopwith Camel was named
the
12.
Open cockpit
13.
Pilot's seat of
hump shape
of
its
for
body over the
engine. Most of the plane's weight
was
wicker to absorb shock
under the hump. This helped the Camel

14,
Fuel tank
15.
Undercarriage
use the torgue, or twisting force, of
its
rotary engine to make sudden sharp

16.
Wing
17.
Elevator
strut
turns to outmaneuver an enemy.
18
Rudder
19.
Tail
skid
World War
N
Bombers
I:
were no specialized
bombers. Pilots simply dropped small bombs and
grenades from their cockpits. But by 1915,
the early days of the war, there
Germany was sending
new
airships, called Zeppelins, to
Named
for their designer,
fleet
of 30 giant
bomb
England.
Count Ferdinand von
Zeppelin, these enormous airships
hydrogen stretched over 640
filled
feet long.
could stay up several days and carry
with
They
many
tons of bombs.
Looming over
the English landscape, the
Zeppelins terrorized the people. They destroyed

homes and killed hundreds of civilians. Yet
they were vulnerable to British fighter planes,
which shot them down with incendiary, or
German Giant
explosive, bullets.
By
The Zeppelin Staaken R.IV was the
1917, both sides
were building
biggest
fast,
powerful bomber airplanes. The Germans
of
built
bomber
of the war.
38 feet was just
than a World War
Gotha bombers, which bombed London day and

night, and the gigantic Zeppelin Staaken R. IV.
II
crew included two
few
B-29.
Its
feet shorter
Its
could carry
German
bombs
as big as 2,200 pounds.
planes dropped 280 tons of
seven-man
two mechanics,
pilots,
a navigator, a radio operator,
It
wingspan
and
fuel attendant.
bombs over
England. The bomber had become one of the
most destructive
of
all
instruments of war.
Zeppelin Staaken vs.
Sopwith Camel
Germany's massive Zeppelin Staaken
bomber made many night-bombing

The Germans planned, but never
built,
an even bigger triplane bomber with
wingspan of nearly 170

be
a transatlantic
feet!
It
was
to
warplane that could
collection
is
painted
in a
German
camouflage pattern. A model of an

attacking Sopwith Camel night fighter
attack the United States.

in
the
same
scale (top) gives an idea
of the bomber's size.

U)
raids
on England. This model from the Museum's
I
Attacking the Monster
.
_
.**
k
huge Zeppelin
airship (far left) returning after a
bombing
,i
on England. Damaged and
raid
smoking from the
^
fflauk
\
fighters' gunfire, the
Zeppelin will escape by climbing high.

1
"s
<^^^H|
Inside a Zeppelin
In
the engine gondola of a Zeppelin
(above), crew
members operate
the
engines as a machine gunner watches

for
enemy
(left),
fighters. In the control
gondola
an officer gives orders to crew
manning
control wheels.
Hand Bombing
A crewman passes small hand bombs
to the pilot in the cockpit of a
German
Halberstadt fighter.The pilot will drop

the
bombs by hand from the
air.
A box
on the plane's side holds hand grenades.
History Fact: Zeroing In

Early
bombers often missed
their
targets because the planes had no
bombsightstoaim bombs.
Reconnaissance pilots devised
a clock
code to pinpoint an enemy. Twelve

o'clock
was
north, six o'clock south,
three east, and nine west.This code
has been used by fighter pilots

ever since.
Barnstorming
ER
war ended
the
in 1918,
thousands of military
planes were available at cheap prices. The most
common
plane, the Curtiss
"Jenny."
It
war
pilots,
JN-4, was called the
had been used as a pilot trainer. Many

now out ol work, wanted to keep
They bought surplus planes and
flying.
traveled
the countryside as entertainers. Alone or in

troupes, they gave
in
shows
in
farm
fields,
sleeping
barns or by their planes.

Called barnstormers, these
fliers thrilled
audi-
ences with daring displays. They performed flying

acrobatics with loops, spins,
dives.
Some
wings
to
rolls,
and dizzying
They performed tricks

on the wings ol a flying plane or hung upside-down
from the plane wheels. Some even hung by their
teeth. In one stunt, two pilots flew their planes side
by side, locked controls, and scrambled over the
did stunt flying.
change places!
people for
money
Pilots often
or a meal.
gave rides to
Many women,
as wcil
became famous barnstormers.
as men,
Fun Fact: Storming Barns

Barnstormers got their
name from
the
theatrical tradition of performers doing
traveling
shows
in
barns.
Plane for Sale

Surplus military airplanes
Havilland
like this
De
DH-4 were good bargains
after
World War I.Worth thousands of dollars
Bessie Coleman (1892-1926)

Bessie
Coleman was the
American
woman
pilot.
first
She got her
license in France in 1921,
barnstormer
in
pilot's
and worked as
the United States. She
became famous as"Queen

Aviatrix." Bessie
own
during wartime, they might cost just
few hundred
African-
Bess, Daredevil
dreamed of
flying school
starting her
and once said,"You
have never lived
until
She was
an accident during
killed in
you have flown."
practice parachute jump.
dollars after the war.
- Flying Circus
A poster
for
Freddie Lund's Air Circus
announces an upcoming show
at a local
airport. This traveling troupe featured stunts
from
"looping glider."
Winging
It
A young wingwalker braces

one plane
to
to leap
from
AIR CtitCUs
another during a 1926
barnstorming show. Above, one daredevil
hangs from the plane's axle while another]

stands over the plane's
stunt
flier
Below
tail.
left,
Jersey Ringel performs
gymnastics under the wing.
Travel Fun
the 1920s,
In
promoted
some
airplanes were
ways
as fast, fun
to travel. Here,
swimsuited bathing beauties pose with the
crew of the "Buckeye," a converted World War
Navy
flying boat.
across Lake Erie
'
ferried
It
1922 and 1923.
in
Edmund
and
Poi Hot
companion get ready

Voisin biplane.
Many
along pet mascots.
warm,
furry friend
canine
for takeoff in a
early fliers took
the cold air aloft,
In
was doggone
comforting.
Fun Fact: Ride Request

As
young man, Charles Lindbergh was
a barnstormer.
lady
Once
after a
came up and asked
how much would
it
Heaven and leave
me
summer vacationers
Pilot Pal
Pilot
atffSgg?:
1910 biplane and parachute jumps
in a
show, an old
him:"Mister,
cost to fly
there?"
me
up to
Racing for the Skies

HE years between World War I and World War
Golden Age of Aviation.
are often called the
During
this
time people believed anything
possible. Designers
worked constantly
better performing planes. Fliers
of flying.
They
set
II
new
was
to build
pushed the
limits
records for distance,
speed, duration, and altitude. In this period,
many famous
competed
air races
for trophies,
were established. Pilots

prize money and the
glory of conquering the skies.
The National Air Races

States drew huge crowds in
in
the United
the 1930s.
Famous
races included the 50-mile speed race for the
Thompson Trophy and
the long-distance,
cross-country race lor the Bendix Trophy.
The Schneider Trophy race, a competition for

seaplanes, was held from 1913 to 1938. France
won the first Schneider Trophy in 1913 with an
average speed of 46 miles an hour. In 1931, a
British plane
won.
an hour shows
Its
how
average speed
far airplanes
340
miles
had come.
Wiley Post (1899-1935)

Wiley Post became the
first
person to
solo around the world in 1933.

early altitude records
He
fly
also set
and designed the
pressure suit. Here, Post wears an
first
early design of his suit, adapted from a
deep-sea
from
diver's outfit.
It
supplied oxygen
tube to the helmet and allowed
Post to reach heights of nearly 55,000

feet.
He proved that
flying in the jet
stream, a high, fast-flowing river of
air,
could increase a plane's speed. Post died

in a
crash
in
1935 with
humorist Will Rogers.
JO
his friend,
Fun Fact: Powder Puff Derby

In
929, the
Women's
first
U.S.
Air Derby,
women's
was
held.
air race,
It
was
the
cross-country race. Humorist Will Rogers

called
23
it
the"Powder
Puff Derby."
Among
the derby
was Amelia
Earhart.
fliers in
Racing Souvenirs
Mementos from the Museum
collection
In
recall
the era of early
include
air races.
They
poster for the 1932 National Air
the 1920s, racing pilots began flying
as close as possible around pylons, the

tall
Races, an advertisement for the 1928
Schneider Trophy seaplane

ticket to the
WihhieMae
Wiley Post set two round-the-world records

in his
Lockheed Vega, Winnie
painting
and
They
MaeMs
circled the
globe
in
in
Post
93 1
8 days and 15
hours. In 1933, Post flew the 15,596-mile

trip solo in 7
(1896-1993)
A famous
shows the Winnie Mae carrying
navigator over the Volga River
James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle
days and 19 hours.
flier
World War
of the Golden Age,
Jimmy
Lieutenant
I
first pilot to fly
One
A top racing
first
awarded
in
1931.lt
was
In
year, Doolittle set a
won
won
air race.
world record
given to the winner of the Bendix
of
Transcontinental Race between
Gee Bee race plane and won the
Los Angeles and Cleveland.
Thompson
294 miles an hour when he flew
Trophy.
and
the
Army
in a U.S.
1931, he
the Bendix transcontinental
The next
off, fly,
pilot, Doolittle
floatplane (above).
of the top racing prizes, the Bendix
Trophy was
"blind,"
using only instruments to take
1925 Schneider Trophy
Bendix Trophy
in
as a flight instructor. In 1929,
he became the
land.
Army
Doolittle served
1929 National
race,
and
checkered markers, without
crashing into them. This
skill,
called
"Pylon Polishing," thrilled fans.

Air Races.
Douglas World Cruisers

N E of the most famous early distance
of the Douglas World Cruisers in
were
the
flights
1924.
was that
They
planes ever to go around the globe.
first
Built for the U.S.
Army
World
They had
Air Service, the
Cruisers were open-cockpit biplanes.
landing gear that could be changed Irom wheels
on water or
to floats so the craft could land
Named
ground.
for four cities, the planes
New
the Boston, Chicago,
On
April
6,
man crews took

They were
Orleans,
and
were
Seattle.
1924, the lour planes with twooff
to fly
Irom
Seattle,
Washington.
west over Alaska, around Asia,
across the North Atlantic, and back across the
United States.
On
the trip, the Seattle crashed in
Alaska and the Boston went

Atlantic.
Only
completed the
After six
tries.
the Chicago
flight,
down
in
the North
and the New Orleans
traveling through 29 coun-
months they returned
to Seattle,
ending the incredible 26,345-mile journey.
Good Luck Charm
Fun Fact: Repair Work
A toy monkey named "Maggie"

in
its
(left)
rode
the Douglas World Cruiser Chicago on

long journey. The plane's open cockpit
(below) had few instruments, but
was
all
the World Cruisers'
pontoons
for
wheels during the
trip
took three days. Changing the planes'

a big
steering wheel to control ailerons and

elevators. Leather trim
Changing
engines also took three days.The
two surviving planes used nine

to protect the
engines each.
pilot in a possible crash.
s^vzr
The Chicago
One
of the
two surviving World
the Chicago
is in
Museum. The two-seat biplane

crew of two,
no
a pilot
radio, radar, or
help
make
Cruisers,
and
carried a
mechanic.
It
weather instruments
had
to
the long round-the-world flight.
Resting at Anchor
The diorama below,
in
collection, depicts the
the
Museum
World Cruisers
refueling in Seward, Alaska. At right, the
planes
sit
on their pontoon
off Sitka, Alaska.
crashed into
Soon
after,
mountain
floats,
anchored
the Seattle
in fog.
}}
Going the Distance

ROUGH OUT
to set
new
the 1920s and 1930s, pilots competed

distance records as well as endurance
records staying the longest time

1923, a Fokker T-2
the
first
Army
nonstop
Army
in the air. In
transport plane
flight across the
made
United States.
Air Service Lieutenants Oakley G. Kelly
and John A. Macready piloted the T-2 from New

York to San Diego. The trip took 26 hours and
50 minutes. Along the way, people listened
eagerly for the plane and watched for
sky.
When
the T-2 landed, a huge
cheered the landmark

In 1929, the
it
in the
crowd
flight.
crew of a tri-motor Fokker, the
Question Mark, set an endurance record of 150
hours, 40 minutes, and 15 seconds
in
the
air.
They flew over California, covering 1,000 miles.

The flight required midair refueling from another
1
plane, using a 40-foot hose.
An
was
The
oil
astonishing record for sustained flight
set in
pilots,
1936 by the Curtiss Robin OleMLfd.

brothers Fred and Algene Key, took
from Meridian, Mississippi on June 4 and
landed July
after
653 hours-27 days
The plane received food and
fuel in
in the air!
over 400
contacts with another plane. Such flights
increased the public's confidence in aircraft.
Risky Business
Pilot Fred
Key services the engine of the
Curtiss Robin Ole Miss by climbing on a
special catwalk. During the record flight
of 27 days, the
two
pilots
took turns
sleeping on top of a fuel tank.
Filling up in Flight
During
its
1929
flight,
the Question
Mark
gets fuel from another plane by a hose.

This
was dangerous,
since a drop of gas
leaking on a hot engine could ignite and
blow up the plane.
Left, a
Boeing
PW-9D
"blackboard plane" carried messages to

the Question
Mark
crew.
FOKKER T-2
The Fokker T-2,
the
first
now
nonstop
in
the
Museum, made
flight across the
United
States in 1923. At right, pilots John
Macready,
left,
and Oakley
Kelly stand
with the 737 gallons of gas and 40

gallons of
oil
used
for the flight.
1924 DOUGLAS WORLD CRUISERS,

FIRST AROUND-Ttft-WOftH) FLIGHT
J
.-
1927 CHARLES LINDBERGH,

FIRST SOLO ATLANTIC
CROSSING
1923 MACREADY AND

KELLY, FIRST
NONSTOP
--._._,
FLIGHT OVER THE U.S.

IN
FOKKER T-2
*^
1937 AMELIA
EARHART'SAROUNDTHE-WORLD FLIGHT
(SECOND ATTEMPT)
Record Distance Flights
Routes shown here trace four of the most
famous
flights of the
1920s and 1930s.
Flight Crew
The crew of the Question Mark includes

(left to right)
command,
Major
Carl Spaatz, in
chief pilot
Ira
Eaker, Harry
Halverson, Lieutenant Elwood Quesada,
and Sergeant Roy Hooe, chief mechanic.
Fun Fact: Tricky Repair

During the flight of the Fokker T-2 pilot
Kelly
had to disassemble and repair
faulty voltage regulator as his co-pilot
controlled the plane from the rear seat.
.-n
-.J
'Here all around me,
Charles Lindbergh
expanse,
open
itj
water...
L<
the Atlantic
depth, its power, itj wild
If my plane can dtay
ltd
and
aloft, if im
engine can keep on running, then jo can

Charles Lindbergh, The
May
off
20, 1927, 25-year-old Charles
New York on
from
flights.
An unknown
one of history's most famous
mail pilot, he hoped to win a
$25,000 prize by being
from
New York to
Lindbergh took
nonstop
First to fly
He would
Paris.
fly
3,610
milesalone. Six other pilots had died trying.
Heavily laden with
fuel,
Lindbergh's monoplane,
the Spirit of St. Limit, barely got oil the ground.
Lindbergh had not

the weather
was
slept in
24 hours. But because
To avoid extra
clearing, he set oil.
weight, he carried no radio, relying only on his
instruments and navigational

in total
darkness, except for the eerie glow of his
instruments.
On
the difficult crossing, Lindbergh
battled terrifying storms, log, cold,
He
sleep.
They
wrote, "I've lost
shut. ..stick tight as
to Find a
way
Landing
became the most
of his day. His courage,
daring, and sheer endurance at achieving
the solo flight
won
public admiration and
acclaim. Lindbergh did

people's faith
in
much
the airplane.
to inspire
my
of
all,
eyelids.
glue.. I've
</<>/
no alternative
flight lasted
33
/j
hours.
he became an instant hero.
'The Lone Eagle"
famous aviator
ol
though with
to stay alert. There's
in Paris,
and worst
command
but death and failure." His
Charles Lindbergh
At times he Hew
skills.
The
in
In
the Cockpit
Spirit's
behind
cramped
cockpit,
a fuel tank,
sgueezed
had no forward
window. Lindbergh used
periscope or
turned the plane to look out the side
windows. Instruments include

altimeter to measure altitude.
T-shaped
Spirit
of St. Louis
I.
The Spirit of St. Louis

Charles Lindbergh's famous airplane
hangs
in
now
Museum. The
sturdy
monoplane was
built
with extra tanks to hold 450 gallons of

fuel for the Atlantic flight.
Lindbergh into history
>'
carried
It
May 20-21,
1927.
Nose Art
Flags of
many
nations decorate the Spirit
near the Wright J-5 Whirlwind engine

circling the plane's
nose.The flags
represent countries Lindbergh visited on

a
goodwill tour of Latin America and the
Caribbean after his Atlantic
flight.
Fame and Fortune

The
Spirit
of St. Louis takes off on
national
tour (bottom) following Lindbergh's Atlantic

flight.
A check
for
$25,000 (below) was
presented to Lindbergh as his prize for
making the
New
first
nonstop
flight
between
York and Paris.
Fun Fact: Traveling Light

Charles Lindbergh took just
two
canteens of water and a bag of
sandwiches
When
to eat
he landed
on
his long flight.
in Paris,
awake 577: hours!
he had been
Amelia Carhart
was
E L A Earhart
I
the most famous
woman
pilot of
her time. Adventurous and fearless, she pushed

herself to the limits, setting
On May
many new
20, 1932, five years to the
records.
day
after
Lindbergh's Atlantic crossing, Amelia took
oil
to fly solo across the Atlantic. In her bright red
Lockheed Vega, she
left
Newfoundland
and landed nearly 15 hours later in

Londonderry, Ireland. During the
trip, her altimeter, which measured her
She encountered violent

on her wings, and a sudden
altitude, failed.
storms, icing
downward drop
managed to pull
nerve. She
of 3,000 feet! Yet she

the plane up, and never lost hei
became
the
first
woman
to
make
the
solo crossing.
Amelia took off with a navigator for

her most ambitious goal a round-the-world
flight in her new Lockheed Electra. Flying back
In 1937,
home over
the Pacific, the Electra mysteriously
disappeared.
No
trace of Amelia,
her navigator, or her plane was

ever lound.
Proud Pilot
Amelia Earhart poses happily with her new
Lockheed Electra 10E (above).

she attempted
that
At
In this
round-the-world
ended with her disappearance
left,
fans greet Amelia
in
in
1932.
in
1937.
Ireland after her
flight across the Atlantic in her red
Lockheed Vega
plane,
flight
Flying Superstar
Thousands of admirers
'Please
flock
Amelia after her landing

California, in
1935
in
had just made the
Oakland,
in
another Vega. She
Hawaii to the mainland and was a
worldwide
When
to
()o it.
as
celebrity.
1937,
quite
it
Women must
many
fate. Yet
lost her
men have
tried
Amelia Earhart
No one
experts think
way, ran out of
fuel,
and
crashed into the ocean.
Flight Check
Before her round-the-world flight, Amelia
takes a final look at the Electra with
mechanics. After her

use the Electra as
flight,
a "flying
she planned to
laboratory" for
aviation research.
Famous Airplane
Amelia's red Vega
Air
is
Fun Fact: Honored Flier
today
in
the National
and Space Museum. One of the most
Amelia Earhart was showered with honors

for her solo Atlantic flight.
advanced planes of
had
streamlined
its
time, the Vega
wood
many awards,
"skin,"
She received
including the Distinguished
fuselage,
Flying Cross
molded plywood
aware of the
and internally
and the National Geographic
Society's Special Gold Medal.
braced wings.
J3
because I want
try to (b things
"
huge search by ships
aircraft failed to find her.
knows her
she
am
Amelia's plane vanished over the
Pacific in
and
bazardd. I want to do
solo flight from
first
know
around
Airmail to Airlines
MAIL
service
began
United States
in the
The U.S. Post Office bought
in 1918.
military biplanes,
such as the Curtiss Jenny, and renovated them to

carry mail. Pilots flew the planes in relays like the
Pony Express, carrying mail
coast to coast. In
1921, seven planes flew the San Francisco mail to
New York
in
33 hours, compared to 108 hours
required by trains.
Flying mail was difficult and deadly
dangerous. Pilots crossed treacherous mountains.
They flew
at night
with no landing
lights. In
open
cockpits they endured temperatures of 40 degrees
below zero, driving

Planes broke
down
broke
off in his
pilots
had died
rain,
and blinding snowstorms.
often.
One
pilot's
control stick
hand! By 1925, thirty-one airmail

in
crashes.
Private companies then took over flying the

mail and carrying passengers.
They designed
planes to attract more passengers.
Among
the
first
successes were the Ford Tri-Motor and the Boeing
247D. These planes inspired great public

and
led to
commercial
trust
airlines.
n Qle/
ln 9s
SaV*
firne
ihct
'
Via Airmail
Early advertisements
from the
7 * a *f?s
shipping label
collection
airmail service in the 1920s
mm
5E
Museum
and
promote
and 1930s.
331^^
Airmail Pilots
Rugged
airmail pilots (top) pose for a
January 1922 portrait. For warmth, they
wore two
and
pairs of socks, underwear,
gloves, as well as sweaters, fur-lined suits,
and scarves. So bundled

be
up,
many had
to
lifted into their cockpits.
Douglas M-2
Fun Facts: Getting There
The Douglas M-2 was an early airmail

Early mail pilots
had to find their
own
plane.
way and
SHIPPED
plot their
no navigational
VlX/
down
to spot
own
tools,
routes.
They had
but simply looked
this
Museum
in
display. Occasionally, a
passenger would squeeze

the mail.
(0
flew from Los Angeles to Salt
represent the pilot and mail workers
landmarks and follow
rivers, roads, or railroad tracks.
It
Lake City from 1926 to 1930. Mannequins
in to ride
with
Is
JM
Boeing
First built in
2^0
Fun Fact: Flying Pets
1934, the Boeing 247D was
Many
used by United Airlines. Sleek and
pets.
comfortable,
hour.Now
flown
in
in
it
the
Museum,
this
plane was
Air
Race (see
map
Idaho wolf
came
pilot's
in third.
Racing Star
racing pilot of the
1930s,shows
off his pet lion,
Gilmore.Gilmore often flew along with Turner.

In
1934, Turner piloted the Boeing 247D airliner

in
the MacRobertson Race.
41
109-pound black
loved to
fly. It
rode
top coat pocket or clung to
above).
Roscoe Turner, the most famous and colorful
above
had
named "Ace." Another had
a squirrel that
his scarf.
It
pilot
cruised at 189 miles an
the 1934 London-to-Melbourne
MacRobertson
early pilots flew with unusual
One
in
the
Air Transport
RLY passenger
flights of the
1920s were rough.
Planes had no heat or air conditioning. They
were not pressurized and usually could not

over storms. They pitched and bucked in
fly
turbulence, and passengers were very airsick.

In 1930, the first stewardesses,
hired.
Among
the
all
rules the\'
first
was: make sure passengers
nurses,
had
were
to learn
who want
to use the
restroom don't walk out the exit door!
Commercial
247D was
the
grew rapidly
air transportation
during the 1930s
and early 1940s. The Boeing
first
modern
airliner,
with
comfortable seats and air conditioning. Yet
Many
could only seat 10 passengers.
it
airlines
asked builders to design a bigger plane.
The
result
was
began service
the Douglas
in 1936. It
DC-3, which
could seat up to
32 passengers. Fast, comfortable, and

dependable, the
DC-3 was
the
first
passenger aircraft to make a profit

without carrying mail. By 1939, ninety
percent of airline passengers worldwide
were flown
in
DC-3s.
RN
IA1PA
)ffo./o
Flight Attendants
United Airlines stewardesses pose with
Boeing 247D.
First
serving as nurses,
stewardesses
later
served meals and kept
passengers safe and comfortable. These

stewardess
airline
identification
wings and
badge
are from the
LI
Comfortable Ride
In
an American Airlines DC-7
of the 1940s, passengers enjoy
chatting and relaxing
in
the
plane's spacious Sky Lounge.
In
pilot
the Pilot's Seat

and co-pilot
sit at
the
controls of a DC-3.The cockpit had
two
sets of instruments
autopilot. Pilots said the
handled so
itself.
easily,
it
and an
DC-3
practically flew
The plane could reach speeds
up to 230 miles an hour.
43
W.S4'.\-ii.-]'3
I4l\>ki k**\
Airships
RING World War
German
I,
airships
were used
for
long-range bombing raids over England. Their

ability to fly quickly
over great distances led to a
golden age of passenger airships

1930s.
Two huge German
1920s and
in the
ships, the
Graf Zeppelin and
the Hindenburg, carried passengers over the Atlantic.
Driven by diesel engines, the airships could
two days, much faster than

were like Hying luxury hotels.
cross the ocean in about
The airships
They included private
a ship.
fine dining
cabins, observation decks,
rooms, and lounges. The trip was so
comfortable one passenger described
arms ol angels."
The Hindenburg, over 800 feet
as "being
it
carried in the
long,
largest airship ever built. Passengers
was
the
and crew
occupied a small part of the ship. Most ol
it
was
filled with gas cells that held hydrogen, the
flammable gas that gave the ship
its lilt.
the Hindenburg exploded and crashed.
In 1937,
The Hihdehbup.6
The tragedy
This poster advertises the Hindenburg.
ended the age
ol
passenger airships.
Measuring 804
feet long, the airship
78 feet shorter than the

72 passengers and
Huge gas
Titanic.
travel
cells inside its
It
was
just
could carry
80 miles an hour.
metal-and-fabric
frame held 7,062,100 cubic feet of hydrogen.
CrafIeppelih
The German
over
airship Graf Zeppelin floats
Dornier Do-X flyinq boat. The Graf
Zeppelin
was the
Hindenburg'*, sister ship.
The two luxury airships carried thousands

of passengers over the Atlantic
World Wars
and
II.
between
Lap of Luxury
promenade deck
On an
airship's
right),
passengers relaxed and enjoyed
(top
breathtaking views out the window.

dining room of the Hindenburg
In
the
(right),
stewards served passengers wine and
gourmet meals from the
galley.
HlHDENBURG
Fun Fact: Not (heap
On May
During the 1920s, only the rich could
afford airship travel.
A one-way
over the Atlantic could cost as

a
new
car.
History Fact: Better Gas
New
Jersey.
Airships like the Hindenburg were prone
It
to explosions
because hydrogen, the gas
suddenly exploded, burst into flames,

as
A round-trip fare could equal
the cost of a moderate house.
Cr ASH
1937, the Hindenburg was
approaching Lakehurst,
trip
much
6,
that kept the ship up,
and
fell
from the
sky.
was flammable.
Of the 97 on board,
Today, airships use helium,
35 died. No one knows for sure what
does not burn.

triggered the explosion.
,-'
*>
i
A
*
.
-.
gas that
Flying in Style
Passengers aboard
Flying Boats
the
the 1930s, flying boats
became
air. In a
windows
and
1930s flying boat
enjoy the comforts of an ocean liner
roomy cabin with
for viewing,
in
large
they can dine, chat,
relax in large plush seats.
the largest, most
comfortable passenger planes
in the
world. The
spacious planes had hulls shaped like boats and
They could land and

take off on the sea, as well as lakes and rivers.
In a time when aircraft engines were still
unreliable, people thought flying boats were
under
floats
their wings.
a safer -way to travel over the ocean.
Pan American
clippers, after the
Airlines called
its
flying boats
speedy sailing ships. They
carried passengers to exotic destinations, such as
and South America,
the Far East
at a time
when
few airports existed.

Flying boats were luxury craft designed to
compete with ocean
liners.
Am's Boeing 314 Clipper.

it
The
biggest
was Pan
106-foot-long-giant,
carried passengers at 174 miles an hour to
Hong Kong
or other cites
in
Yet as airports were built
all
flying boats
unequaled comfort.
over the world,
were replaced by
land aircraft.
Boeing
Fun Fact: Ship-Shape
3i<t
Clipper
A model made by the Boeing Company
When
tied
a flying
up
at a
dropped
its
boat landed on water,
mooring buoy
own
it
1939 shows the
or simply
interior of the
314 Clipper.The 106-foot-long
anchor, like a ship.

carried
room,
74 passengers.
bar,
It
had
flying boat
dining
deluxe suite, and cabins with
40 night-sleeping berths.
(6
in
Boeing
Traveling the World
The cover of a 1930s Pan American

timetable,
in
the
Museum
collection,
shows routes spanning much
of the
China Clipper
The Martin
rests at a
her
first
-1 30, the
ER1 c
ANMAKESTHEWoRtD
to air travelers.
San Francisco
to
Manila
tJbÊ -*
i?A~f
&J$T}
CffisaazEEjE,/
""TEDfiure
.
Bermuda by Air
A 1937 baggage label advertises
flight
from
November
29, 1935. The streamlined plane flew from
*-
Am
Manila after
globe. These routes opened the world
^^
*'*"< co
PABr/ME ;, T
off
transpacific flight on
fees*
ÂM
"China Clipper,"
mooring station
New
York to
Pan
Bermuda
five hours.
kl
in
in
59 hours.
World War
II:
Fighters
ERY different from the flimsy biplanes of World

War I, the fighter aircraft of World War II
were tough, fast, and efficient. Aircraft had now
become a primary means of waging war. Two
Germany and Japan, set out to dominate
the world. In 1939, Nazi Germany began
invading European countries. The German air
nations,
force
Its
was
called the Luftwaffe, or "air
weapon."
Alesserschmitt Bl 109 was a swift, fearsome
More than 33,000 were produced.

German fighters and bombers terrorized
fighter.
Europe. Allied nations, including the United

States,
produced thousands
ol aircraft to fight
Germany and Japan. Fighters escorted bombers

deep into enemy territory and battled in
was paramount. Spurred by
war, aircraft advanced rapidly. Sleek new fighters
flew at over 400 miles an hour and went 2,000
miles without refueling. By war's end, the first
experimental jet fighters would
dogfights. Pilot
skill
Benjamin O.Davis,
Benjamin
in the air.
Jr., (1912-
was the commander
sguadrons of black aviators
in
African-American fighter
first
come
to
World War
pilots,
for escorting
bombers. Davis ordered
was
lost to
enemy
fire.
Famous Airmen
332nd
pose with Skipper's
Fighter Group
Darlin',
one of the
North American P-51 Mustangs they

flew
"*^r->
war
the
in one piece, I'll
always be glad I was

able to handle one of
"
the tough jobs.
Combat Pilot
Wounded and
Quentin
C.
Quentin
C.
Aanenson,
October 1944
his
P-47 Thunderbolt fighter plane, Topsy
Aanenson had
his
just crash-landed
base after being
antiaircraft
fire, in a
over Germany.
U.S. Fighter Pilot,
dazed, pilot
Aanenson poses with
hit
on
by "flak," or
mission
The
be known as theTuskegee Airmen.
Five pilots of the
come through
II.
they have
the pilots to stay close to the bombers, and

not one
'If I
of four
They flew P-51 Mustangs and were best
known
be
0. Davis
in
Europe.
Supermarine Spitfire
Britain's
Spitfire
most famous
was
fast
fighter, the
and nimble and could
outmaneuver the German

Spitfire in the
Museum
is
Bf 109. This
a
high-altitude
version of the fighter, and could
40,000
fly
over
feet.
Mitsubishi Zero
Light and quick, this Japanese fighter
tough opponent.
It
fought
in
was
every Pacific
action, including the Japanese attack on

Pearl
Harbor
in
1941.
(URTISS P-1,0
WARHAWK
Lieutenant Donald Lopez stands with his
P-40 Warhawk
in
943.
Now Deputy
of the National Air and Space
became an ace
flying with the Fourteenth Air
Force. They battled the
I
A
North American P-51 Mustang

pilot smiles inside his
P-51 D Mustang
This U.S. fighter could fly at
hour.
could
It
was
fly
fitted
440 miles an
with a drop tank so
extra miles to
it
go deep inside
Germany. Swastikas on the

plane's side represent
German planes shot down.
MesserschmittBfioq,
Germany's Messerschmitt Bf 109 was the
main opponent of the P-51 Mustang and

the British Spitfire. With a top speed of
385 miles an hour,

dive,
and turn
in
it
could swiftly climb,
dogfights.
Director
Museum, Lopez
Japanese
in
China.
World War
II:
Battle of Britain
icXJ22^
1940, after conquering France,
German
leader
Adolf Hitler decided to invade Great Britain.
The
first
step
was
to destroy the
RAF,
Britain's
Royal Air Force. This led to one of the most

famous air battles in history. In summer of 1940,
waves of aircraft over the

English Channel. At first, the RAF had fewer
the Luftwaffe sent
than 700 fighters to face over 1,500 incoming

German bombers and fighters! Yet Britain had
advance warning of the intruders from radar

along its coast. It was also producing 400 new
fighter planes a
The
RAF
month.
Spitfire
and German
Messerschmitt fighters fought furious dogfights

in the skies as the British people watched.
Spitfires attacked Messerschmitts
guarding
bombers. Hurricane fighters then attacked the

bombers. In spite of night bombing ol London,
called "the Blitz," the Luftwaffe found
not crush the
RAF
or the British
it
spirit.
could
Germany
suffered heavy plane losses, and finally withdrew.
By winning
this battle in the air, the British
prevented the
German
invasion.
Observer Corps
British
men and women
aircraft spotters in
how
1940. This chart shows
to identify various planes.
Allies
right
Fun Fact: Super Binoculars

volunteered as
Many
fought with the RAF. The poster
helped recruit pilots
pilots
Spitfire
zooms
warn each other as
During the Battle of Britain, the British

relied
on
Home
system.
in to
attack. The agile
their coastal radar, called the Chain
"Spit" could quickly train

It
could detect
German
at
planes 40 miles away.

for the Royal
German
guns
in a
deadly
pilots called
tear apart an
this
Australian Air Force.
"Achtung, Spitfire!"
German
new
its
enemy
radar"super binoculars."
'
300 yards away.
8 machine
hail of bullets
and
World War
HE United
States produced thousands of
during World
was
War
II.
Among
Bombers
II:
bombers
the most famous
the Boeing B-17. Called the Flying
up to its name. It
could carry over 17,000 pounds of bombs, and
was armed with 12 machine guns lor defense
against enemy fighters. Later U.S. bombers
included the Boeing B-24 Liberator and the
enormous B-29 Superfortress. Many bombers
were destroyed by enemy fighters and
Fortress, this plane lived
antiaircraft
guns early
fighter escorts helped
in the
war.
The use
bombers complete
of
their
missions. Later bombers, such as the B-29,
could
fly to
most enemy
high altitudes beyond the reach of

fire.
Bombers attacked
in
huge
thousand to knock out enemy

supplies,
had
and transportation
aircraft
been used
fleets of
up to a
arms
fuel bases,
lines.
to destroy
Never before
on such a
large scale.
Bombs Away!
Flying over
release a
a
'
shower of bombs.Their target was
Japanese supply depot near Rangoon.
flown
in
bomber.
1944, the B-29

It
was the
could deliver a
pounds of bombs.
B-2ifS Attack
Under heavy
Burma, B-29 Superfortresses
First
largest U.S.
whopping 20,000
antiaircraft
fire,
Liberator
bombers attack an
Romania
in
B-24
oil
refinery in
1943. Black smoke rises from
the ground where
bombs
hit
the
oil
tanks.
Flak Bait
The nose section of Flak Bait,
Marauder bomber,
Air
is
now
in
Martin B-26
the Nationa
and Space Museum. This plane flew 200
missions over Europe, more than any other

lied
holes
bomber. Over 1,000 patches cover
made by
antiaircraft
fire,
or "flak."
Inside Flak Bait

This interior
view shows the radio and
navigation station of Flak Bait. Visible
through the door
is
instrument panel.
German
It
the cockpit
was shattered by
Bf 109 Messerschmitt shell in
1943. The
wounded
pilot
managed
to
safely land the plane.
The
Women
WASPs
pilots train to fly
at a flight school
as the
Women's
B-17 bombers
during the war.
Known
Airforce Service Pilots
Fun Fact: Mass Production
(WASPs), they transported military

aircraft to
The United States was
war zones. They flew
for only four years,
everything from fighters to heavy
bombers. Over 30 were
Yet
it
B-17 Waist Gunner
gun
to
ward
fighters.
fires a
gunner
50-caliber machine
off attacking
German
He wears warm clothing and
metal-lined "flak apron" to protect

against shell
fire.
II
produced an incredible 300,000

including
heavy bombers.
Inside a B-17 Flying Fortress,
Robert Taylor
World War
killed in service.
aircraft,
in
from 1941 to 1945.
many thousand
World War
War
II:
ER Japanese warplanes bombed
the U.S. naval
base at Pearl Harbor in 1941, the United States

entered the war. During the next years,
the
war took
place at sea.
From 1941
United States and Japan battled
much
of
to 1945, the
in the Pacific.
Their most powerful weapons were aircraft

carriers. Floating airfields, the huge ships known
as "flattops" were 820 feet long and carried up to
100 warplanes. Fighters and bombers took oil
and landed on
their flat decks.
The
carriers
allowed great mobility of air attack.

In 1942,
Midway
Japan launched an attack on
Island with four carriers.
Navy
dive
bombers from three U.S. carriers surprised and

attacked the Japanese fleet. They sank all fourJapanese carriers. With the ships, Japan lost
most veteran
This
250 planes and
their
was
blow that marked the turning
a crippling
point against
Japan
in
pilots.
the Pacific.
Airship Escort
A
U.S.
Navy airship guards
submarine
after
surrendered
in
it
German
has surfaced and
the Atlantic
in
1945.
A Navy ship waits behind. Used

coastal surveillance, airships
for
were an
important part of U.S. naval defense.
at Sea
History Fact: Divine
Wind
The Japanese term kamikaze means

"divine wind." Kamikaze pilots
their planes into
enemy
sacrificed their lives.
who
crashed
ships willingly
Kamikazes accounted
for one-fifth of all U.S.ships sunk.
^M
Kamikaze
The Cherry Blossom, a Japanese Kugisho
MXY7 Ohka kamikaze bomber,

part of the
kamikaze
Museum
collection.
is
today
Japanese
pilots flew these planes, filled
with bombs, deliberately into Allied ships.
They believed that suicide
in
such attacks
was an honorable death.
Bullseye!
U.S.
Navy Douglas Dauntless dive
bombers bomb the Japanese

carrier
Akagi
in this
aircraft
painting.The bombers
sank this and three other Japanese

carriers near
of Japan's
Midway
most
Island in 1942.
skilled pilots
and
Most
their
planes, plus 3,000 sailors, were lost.
***
Cleared to Go
A signal
officer
aboard
thetakeoffflagfora
fighter. Carrier takeoffs
great pilot
helped
skill.
a U.S. carrier
Grumman
waves
Hellcat
and landings took
A net across the deck
damaged planes
returning from
battle to skid safely to a stop.
Enola Gay
the
of 1945, U.S. aircraft had sunk
summer
[hola 6a y Cockpit
over 700,000 tons of Japanese warships and

destroyed over 12,000 Japanese planes. Yet the
Japanese would not surrender. Meanwhile, the

United States had built the largest bomber of the
war, the B-29 Superfortress. It had also secretly
This view reveals the
Enola Gay.
Named
for the pilot's
many advanced
the B-29 had
such as
huge cockpit of the

mother,
features,
pressurized interior arid remote-
controlled guns and cannon.
developed the atomic bomb.
Truman
In August, U.S. president Harry
decided to use the
bomb
to
continuing loss of American

flight of the
atomic
bomb on Japan.
weapon was
August
a 9,700
1945, the
6,
Japanese
city of
smashed the
Yet Japan
later,
B-29 Enola Gay
city
still
a 10,000
lives.
He
to carry
The B-29 was the only bomber large
ordered the
Called "Little
Boy"
15,
nuclear weapons. The B-29's power
the
came from
pound uranium bomb. On

bomb was dropped over the
and
killed
thousands
ol people.
did not surrender. Three days
pound plutonium bomb,
called "Fat
Japan
finally
four supercharged
2, 200-horsepower
Hiroshima. In seconds, the blast
Nagasaki. This explosion killed thousands more.
August
and strong enough to carry heavy
and drop the
Man," was dropped from a second B-29 over
On
History Fact: Powerful Plane
end the war and
Wright engines.
War Poster
A poster from the
Museum
collection
promotes the Boeing B-29 Superfortress,

first in
service in 1944. The mighty
bomber had
A long-range
wingspan
craft,
it
of 141 feet.
could
fly
5,300 miles without refueling.
agreed to surrender.
56
over
History Fact: Lethal Weapon

The blast of the uranium
on Hiroshima was equal
bomb dropped
to
about
20,000 tons of TNT.
Ill
o,
Mushroom (loud
A giant cloud
rises
of an atomic
bomb
from
in
a test
blasts can generate over
degrees
F.
explosion
the Pacific.Such
of heat. Atomic
100 million
bombs dropped
over Hiroshima and Nagasaki wreaked

terrible destruction
and caused Japan's
unconditional surrender.
Famous B-29
The Enola Gay comes

its
base after
Superfortress
its
in for a
was donated

after the war.
H
133*4"
~
as
- rJ
landing on
historic mission.
to the
Museum
The
The Sound Barrier

OWARD
a
the end of
new age
World War
aircraft entered
II,
German
of speed. In 1944 and 1945,
pilots flew the first
jet-powered fighter
combat, the Messerschmitt
Me
in
262. Allied pilots
were astonished to spot it zooming over 100

miles an hour faster than any Allied fighter, and
with no propellers!
After the war,
many
pilots tried to fly faster
On
than the speed of sound.
American
test pilot
October
Chuck Yeager
14, 1947,
flew an orange
bullet-shaped plane with a rocket engine.
It
was
the Bell X-l, designed to break the sound barrier.
Carried up by a B-29 mother plane to save

the X-l
was dropped
Yeager
in the air.
fuel,
fired the
rocket engine and pushed the plane to over 700

miles an hour, past
The plane
sound
Mach
the speed
of sound.
buffeted, then blasted through the
barrier.
Once
past
Mach
1, it
was
so
smooth, said Yeager, "Grandma could be

sitting
up there sipping lemonade."
BellX-i
Test pilot
Charles "Chuck" Yeager (1923-
Chuck Yeager stands beside
rocket-powered
Bell X-l,
Glamorous Glennis
now hangs
in
for his
like a
the
wife.The plane
Museum. Streamlined
shaped
named
his
for speed,
.50 caliber bullet.
it
is
A World War
became an
war. He
II
fighter pilot,
made
many
On October
history as the first person to

in
14, 1947, the Bell X
accelerates and races toward the sound
Air Force test pilot after the
break the sound barrier

time,
Famous Flight
Chuck Yeager
barrier. Flying at
43,000
Yeager became the
1947. At the
believed a plane flying through
first
faster than sound, at
the sound barrier would be ripped apart by

the shock wave. Yeager later rose to the
rank of brigadier general.
58
feet, pilot
Chuck
person to trave
Mach
1.06.
"
The Sound Barrier
Hachmeter
Mach numbers measure

aircraft in relation to the
Mach
is
Moving through the
the speed of an
speed of sound.
sure
the speed of sound, which
its
40,000
feet,
warmer
faster in
Mach
is
air.
plane makes pres-
pressure waves, they bunch together,
building into a shock wave. Passing the speed
increases with temperature because
sound travels
waves.When
own
air,
the plane catches up with
of sound, the plane
At
flies
ahead of
its
pressure
waves, forming a cone-like shock wave.
657 miles an hour.
Frank Whittle (1907-1996)

Frank Whittle
who
was
patented the
young
first
British pilot
turbojet engine
in
1931.lt used a jet of hot gases instead of

propellers.
Soon
after,
German engineer
Hans von Ohain invented
Germany
first
produced
similar engine.
a jet fighter in
1943, the Messerschmitt
Me
262. A year
the British began flying
later,
the Gloster Meteor.
based on
Its
a jet fighter,
engines were
Whittle design.
Messerschmitt Me 262
The
first
jet-propelled fighter used
in
combat, the German Messerschmitt
Me 262 Schwalbe
uring World
made
)ine propelled the tighter
nearly
550 miles an hour. How?
the engine front
was
chamber, mixed with
formed
It
Air
drawn
into
forced into a combustion

fuel,
then ignited.This
a torch-like jet of hot, burning gases.
blasted out the back of the engine with
tremendous
force, thrusting the
plane forward
it
War
(swallow) was flown

II.
Four 30
mm
cannons
fearsome opponent. This
Korea and Vietnam

THE
Korean War, from 1950 to 1953, was the first conflict where jet fighters battled. The United States
fought Communist forces
time since World
War
II,
Korea. In the short
in
had made propeller
jets
fighters obsolete. Faster speeds required pSlots to
more
The opposing planes could

The U.S.
F-86 Sabre Jet and the Russian-built MiG-15
were the primary adversaries in Korea. Reaching
react
now
quickly.
close in over 10 miles in 30 seconds.
speeds of nearly 670 miles an hour, the

a
in
famous zone known as "MiG
clashed
jets
Alley-
From 1961 to 1973, the United States again

fought Communist forces, this time in the Vietnam
War. U.S. bombers dropped more tons of bombs
in this war than both sides dropped in World War
II.
Helicopters played a critical role
in
Vietnam.
Powerful helicopter gunships attacked the enemy
and transported troops and supplies
to the
steamy
zoomed
and downed pilots
jungle battle grounds. Helicopters also

to rescue
wounded
soldiers
from behind enemy
lines.
in
HiG Alley
Richard Rash, an American pilot
Korean War, walks under a sign

Alley"
in
Korea
in
the
in
for
"MiG
1952. Mig Alley was
combat zone over the
Yalu River valley
along North Korea's northern border,
where
U.S. jets battled Russian MiGs.
F-86 Sabre Jet

Streaking through the sky, a North
American F-86 Sabre

target.
The
Jet fires rockets at a
first U.S. jet
with swept-back
wings, the Sabre Jet dominated battles

Korea. Flown by U.S. pilots,
MiG-15 opponent
it
won
over
at a rate of 10 to
Checking
in
Mechanics
its
M16-15S
in
formation over
Korea. Quick and agile, the
climb and
fly
less skilled
Out
in
captured
U.S. Air Force
1953. Test pilots
who
flew
said that overall, the F-86
was
a better plane.
MiG could
faster than the F-86. Yet
Communist Chinese and Korean

were
MiG
this
Three MiG-15s race
It
Okinawa check
MiG-15 repainted with
1.
markings
-
in
Eject!
its
With
pilots
than the World War
from
veteran U.S. pilots.
his
plane
A parachute
safely
60
speed, pilots no longer
jets' faster
bailed out.This
II
Navy
in
will
pilot springs
an ejection seat.
open
on the ground.
to land
him
- To the Rescue
The
interior of the Sikorsky
helicopter (right)
many
was
welcome
U.S. fighter pilots in
Armed with heavy guns,

rescue pilots
flew
wounded men
to
Green Giant
Painted
Sikorsky
sight to
Vietnam.
green camouflage, the
in olive
HH-3E was
a large,
in battle.
"Jolly
for
It
saved
base hospitals.
Green Giant." A beacon of hope
stranded soldiers as well as
many
lives in
the war.
:.':**'
McDonnell
F-t,
Phantom
II
Phantom
II
fighter crosses
Vietnam
Republic F-iojDThunderchief
Laden with bombs, two F-105D
Flying night reconnaissance, an F-4

in this
Thunderchief fighter-bombers head
painting. Able to race twice the speed of
toward targets. The F-105D could carry
sound, the F-4 was
over 12,000 pounds of bombs.
first jet
to find
a versatile plane.
radar without ground support,

in
The
and destroy targets by

it
excelled
dogfights with MiG-21 jets and also
served as
bomber.
large
As a
six
powerful
helicopter affectionately called the
the chopper flew
downed
in to
HH-3E
number
fighter,
it
of air strikes
in
flew
could deliver an amazing
thousand rounds of cannon
per minute.
It
Vietnam.
fire
pilots,
it
Modern Military
ARS over
Aircraft
the last decades have greatly changed
and advanced military
The development
aircraft.
more sophisticated technology in radar,

weapons systems has produced
faster, stronger, and more complex jet fighters
and bombers.
of
navigation, and
Aircraft carriers have also changed. Jets are
heavier than propeller aircraft.
They require
the
boost of a catapult, like a giant slingshot, to
launch them from the carrier deck. Carriers
now have
a catapult officer in charge
of launching, called a "shooter."

In a launch, a catapult hurls
the plane from a standstill

to a
speed of 200 miles an hour
in the air.
Strong
Bombers
arresting cables on deck help the jets land safely.
Today's
The
both old and new.The B-1B
jets
have a tailhook
to
snag the cables as
(above)
they land.
Modern
bombers include
up to 1,100 feet long, are

bases. They may carry nearly 100
carriers,
like floating air
is
modern long-range
bomber with advanced

bombing.
Its
radar for precision
swing-wing design can
change the wings from forward takeoff
planes. These carrier-based aircraft have been

active in conflicts
Vietnam
position to swept-back position for high-
and peacekeeping from
speed attack.The B-52 bomber (below)
to the present.
has flown since 1952.

missiles,
6/
it
served
in
Armed with
the Persian Gulf War.
Air Base at Sea

formation over the
Jet fighters fly in
carrier
USS John
bristles
with
C.
Srwn/s.The big ship
aircraft,
including F- 14
Tomcat and F-18 Hornet
fighters,
E-2C
S-3B Vikings, EA-6B Prowlers, and
Hawkeye AWACS
surveillance planes.
Military Jets
An AV-88
Harrier
straight up
"jump
jet" (top) lifts
in a vertical takeoff. Its jet
nozzles can be directed to take

or land like a helicopter or
fly
off,
hover,
straight
line
ahead. F-18 Hornet fighters (center)
a Hornet
an aircraft carrier deck. Bottom,
launches from the deck.
-**!
V.
Bi
'
'
->
/'if*>
Modern Fighters
DAY'S
jet fighters
are
among
the fastest planes ever
The F-16 Fighting Falcon, for example, can

more than twice the speed of sound.
built.
fly at
Modern
fighters use "fly
by wire"
means physical cables no longer
flight.
pull
This
on control
surfaces such as the rudder. Instead, computers
send signals along electric wires to motors that
move
control surfaces.
To increase speed, supersonic
fighters today
have streamlined bodies with pointed noses and
swept-back or arrow-shaped wings. Some have

ultra-thin
through
wing edges
to reduce
drag and cut
air easily at high speeds.
To withstand
the scorching heat of supersonic speeds, the
planes have "skins" of heat-resistant metals such

as titanium.
Most fighters intercept and attack other

aircraft. They may also attack ground targets.
Pilots
today locate targets electronically and
fire
deadly radar-guided or heat-seeking missiles.
Modern
Much
fighters can cost
of the cost
is
up
to
$30 million each!
for electronic radar, flight,
and navigation systems.
F-16 Fighting Falcon

Two F-16 Falcons zoom over canyons
Utah on
in
a training mission. Fast and
highly maneuverable, the F-16 excels at

air
combat
or
cannon and
ground attack. Armed with
missiles,
miles an hour.
it
can
fly
up to 1,345
F-18 Hornet Research Fighter
This F-18 has
been modified
to test a
feature. Strakes, hinged structures on
nose, open to stabilize the jet as

at a
it
new
its
dives
steep angle of attack. They give the
pilot better
handling
dangerous maneuver.
in
an otherwise
Fun Fact: Teamwork

The Thunderbirds demonstration team
performs
all
over the world. Such teams
reguire extremely skilled pilots. In
I Lockheed F-117A
The first"stealth" plane
Nighthawk
combat, the
in
F-117A (above and
left)
Persian Gulf War
1991.
in
flew
Its
fly
in
the
shape and
beams
special paint scatter radar

it
precision maneuvers, the jets'
to help
undetected. Hunting at night, the
Nighthawk
fires
laser-guided missiles.
Thunderbirds on Display
F-16 Thunderbirds, the U.S. Air Force
demonstration team, roar into
Diamon
formation. A pilot's view (below) shows
how
close the jets
showcase both the

skill
fly.
Such maneuvers
pilots' precision
and
and the capabilities of the F-16.
A-10 Thunderbolt
Sweeping down from the

Thunderbolt
II
II
sky,
an A-10
dives to attack. Designed to
support ground troops,
it
can
fly
low and
slow to destroy targets such as tanks with
guns and missiles. The A-10 served
in
rescue missions during the Gulf War.
may
be as
little
some
wings
as 17, feet apart!
Spy
OR
in
the Sky
years a top secret, the existence of military spy

planes made world headlines in 1960 when one
was captured. Francis Gary Powers, American
pilot of a U-2 reconnaissance jet, was caught
spying over the Soviet Union and shot down.
The U-2 was designed in the 1950s, during
the Cold War between the United States and
Soviet Union. It was a long-winged, glider-like
plane with a panoramic camera. Flying at high

altitudes,
it
took photographs to search for
Soviet ballistic missiles.

In the 1960s, another spy plane, the
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, was introduced. It

fly even higher and faster than the U-2 and
could
photograph 100,000 square

plane,
it
miles.
The
first stealth
had a flattened shape and dark coating
that helped
it
elude radar.
Today, both planes
still
fly
missions to monitor
world hot spots. By giving warning

conflicts, they help
of
dangerous
world leaders plan
strategies.
Flying High
The Lockheed U-2
is
high-
altitude reconnaissance jet.
80-foot wingspan gives

to fly over
70,000
feet.
Its
it lift
It
first
flew over the Soviet Union
in
the 1950s to photograph

missile activity.
U-2 Camera
This U-2
Hycon B camera, now
Museum, took
in
the
detailed ground pictures
of Cuba, like the one at top center, in the
1960s.They revealed Soviet missiles,
which
led to the
Cuban Missile
Crisis.
Pilot's Seat
A maze of
dials
and controls surrounds
the SR-71 cockpit. When the
the pilot
in
craft rips
through the sky
at full
w.
speed,
the windscreen gets so hot pilots cannot
touch
it
Some
long, even with heavy gloves.

pilots use the screen to
heat food!
Lockheed SR-71
-
w
This high-altitude spy plane flies faster
than any other
aircraft.
set a
It
speed
record of 2,193 miles an hour. Like the U-2,
?.
it
takes reconnaissance photographs. The
plane's shape
and dark color earned
it
the
name "Blackbird."
B-2 Stealth Bomber

One
of the
aircraft,
flying
most technically advanced of
the B-2 Stealth
wing design and sophisticated
computer technology.
coating help
it
served
in
Its
shape and dark
penetrate
without detection.
it
Bomber has
enemy defenses
First test
the conflict
in
flown
in
1989,
the Balkans.
Fun Fact: Speedy Spy Plane
or*
Global Hawk
This experimental
developed by the
give military
unmanned
aircraft
was
The SR-71 can

feet
Air Force.
commanders
long-endurance system
large geographic areas.
to
Its
mission
is
and as
fly at
fast as
altitudes of 90,000
Mach
3.3.
It
has set
to
several speed records, including a flight

a
high-altitude,
photograph
between Los Angeles,

Washington,
California
D.C. in just
and
64 minutes!
Jet Transport
ET power,
first
used
in
the world of flight.
World War II, transformed

With superior thrust, jet
engines allowed planes to
fly
longer distances
at higher speeds. In 1952, the first

jetliner,
began
the British
De
commercial
Havilland Comet,
service.
The Comet flew 490
miles an hour, faster
than any other passenger plane.
Its
44 passen-
gers traveled eight miles up in a comfortable
pressurized cabin. Quiet

ride
smooth and
jet
engines
made
the
two
The cause was
relaxing. Yet in 1954,
Comets exploded
in midair.
high-altitude stress on the plane's metal body-
The next
jet airliners
were
built
with strong,
The American
1957, was safe, fast,
pressure-resistant fuselages.
Boeing 707, introduced
in
and comfortable, with 143
seats. In 1969,
first jumbo jet the
Boeing
built the
747 This became
the world's most successful jetliner. With a wide
body fuselage that can seat over 400, it lowered
.
the cost of air travel. Today, millions of people
around the world have flown
in the 747.
Air Traffic Control

In
Inside a
the control tower at an airport, air
traffic controllers track aircraft
on radar
indicates a plane's position
path. Controllers
in its flight
communicate with
by radio to safely guide each plane.
passengers on
1970s.The
screens. Each symbol on the screen
pilots
Jumbo Jet
Flight attendants serve a

a
Pan
Am
meal
747
new wide body
to
in
the
of this jet
allowed seating of 10 passengers

row, up to 373 passengers
747 measures 231 feet
in a
in total.
Today's
long.lt holds
416 passengers and 57,000 gallons

of fuel!
Boeing 707
Sleek and streamlined, the Boeing 707
was the
first
U.S. jet transport airliner.
measured 144
of
130
feet. Flying nearly
an hour,
nearly
feet long, with a
it
in half.
It
wingspan
600 miles
cut previous travel time
The President's Plane
Air Force
One,
Boeing 747, soars
majestically over
Mount Rushmore, South
Dakota. This plane carries the President

of the United States on business around
theworld.lt has
a special interior for
the President.
Concorde
Fun Fact: Modern Airports
The Concorde, developed by the
and French,
jetliner.
Today over one

is
first
It
British
flew
in
969. Able to
use U.S. airports. Air
it
Air France
half hours.
Concorde
the grounding of
all
in
year
the United States monitor more than
could
whisk passengers across the Atlantic

a
people
traffic controllers
fly
in
over twice the speed of sound,
three and
billion
the world's only supersonic
200,000 takeoffs and landings each day.

in
The crash of an
2000 resulted
Concordes
in
for
Fun Fact: Sum of Many Parts
safety testing.
The Boeing 747
With Our Compliments

Many
convenient overnight
Museum
passengers
kits.
This collection
includes an array of
bags with items such as combs,
pens, airsick bags, toothbrushes,
and
made up
different countries.
jet airlines offered
from the
kit
is
472 million parts made
sleeping mask.
in
of about
many
Helicopters
NLIKE
fixed-wing airplanes, helicopters have
whirling rotary wings, called rotors. Helicopters
can
fly
forwards, backwards, sideways, straight
up or down, and hover

the helicopter
had a toy
is
in
one spot. The idea
of
very old. The ancient Chinese
helicopter, called a "flying top." Early
George Cayley. inventor

envisioned helicopters. Yet it was
designers, including Sir

of the glider,
not until
much
later that real helicopters
appeared. In 1907, Frenchman Paul Cornu built
and flew a helicopter
in the First free flight.
double-rotor craft rose five feet

for
off the
The
ground
20 seconds.
The first practical single-rotor helicopters

were invented by Igor Sikorsky in the 1930s.
Since then, helicopters have performed
many
tasks other planes cannot. Because they can
take off and land in small spaces and hover,

helicopters serve as rescue craft, flying
ambulances,
observers.
lifting vehicles,
Modern
small, light craft to
and
traffic
helicopters range from
heavy military
gunships and transports.
Igor Sikorsky (1889-1972)

Russian-born inventor Igor Sikorsky,
known
as the father of the
President's Helicopter
modern
In
helicopter,
1
began work on helicopters
in
909. At the time, engines were too heavy
to
be practical
for
these
craft.
Sikorsky
designed many other aircraft.Then
in
1930s, he returned to helicopters. At
he test pilots
its first
his single-rotor
flight in
the
bought
use by President Dwight
D.
used helicopters
for short trips
between
the White House and nearby posts, such

as
1939. Sikorsky went on to
for
Eisenhower. Ever since, presidents have
left,
VS-300 on
1957, this Bell 47J helicopter was
Camp
David.This presidential craft
was
presented to the National Air and Space
Museum
in
1967.
design several successful helicopters,

including a huge craft that could
lift
18
tons of cargo.
Troop Transporter
Fun Fact: Name Gamc
Flying over the thick jungles of Vietnam, a

Bell
The word "helicopter" comes from the

Greek words for "spiral" and "wing."
Helicopters have had
many nicknames,
including "chopper,""whirly bird,"
"eggbeater," and "handy andy."
70
UH-1 Huey military helicopter
soldiers to a battle area. The
jump
men
ferries
can
guickly out of the doors into cover
on landing.Thousands of helicopters,
including gunships, transporters, and
rescue
craft,
served
in
Vietnam.
v&*
was
combination of an airplane and
helicopter.
It
forward, but
The
used a propeller to
a
wind-blown
craft could not hover,
move
rotor for
lift.
but could use
its
rotor to fly very slowly.
'
Helicopter Commuter
New
York Airways, the
Airline," offered early
"first
Helicopter
commuter
service
15-passenger Vertol 44B helicopter.
this
in
It
flew day and night between Manhattan
and
La Guardia
and Newark Airports.
carried passengers, freight,
It
and
mail. The helicopter also flew
sightseeing flights.
Firefighter
A large helicopter called an aircrane loads

2,000 gallons of water by
lake.
It
hose from
California.
Crew aboard
will
use the water
to help battle the fire.
Helicopter Rescue Team
A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter hoists

rescue
will fly to a raging forest fire in
swimmer Jason Shepard back
aboard after
day of training.
Helicopters with trained crew
fly in
to save people trapped on sinking
ships or stranded at sea.
Working Planes
DAY, specialized
aircraft
perform a variety of
important jobs. Planes transport military troops,

carry relief cargoes of food and medicine to
people in disaster-hit areas, dust crops with

chemicals to fight insect pests, fight
large areas,
fires,
patrol
and monitor weather conditions. In
remote or wilderness regions, rugged bush planes

are the only
way
doctors and other people can
reach isolated outposts. In war zones, large

transport aircraft
move and drop thousands
of military troops.
Some
planes are small craft designed
for fun, sport,
and
leisure flying.
Each
year, inventors continue to design
innovative
new
aircraft to
perform
even more jobs.
Weather Aircraft
A Weather Service DC-6 (top) has
a long
gust probe and other instruments to gather
weather data
I
Piper Cub
A flying
classic,
introduced
plane
is
in
now
the Piper Cub J-3
the
Museum. Cubs were
used as trainers for military

pilots
and flown
cruising speed
11
was
1936. This two-seat light

in
aloft. This
helps forecasters
predict weather systems. Above, visitors
and private
for recreation.
was
The Cub's
80 miles an hour.
inspect an Orion P-3 hurricane hunter

plane.
It
flies into
the huge whirling storms
to pinpoint their position
hurricane forecasters
in
and strength
the plane's side indicate hurricanes the
plane has tracked.
for
Miami. Symbols on
Bush Plane
game and
A hunter poses with
his
Noorduyn Norseman
float
on
hunting
trip in
plane he flew
Canada. Bush planes
carry hunters, wilderness explorers,
and
medical teams to remote spots no other

transportation can reach.
Parachute Drop
CF-
Military paratroopers
during
Starlifter
Starlifter transports
long distances.
It
jump from
C-1411
training mission. The
combat troops over
delivers both soldiers
and supplies and also
carries
wounded
soldiers to hospitals.
It's
a Car, It's a Plane
Called the "Flying Car," a
1947 Convair
Model 118 ConAirCar consisted of
two-
seater car and an aircraft frame with a
180 horsepower engine. Designed

convenient personal use,
fly
and
gas
it
drive. Unfortunately,
in flight
for
was meant
it
to
Ttm
ran out of
-*
.*-
and crashed.
'
4
I
Water Bomber
Airlift
Whoosh! A C-130 Hercules drops

water mixed with
over
fire
retardant chemicals
a forest fire in California.
versatile
C-130
is
military transport
a load of
The
Members
wait to be
of the
82nd Airborne
airlifted
Division
by transport planes
at
Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Military planes
move many thousands
also widely used as a
can
and cargo plane.
to training stations or
of forces quickly
combat zones.
Modern Record Breakers

N
the last few decades, aviators have continued to

set
new
American
records. In 1977,
cyclist
Bryan Allen used leg muscle to pedal the first

human-powered aircraft, the Gossamer Condor.
A pedaling mechanism drove a propeller,
powering the
craft to
1 1
miles an hour.
Made
of cardboard, aluminum, and plastic, the ultra-
weighed 207 pounds, including the
light plane
pilot! In 1980, Allen
pedaled Gossamer Albatross
over the English Channel.

In 1986, pilots
Yeager
Dick Rutan and Jeana
set a milestone aviation record, flying
nonstop around the world without refueling.
They made
Extra
fuel
the trip in nine days in the Voyager.
tanks were built
in the plane's long,
thin wings.
Finally in 1999, the Breitling Orbiter
a shiny silver-colored balloon,
made
round-the-world balloon
Swiss
trip.
the
J,
first
pilot
Bertrand Piccard and British co-pilot Brian
Jones [lew
for 30,000 miles, crossing
mountains, deserts, and the Pacific and

Atlantic Oceans.
Aerobatic Extra 260
Rutan Voyager
Climbing straight up, aerobatic pilot Patty
Built of light graphite fiber
Wagstaff performs precision turns,
wingspan of 111
dives,
and other maneuvers
260. Wagstaff
won
in this
plane,
her Extra
the U.S. National
Aerobatic Championships
93
in
rolls,
now on
in
1991 92, and
display
Museum.
in
the
soars on
its
feet,
with
the Rutan Voyager
round-the-world
flight in
1986.The plane carried 1,200 gallons

of fuel. Today, the Voyager \\anqs
in
the
Museum.
<
In
Gossamer Albatross
1980, cyclist Bryan Allen test-flies the
Gossamer Albatross,
craft
human-powered
operated by pedaling. Flown by
Allen, the
Gossamer Albatross won the
human-powered
Kremer
Prize for
when
crossed the English Channel.
it
flight
BruiilihgOrbiter}
Covered with a skin of

Breitling Orbiter i
was
silver mylar,
filled
the
with helium
and hot air.The balloon's gondola (below)

held tanks of propane fuel, oxygen to
breathe, and tiny crew quarters.
today displayed
in
the
Museum.
It
is
Rockets and the Space Age

oc KETS
have been around tor centuries. The
Chinese used gunpowder rockets as weapons as

early as the 13th century.
bamboo
and
lit
They
pointed
filled
tubes with gunpowder, sealed one end
the other.
The explosion created
a thrust,
or pushing force, that propelled the rocket the
opposite way. Rockets were later fired in the

of 1812. Francis Scott
Key described
War
their "red
glare" in the "Star Spangled Banner."
developed
In the 20th century, scientists
rockets to explore space. Rocket engines are the
only engines that can operate

space. In space there
Rockets carry both
is
no
and
fuel
vacuum
the
in
air,
of
and so no oxygen.
own oxygen
their
supply, called an oxidizer. Large rockets can also
produce tremendous power, enough

Earth's gravity. In 1926,
American
Robert Goddard launched the

propellant rocket.
first
He concluded
to escape
scientist Dr.
liquid-
that a rocket
could be more efficiently propelled by liquid
fuel.
World War II, Germany built powerful rocket

weapons. Then in 1957, the Soviet Union stunned
In
the world by using a rocket to launch the
Earth-orbiting
satellite,
Sputnik.
One
of Germany's
V-2 "Vengeance
weapons,
first
Weapon"
most frightening
V-2 rocket roars into the sky
during World War
II.
ballistic missile,
carried 2,000
it
The
explosives. Over 3,000
and other
long-range
first
were
pounds
of
fired at Britain
targets.
Ready for Launch

Germans prepare
V-2
for launching.
Small by modern standards, the V-2 was
46 feet
it
tall.
The forerunner of
could race 150 miles
later rockets,
minutes and
in five
destroy whole city blocks.
Inside the V-2
*V--
The V-2 got
its
powerful thrust by
burning alcohol using liquid oxygen.
These were mixed and ignited
in a
combustion chamber, creating hot gases.

As they expanded they burst from the
rocket's nozzle, forcing
it
upward. The
V-2's explosives were carried
76
in its
nose.
Sputnik
On October
1957, a Soviet rocket
4,
launched the
first satellite,
("Traveling Companion").
23 inches across,
it
Sputnik
A metal
ball
orbitecfVrth, sendii^
"beep, beep" radio signals. A replica of
Sputnik hangs
in
the
Museum
R-7 Rocket
The 100-foot-high Soviet R-7 rocket
which launched Sputnik was the bigg

rocket in existence at the time. At
its
five
liftoff,
powerful rocket engines generated
about 900,000 pounds of thrust, 16 times

as
much
as the V-2.
Robert
Goddard 19^1 Rocket

n 1941, Dr.
left)
Robert Goddard (top picture,
examines one of
his
most advanced
22-foot-high test rocket was fueled
with gasoline and liguid oxygen.

today displayed
in
It
launched the rocket from
the National Air and
in
A '935 A-3 Rocket
oxygen and gasoline,
in
RosVll,
fit it
New
lift
his
many
of his inventKKis.
it
Mexico.
In
farm
shot up
27: seconds. Goddard
using rockets to reach the Moon.
He
into a
the secluded southwesYdesert, Goddard

tested
in
envisioned multi-stage rockets and
iguid-fueled A-3\ccket to
launch tower
his aunt's
Auburn, Massachusetts. Fueled with
liquid
Goddard's assistants
first
flying liquid-propellant rocket, stands
41 feet
Dr.
Goddard (1882-191,5)
the Massachusetts physics professor
is
Space'Museum.
Three of
H,
Robert H. Goddard, inventor of the
beside his creation. On March 16,1926,
rockets as his assistants watch. This
Dr.
is
considered the father of
American
rocketry.
To the Edge of Space

HE
space age began with the launch of Sputnik
in
1957. In 1959, the United States began testing
new
aircraft. Sleek, streamlined,
and rocket-
powered, the North American X-15 was the

tastest, highest-flying airplane
purpose was to
fly to
and up
edge of space.
into the
ever
built. Its
the end of the atmosphere

It
gathered
information that was later of great use to

engineers planning a U.S. space program.
The X-15 was made
of a strong heat-resistant
metal alloy to endure the heat of hypersonic
(many times
sound) speeds.
faster than
It
was
able to withstand 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit.
The X-15 flew
an incredible 354,200
to
67 miles high, and reached a speed

an hour, or
in
Mach
6.7.
The
pilot
feet,
over
of 4,520 miles
used
air controls
the atmosphere and fired rocket thrusters to
maneuver
in space.
How
did he
know which
controls to use? Test pilot Scott Crossfield said,
"When one
M2-F1
in
didn't
simply used the other."
M2-F3 Lifting Body
Flight
M2-F1
work,
in
to
Another experimental vehicle was
land on a dry lake bed after a test flight
in
wingless aircraft called
pilot brings the
1962. Data gathered
lifting
in tests
body
of lifting
Launched
in
a "lifting
body."
mid-air from a B-52, the
bodies was later used to design the
craft
space shuttle.
nearly 1,240 miles an hour.This Northrop
could
fly
about 17 miles high
M2-F3 now hangs
in
the
Museum.
at
< Astronaut Wings

Five pilots
who
flew the X-15 went
so high they were awarded astronaut
wings
for
space
travel.
considered to begin
of 50 miles.The
at
Space
is
an altitude
X-15 flew
to over
67 miles.
North American X-15

In
1967, this rocket-powered research
plane reached the threshold of space.

flew to 354,200 feet,
craft that
X-15s
still
built
stands.
a record for
One
now hangs
in
It
winged
of the three
the National Air
and Space Museum.
Sky Signature
Rocketing toward the Sun, the X-15

leaves
long plume of condensed vapor,
a contrail, in
the sky. Back on the ground
(above), the X-15 gets a checkup as
B-52 mother plane

X-15 was the
first
flies
its
overhead. The
plane to
fly
past
Mach
Fun Fact: Fast Trip

The X-15's top speed of 4,520 miles an
hour
is
fast
enough
to zip across the
United States from coast to coast
40 minutes!
in
6.
Mercury and Gemini

the 1960s, the United States
was competing
with the Soviet Union for supremacy
in a
"Space Race." Both nations launched rockets

carrying animals
dogs and
monkeys to
test
space flight on living things.
On
April 12, 1961, the Soviet
ahead
in
orbit.
He was cosmonaut,
the race by putting the
Union moved
first
man
into
or "sailor of the
cosmos," Yuri Gagarin. The United States
responded with
The
first
its
one, on
piloted
May
5,
Mercury
spacecraft.
1961, carried astronaut,
or "star sailor," Alan Shepard on a 15-minute

flight that did not
go into
orbit.
On
February
20,
1962, Mercury's Friendship 7 blasted into orbit
with John Glenn.
The next
Alan Shepard (1923-1998)
was Gemini, a two-person

spacecraft program. Gemini astronauts practiced
step
docking with other spacecraft and other

that
would be needed
Now
the race to the
skills
for a mission to the
Moon was
Moon.
Alan Shepard was the

space. A
month
first
after Yuri
American
in
Gagarin of the
Soviet Union orbited the Earth, Shepard
was launched 117 miles
into space in the
Mercury freedom 7 capsule (above). He
on!
made
a suborbital flight
Earth 15 minutes
later.
and returned to
Unlike Gagarin,
Shepard had some manual control of

craft.
Shepard
later
explored the
his
Moon on
an Apollo mission.
Mercury Seven
America's
at
first
home, pose
From
left:
astronauts, and big heroes

for a
group portrait
in
1962.
Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard,
Deke Slayton, Gus Grissom, John Glenn,
Gordon Cooper, and Scott Carpenter.
Mercury and Gemini Capsules

This painting
first U.S.
compares the
sizes of the
spacecraft.The smaller Mercury
capsule carried one astronaut. The Gemini

capsule carried two. Visitors to the
Museum
can see both the Mercury
Friendship 7 and the Gemini 4.
Fun Fact: Name That Ship

Each astronaut
flew
in
named
named
his
capsule Freedom and John
Glenn named
his Friendship. Later ships
were called Liberty

and
the capsule he
during Mercury. Alan Shepard
Faith.
Bell,
Aurora, Sigma,
Gemini Firsts
A hundred miles above the Earth,

Gemini 4 astronaut Ed White takes the
first
U.S.
spacewalk June
3,
1965.
lasted
It
23 minutes. On December 15, 1965,
Gemini 6 edges
Gemini
to within a
7 in the first
few
feet of
rendezvous of
piloted U.S. spacecraft.
Snug
Fit
Inside the tiny cabin of
Freedom
Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard
7,
lies in a
couch surrounded by instruments.The

first
U.S. piloted spacecraft,
enough
for
one person
to
it
was
squeeze
just big
into.
i^F^îu
6^1
&V4
F/]\
,nBK|
PPJHSkJ
"John Glenn (1921On February
became the
Earth.
20, 1962, John Glenn (right)

first
American
He was shot
Mercury Friendship
Earth three times.
to orbit the
into space in the

7,
and
When
circled the
the spacecraft's
automatic controls malfunctioned, Glenn
manually flew the ship and kept

course.
He was the
Glenn kept
flight notes in the
right. After his career as
Glenn served as
In
a U.S.
1998, he again flew
the space shuttle.
it
on
person to do
first
so.
notebook
at
an astronaut,
senator from Ohio.

in
space aboard
>
HHHf
Comparative Rockets
REE, two, one we have
liftoff!"
With these words,
rocket engines explode with a deafening roar,
and gas. Smoke

the sky and the ground shakes as
spewing out columns of

billows into
fire
the mighty engines thrust the rocket into the sky
and send
On
many
it
hurtling toward space.
you can
these pages
see rockets of
and shapes developed during the

Space Age. They were built lor many purposes.
sizes
Some were used
as missiles, or weapons.
Others were used as launching vehicles

send communications or weather
space.
to
satellites into
And some have launched spacecraft

human beings into space.
with
animals and
The Saturn
the
rockets were the largest, most
They were used to launch

Apollo missions to the Moon. Each Saturn
powerful ever
built.
rocket had three stages. Stacked

rocket stood nearly as
It
weighed over 3,000
2,950 tons of rocket
Apollo
Seconds
ii
tall
In
27; minutes, the
boosted the
craft
I
1 1
rises as a
first
V's
stage
35 miles above Earth,
traveling 6,000 miles an hour.Then the
second stage
40 story building!
most
Launch
after ignition, Apollo
together, the
of that nearly
fuel.
tower of flames pours from Saturn

engines.
as a
tons,
all
Stage One
Let's Go!
Baker, a squirrel
monkey,
sits
on
model
Jupiter rocket. In 1959, she rode in a real

Jupiter rocket
300 miles high
at
10,000
miles an hour. She returned to Earth alive,
paving the
way
for
human space
flight.
The
first
long.
stage of Saturn V was
Its five
38 feet
massive engines, here
covered, generated 7.6 million pounds of

thrust. Each
one used 5,000 gallons of
fuel a second.
fired.
J
!
nr
Space Shuttle
Fun Fact: Power to Burn
Trailing clouds of
The energy produced by Saturn

stage engines alone
V's first
was about 160
million horsepower, roughly the
that created by
86 Hoover Dams!
same
steam and
fire,
the space shuttle Endeavour
thunders into the sky.The shuttle's

as
twin rocket boosters along with
main engines
toward Earth
lift
its
the ship up
orbit.
85
Moon
Apollo to the
N
1961, President
John
F.
Kennedy declared
that
America would land a man on the Aloon and

bring him back safely by the end of the decade.
On
July
Moon
16, 1969, the first craft
landing, Apollo
1,
scheduled for a
lifted oil.
On
the craft
were astronauts Neil Armstrong, Alichael

and Buzz Aldrin.
The spacecraft had three parts: The command
module carried the astronauts to and from the
Moon. The size of a large automobile, it was
where the astronauts ate, slept, and worked.
The service module contained fuel and power
equipment. The combined command and service
module unit was called Columbia. The lunar
module, called the Eagle, was the vehicle to land
two astronauts on the Moon.
After breaking away from earth's gravity,
Apollo
set a course for the Moon. Michael
Collins,
Collins separated Columbia from the Eagle, then
maneuvered around
Onboard Computer
This computer, in the
controlled
spacecraft, including
space.
to
to
dock with Eagle
Museum's
many systems on
its
movements
Moon
landing.
It
to steer the craft
in
history
if
they
in
in
the way.
took three days
Moon. An amazing
was about to happen.
of traveling to reach the
event
in
Sometimes the astronauts switched
manual controls
saw unexpected obstacles
position for the
collection,
the Apollo
Ready for Launch

In this
scene, experts gather at an early
launch control center
at
Cape Canaveral,
Florida, for the launch of
rocket.
Some
an early Saturn
peer up periscopes to check
the rocket. Today, a control center at
Kennedy Space Center
in
Florida monitors
&*oc""
launches. After
^
liftoff,
Mission Control
in
Houston, Texas, takes over monitoring

the spacecraft.
V>7
v.
1 *
.o S""
Log Book
&$&
Apollo
3**-E'
30
-.oo
5 -e
1 1
astronauts took this log book along
on
U- jv35
their historic mission to the
Moon.
It
gives
instructions for tasks they performed in flight,

v.
including photographing clouds and other

objects for scientists on Earth to study.
u
t&0t-
Fun Fact: Space Meals

Talk
about
fast food!
The Apollo
astronauts ate freeze-dried meals that
were lightweight and
easily stored in
sealed packets. A typical meal? Dried
chicken and
rice, biscuit
cubes, and
juice.The astronauts squirted water into
the bags of dry foods to eat them.
\-
.---
^m
fe
-,r
dm
< Orbit Map

After launch, Apollo
1 1
orbited around the
Earth as the astronauts carefully
positioned the craft for the lunar journey.
Then, the ship blasted free of Earth orbit,
and
set course for the
Moon. This map
plots the path of Apollo
as
it
traveled
around the Earth.
Mission Patches
Embroidered mission patches show the
names
and
of astronauts on each mission
a picture
symbolizing each
flight.
Missions include, from top: Apollo
Apollo
8,
Apollo
Apollo 11.
>RB?fcW!
8^
9,
Apollo 10, and
7,
One Small Step

July
19, 1969,
Apollo
reached lunar
1 1
The
orbit.
next day Michael Collins piloted Columbia in

orbit
around the
Moon
two
as the other
astronauts crawled into the lunar module Eagle.

Neil Armstrong fired Eagle's descent engine.
Then he gently landed Eagle's spiderhke legs on
the Moon's surface. In words broadcast to Earth,
he announced to Mission Control in Houston,
"That'j one jmall Jtep for man,
one giant leap for
Neil
Armstrong,
July 20,
first
man
mankind
to step
on the
"
Moon
1969
Texas: "The Eagle has landed."
Dressed
in
Eagle's hatch
The
first
Armstrong opened
a space suit,
and stepped down onto the Moon.
human
new
to explore a
world, he
described his step as a "giant leap for mankind."
Buzz Aldrin soon followed. A TV camera showed

amazing event to viewers on Earth. The two
the
astronauts spent 2 hours on the Moon's surface.
They planted an American
flag, collected
and
rocks, took photographs
Moon
scientific
measurements, and received a telephone

from President Richard Nixon.
call
Finally, they
returned to the Eagle. After 21 hours and 36
minutes on the Moon, they
lifted off to
dock
with Columbia for the journey home.
**-
Greetings From Earth

During their historic
visit to
Apollo 11 astronauts
plaque behind.
signed by
all
left this
three astronauts and by
M.Nixon.
Visitor
The second
man on
Buzz Aldrin climbs

lunar
aluminum
message of peace was
Its
U.S. President Richard
Moon
the Moon,
the Moon, astronaut
down
module Eagle
He and astronaut
the ladder of the
to the lunar surface.
Neil
Armstrong explored
the Moon's surface and collected lunar

rock and soil samples.
Fun Fact: New Mineral
Fun Fact: Feeling Light
The astronauts collected many rocks
The Moon's gravity
and found new Moon minerals. One was
Earth's. This
named
"armalcolite," combining
names
of the three Apollo 11 astronauts.
the
Moon
to
is
one-sixth that of
allowed the astronauts on
jump high
jumped
lightly
feel like
bouncing on
easily.
on the Moon,
a
it
If
you
would
trampoline.
.>*-
1\
Apollo
11
Crew
Splashdown
Astronauts of Apollo
made
successful landing on the

eil
Armstrong,
flight
Collins, pilot of the
the
After reentering Earth's atmosphere,
first
Moon. From
left:
commander, Michael
command module
Columbia, and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin,

co-pilot of the lunar
module
Jr.,
Eagle.
Welcome Home!
n
New
a hero's
York City, the Apollo
1 1
crew gets
welcome.The crew was honored
by crowds of cheering fans
biggest ticker-tape parades

city's history.
in
in
one of the
the
protected from the fiery heat by their

spacecraft's heat shield, the astronauts
splashed
down
in
the Pacific Ocean.
Navy divers arrived by helicopter

rescue them.
to
Moon
Exploring the
ER Apollo 1 1, five more Apollo missions landed on

the Moon. The last three missions brought along
a special car, called the Lunar Roving Vehicle.
Known
this
as the
Lunar Rover, or "Moon buggy,"
battery-powered car helped the astronauts
drive for miles over the

soil
Moon
samples and explore
The Rover had a
its
to collect rock
and
dusty surface.
TV camera so
people
on Earth could see what the astronauts saw.

Viewers discovered an amazing variety of terrain,
including lunar plains, canyons, and craters.
The astronauts worked outside
for several hours
a day, exploring, doing scientific experiments,
and collecting samples.

All together, the
855 pounds
Apollo astronauts collected
of rock in
many
different sizes.
One
discovery was a rock found to be over lour

billions
years old. Called the "genesis rock,"
it
was thought to be part of the Moon's original

crust. Such geological clues helped scientists
unlock many secrets of the Moon's past.
Rock Collecting
To gather lunar rocks, the astronauts had
special equipment. These included a
map
book, an airtight sample container, and

collecting tongs. These
were needed
because the crew's space
were so bulky
it
was hard
suits
to
and gloves
bend or pick
things up easily.
History Fact: Apollo 13

One Apollo mission was
In
the
in
a close call.
1970, Apollo 13 was heading toward
Moon when an
explosion occurred
the spacecraft.The crew
managed
to
survive by climbing into their lunar
module
"lifeboat"
and
just barely
returned safely to Earth.
Moon Treasure
Back on Earth, three laboratory technicians
study
a basketball-size lunar rock.
one of some 2,000 samples of
It
was
rock, stones,
sand, dust, and other material collected by
Apollo crews.
Lunar Rover
made
The Lunar Rover was
of
lightweight metal, mainly aluminum.

It
had wire mesh
tires to grip
the
dusty lunar surface. The battery-
powered
car
had
TV camera,
umbrella-shaped antenna,
A
jM
tool rack.lt could travel
7 miles an hour. In
it,
astronauts explored
the
many
miles from base.
Taking Samples
Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean holds
special metal
lunar
soil.
Conrad,
sample container
filled
with
His visor reflects astronaut Pete
who
took the picture.The samples
the Apollo astronauts brought back
helped scientists learn about the history

of both the
Moon and
the solar system.
A Different World
AT ER Apollo crews stayed
for longer periods
saw even more of the Moon. From
and
their lunar
Checking Out a Crater

Apollo 16 astronaut John Young looks for
modules, they photographed the lunar surface.
rock samples near North Ray Crater.
This helped experts create more accurate maps
three-fourths of a mile wide and 650 feet
ot the
Moon. They
Moon's
also drove over the
many more samples.

As they worked, the crews became
deep, this
was the
About
largest crater the
astronauts explored.
surface and collected
accustomed
to the starkness
and forbidding
Fun Fact: Lasting Footprints
extremes of the lunar environment. Temperatures
may
range from over 200 degrees below zero
Because of the Moon's weak

cannot hold
to
200 degrees above zero Fahrenheit. Yet the
astronauts also found that the
Moon
is
strangely beautiful world, with lunar canyons,
mountains, and valleys.
and
is
eerily silent
It
because there
is
no
saw
of the
to people listening
is
a footprint.The
air to
The astronauts talked to one

another by radios in their helmets. They also
many
no wind or
There
away
footprints
may
gravity,
it
water, as does the Earth.

rain to
blow
or
wash
Apollo crews'
stay for millions of years.
has no wind or rain
transmit sound.
described
air or
remarkable things they
on Earth.
Moon Base
This
panorama shows the Apollo 16 home
base on the Moon. The Lunar Rover
sits
parked near the lunar module, with the
American
flag placed
nearby.The
the Lunar Rover
astronauts explored
in
and returned
module
to the
to rest.
S'.4ft
Rock Hunt
Apollo 16 astronaut Charles Duke looks for
samples
at Station
At
famous makeshift golf club was
left,
1,an exploration
site.
swung by Apollo 14 astronaut Alan Shepard

just before he left the
Moon. The Moon's
gravity, one-sixth that of Earth's,

hit
two
balls
200 and 400
yards.
helped him
*vj*\. --T '.J-
Homeward Bound
LLO
17 was the
mission to
last
visit
the
Moon. At
the end of the mission in 1972, the astronauts
behind a plaque.
Moon
signaled the end of the
It
explorations.
When
human
the astronauts climbed
module and
into their lunar
left
left for
home, they
had completed a great adventure and an

important job.
total of 12
men landed on
Moon. They
knowledge. From rock
gathered a vast store of
and
soil
samples, scientists learned about the
Moon's formation,
Earth's but
They
magnetic
and chemistry. They
minerals are similar to
many have
They found
atmosphere
neon.
history,
Moon
discovered that
content.
the
heavier iron and titanium
the
of helium,
Moon
has a very thin
hydrogen, argon, and
also found that the
Moon
has a
field.
Considered one
of the greatest scientilu
achievements of human
history,
Apollo
established the United States as the world leader

in
space technology.
new
It
also
began an exciting
era of exploring the frontiers of space.
Moon Crossing
Above, the Apollo 12 lunar module moves
Moon
across the
the orbiting
in a
picture taken from
command and
service
module. Below, the Apollo 16
command
and service module glides over lunar

craters in a picture taken from the
lunar module.
Destination Earth
Earth appears over the
Apollo
"Wish You Were Here"
Fun Fact: Long
Apollo 16 astronaut Charles Duke put

picture of his family
down on
surface and photographed
named
a crater
for "Charles
it.
He also
on the Moon, Cat Crater,
and Tom,"
his
two
1 's
Michael Collins on the
The Moon's distance from Earth
is
about
service
239,000 miles. Apollo
11 took a total of
four days to get to the
Moon,
Moon
was taken by
command and
module Columbia. Minutes
Eagle docked with Columbia to
traveling
the return trip to Earth.

at
as
Eagle leaves the lunar
surface.This dramatic shot
Way From Home
the Moon's
speeds of up to 24,182 miles an hour.
sons.
9/
later,
make
m?<
KY LAB,
the
U.S. space station,
first
was built after the Apollo missions.

It was launched May 14, 1973. The
of a small house, Skylab measured
size
1
18 feet
empty Saturn V
and work space lor three
long. Built from part of an
rocket,
it
had
living
astronauts, solar panels lor power, and telescopes

to study the
A
was
Sun and Earth.
"laboratory in the sky," Skylab's main goal
to learn if astronauts could survive in space
for long periods.
Three crews
lived in
Skylab
from 1973 to 1974 for up to 84 days. Orbiting the

Earth every 93 minutes
they
at
and worked
ate, slept,
17,000 miles an hour,

in
zero gravity- or
weightlessness. Because muscles
weaken without
gravity, they exercised daily. Mission Control
constantly monitored their bodies.
showed
The
se55
tests
the crews remained healthy- In Skylab,
they performed hundreds of experiments and
took thousands of photographs of the Sun and
Dinner
is
Earth. Skylab
was
abandoned,
fell
it
Home
Served
Skylab's crew ate a variety of fresh
frozen foods, heated on this

Forks, spoons,
and
warming
tray.
and knives had magnets to
keep them from floating away. Food had

plastic covers.
The crew ate by
to enjoy the view.
a big success. Later
from orbit
window
Skylab, the
in
in
1979.
Space
first
U.S. space station, orbits
Earth 270 miles high. Launched
the station was a laboratory and
in
1973,
home
to
three crews of astronauts through 1974.
Winglike solar panels converted the

Sun's energy for power.
<
Space Spider
Can spiders spin webs
in
the weightless
conditions of space? To find out, Skylab

took along spider passengers.This spider
named
Arabella
(left)
was confused and
could not spin well for two days.Then, she
adjusted and spun normal webs.
Pulling Power
In
the weightlessness of space,
body
fluids drift
up
to the
human
upper body.
Astronaut
Owen
called the
Lower Body Negative Pressure
experiment.
It
Garriott tests a
corrects the
pulling fluids back
down
machine
problem by
to the legs.
Life
Owen
Bean
on Skylab
Garriott gives fellow astronaut Alan

a haircut.
hair so
it
A suction hose
collects the
won't float away. At Christmas,
Skylab astronauts decorated their space
home
with
Christmas tree
made
of
food cans.
Inside Story
A cutaway of Skylab's
reveals
its
two
orbital
workshop
sections. At top
was
laboratory where the crew worked on

scientific
experiments. Below, the living
quarters had a shower,
toilet, galley,
eating and sleeping areas.
and
Apollo-Soyuz
the 1970s, the United States
and the Soviet Union
began a new period of cooperation. They even
IN
agreed to launch a
joint
space mission, called the
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.
manned
spacecraft took
off.
In
July 1975, two
One was an American
Apollo capsule launched from Florida. The other,

a Soyuz capsule, was launched Irom Kazakhstan
in the Soviet
met
in
Earth orbit
On
two capsules
and successfully docked. They
Union.
July
17, the
used a specially designed docking module. It fit to

the Apollo on one end and to the Soyuz on the
other end.
After docking, the two crews met, shook
hands, and visited each other's ships.
They
talked
and ate together, and also did experiments in

astronomy together. The spacecraft remained
docked together for two days. Both returned

With this historic meeting, the
safely to Earth.
two countries began
to help
each other
in
Taking Off
using
Soyuz 19
space for peaceful purposes.
days
lifts
later
Apollo
off
on July 15, 1975. Two
would rendezvous with
it
Earth orbit.
in
Famous Fliers
Laika, a
creature in
in
dog,
little
Sputnik
includes
was the
first
living
space.She was launched

II.
portrait
left to right:
in
1957
of Soviet cosmonauts
Pavel Popovich, Yuri
Gagarin, ValentinaTereshkova,Valery
Bykovsky, Andrian Nikolayev, and

Titov.Yuri
in
space.
Gagarin was the
Mementos
Communist
first
Gherman
person to
at left include his
Party card and a medal.
fly
4^
Apollo Mects Soyuz
OnJuly
(left)
17,
1975,a U.S.Apollo spacecraft
docks with the Soviet Soyuz over
the Caspian Sea.
<*?:
"Hello!"
Reaching through the hatch, American

astronaut
Thomas
Stafford (right) shakes
hands with Soviet cosmonaut Aleksey

Leonov.The mission symbolized goodwill
between the two nations.
^M**
V-./Vtf
A Toast
Astronauts
Thomas
Stafford
and Donald
Slayton celebrate the success of their
mission by drinking
a toast.
The American
and Soviet crews exchanged greetings
and
visited each other's craft four times
before returning home.
<
Apollo-Soyuz On Display
Visitors to the National Air
Museum
and Space
can see a replica of the Apollo
and Soyuz spacecraft docked with the

special docking adapter built for the
mission. The display gives a good
opportunity to compare U.S. and

Soviet spacecraft.
M*
SR-71 Pressure Suit

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
Pilots of the
reconnaissance
Space Suits
this altitude,
much
like
those worn by astronauts. The
suit provides
the pilot
85,300 feet high. At
jet fly
they must wear pressure suits
normal
and oxygen
air
pressure around
to breathe.
astronauts venture outside their spacecraft to

explore or work in space, they must be well
HEN
protected. Otherwise they
would quickly
the hostile environment of space.
and
the astronaut's protection
life
space suit
EVA
(extravehicular activity)-
is
support
system. Going outside the spacecraft
suit,
die in
is
called
an
Wearing a space
up to 8 hours.
were bulky, with up to
the astronaut can survive
Early space suits
15 layers of material, and uncomfortable to
move
airtight
in. Today's suits have layers of light,
material such as nylon and Teflon. They protect
against extreme heat or cold and against the
destructive impact of tiny particles called
micrometeoroids.
The space
suit
provides oxygen, a waste
removal system, and radio communication.

Astronauts can also move freely by attaching a
chairlike jetpack called the
Maneuvering
jet
Unit).
It is
WMU
(Manned
propelled by small gas-
motors called thrusters. The astronaut
controls
game
them with buttons, much
like
video
controls.
vy
Flying at altitudes over 10,000 feet, early

pilots
masks
had
to breathe
oxygen through face
to survive in the thin air aloft.
Above, pilot Wiley Post developed the

first
practical pressure suit for
Mercury Space Suit
Man or Rocket?
Early Pilot's Suit
making
his record high-altitude flight in
1935.
Designed
in
1960, this early space suit called
This space suit
was worn by Gordon
Cooper,
astronauts.The suit
the"tripod teepee" was not a success. A rigid
one of America's
metal cylinder with holes for the arms and
had an aluminized nylon covering and 13
legs,
it
was bulky and
here could hardly
inflexible.The wearer
move
his
and could not bend over or
arms
sit
to use tools
normally.
first
zippers for a snug fit.The gloves had tiny

finger lights to help the astronaut see
controls
and charts.
Fun Fact: Extreme Protection
CMU
The space
suit the shuttle
astronauts
space, the side of
wear
may
to
work
space
in
is
the
EMU,
or
heat up to
Extravehicular Mobility Unit.lt provides

Fahrenheit while
protection from severe heat or
air,
of space
maybe
i
cold,
and communication. Adding
Fahrenheit
jet-powered Manned Maneuvering Unit
(MMU), the astronaut can move around

freely outside.
1.
TV camera
Sun visor
Lights to see in dark
Microphone
for
communication
Backpack with oxygen

Tool tether to keep tools from
floating
7.
away
Procedure check
list
Harness to hold jetpack
MMU
for
10
hand control
in
place
to fire thrusters
movement
Safety tethers
Tough outer
fabric to protect
against tears
12.
Aluminum mylar
13.
Underwear with water tubing

cool
layer for
warmth
14.
Coated nylon protective layer
15.
Gas-powered thrusters
on
to
body
MMU jetpack
Suiting Up
Astronaut M.S.Weber adjusts a glove
in
her
pressure suit before getting on the space
shuttle.The astronauts
critical
wear
this suit at
times such as launch and reentry.
some emergency
In
situations, the astronauts
can escape by parachuting out of the hatch.
The Space Shuttle

HE
the world's only reusable
space shuttle
is
spacecraft.
was developed
It
after the
huge
expense of the Apollo missions. Those craft were

used only once. The space shuttle can be reused
over and over.
consists of three parts: 1) the
an airplane-like body with three engines,
orbiter,
2)
It
an external tank to
and
3)
fuel the
engines at
two solid rocket boosters

The shuttle is launched
liftoff,
for extra
energy
like a rocket,
at liftoff.
orbits the Earth like a spacecraft,
and lands
like a glider.
The
shuttle to fly in space
first
Columbia.
astronauts
"T-Minus
It
lifted off
on April
was
12, 1981,
with
John Young and Robert Crippen.

5...4...3...2...
Ignition!" Columbia's
engines roared to hie and
Twelve minutes
200 miles high.
later
The
it
it
was
blasted into the sky.

circling the Earth
llight lasted
54 hours and
made 36 Earth orbits. All systems performed

The astronauts were thrilled with the
well.
two-day
far..
After returning safely to Earth,
ride.
John Young
said,
"We
are really not that
.from going to the stars."
In
The space shuttle zooms
Fast Exit
Fun Fact: Fast Ride

in orbit
around
the Earth at 5 miles a second Jhat's

over 10 times as fast as a speeding
case of emergency before launch, the
crew
exit the shuttle in a slidewire basket.
Shuttle Endeavour mission specialists

practice the exit. As Michael Foale pulls
rifle bullet!
a lever to release the basket,
Nicollier
Claude
and John Grunsfeld watch.
Liftoff!
Riding columns of
April
12,1981
fire,
Columbia
rises
in its first historic flight.
Above, the shuttle Discovery travels to the

launch pad on the world's biggest tracked
vehicle, called the crawler.
Robert
L.
Crippen, pilot of the
first
aboard Columbia, April 12, 1981
^m
1
rv'n ;->..'-'
space shuttle flight
Keeping Cool
amazingly complex machine, the space shuttle
has over 600,000 different parts.
Among
most important features
heat shield.
When
is its tile
its
the shuttle reenters Earth's
atmosphere,
it
zooms
at
25 times the speed of
move out of the way

enough. They pile up and squeeze
sound. Air molecules cannot

of the craft fast
together. This generates heat of over 3,000
degrees Fahrenheit. Thousands of
silica tiles
on
the shuttle absorb and throw off scorching heat.
The
shuttle's
launch system has three
components. The
at liftoff.
800 tons of
orbiter's engines ignite only
huge orange
liquid fuel.
fuel
Two
boosters burn solid fuel at
tank feeds them
white solid rocket
liftoff,
then
fall off.
Thev parachute into the ocean to be recovered

and reused. The orange tank falls off and burns
up in the atmosphere. The shuttle's engines and
boosters deliver an incredible 7 million pounds
of thrust to launch the shuttle into orbit.
Heat Damage
Tile
Scorch marks and holes on the shuttle
Endeavour's
tile
covering
show the
effects
Armor
A closeup
(right)
34,000 ceramic
tiles that
of reentering the atmosphere.The heat
mal shield on the
shield of ceramic silica tiles protects the
The
shuttle by insulating
shield
it
must be repaired
from the heat. The

after
each
flight.
tiles are
Above,
shows some
of the
make up the
shuttle's top
and
ther
belly.
one-half to 37: inches thick.
technician replaces
damaged
tiles
on the Columbia, gluing each one by hand.
"
&
Fun Fact: Power Up
Fun Fact: Tall Tank
The shuttle orbiter's three engines
The largest part of the shuttle launch
consume 800 tons
system
of fuel in about 10
minutes. They alone generate enough
power
to light
up
New
is
the main fuel tank. As
15-story building,
York state!
reused. After use,
it
it
falls
fXJASA
Atlantis
Hr
--v
jm /^î ^mr
Ready for Launch

The shuttle Atlantis stands assembled
for
launch outside the Vehicle Assembly

Building, or VAB, at
Kennedy Space
The white shuttle orbiter uses
its
Center.
own
engines plus two booster rockets and a

disposable fuel tank to propel
103
it
into space.
as a
away and burns
up reentering the atmosphere.
tall
the only part not
is
'
The Glass Cockpit

IS
is
the space shuttle cockpit, located on the flight
deck.
It is
the main control area of the spacecraft.
In this picture, the seats have been removed.
Two
spaces lor seats lace the orbiter's front windows.
The mission commander
sits
on the
and the
left
pilot
on the
from
his seat. Flying the shuttle requires a vast
right. Either
one can control the
craft
Over 2,100 different

controls line the cockpit. The new shuttle
cockpit has more computer screens, and so
array of instruments.
it is
called the "glass cockpit."
The
deck and
flight
rest of the
crew cabin
are pressurized so the crew do not need space

suits
once
in orbit.
They
float
around
in
weightlessness, often called "zero G," inside the

cabin.
From
the flight deck, the
crew can control
They can open and

close the payload, or cargo, bay doors. They can
move the shuttle's big robot arm to grasp and
other parts of the spacecraft.
retrieve objects such as

in space.
The
shuttle's
communications
satellites
movements can be
controlled manually by the crew and also
by Mission Control
in
Houston.
Ik
Fun Fact: More Instruments
Command
Mission
commander Dominic
The space shuttle cockpit has more than

at the controls of the shuttle
three times the
number
of instruments
during a 1999 mission. The
and controls required by the Apollo

his right.The shuttle
command modules
Moon.
sits
pilot's seat
is
on
can also be controlled
that traveled
by
to the
L.Gorie
Endeavour
a sophisticated autopilot that
thousands of times
faster than a
can react
human.
History Fact: Shuttle
Control Center
Flht
Inside the cockpit of the shuttle Columbia,
Today, a fleet of four shuttles operates:
instrument switches and other controls
Columbia, Discovery, Atlantis, and

cover the walls.The complex system can be
Endeavour. Ihe shuttle Challenger was

operated by
destroyed
when
it
a single astronaut.
TV monitors give the crew

in
Closed circuit
blew apart on launch

live pictures of
1986, killing the crew.

activities in the ship
~'*Ss,
tfci
tl
s^
and outside.
'.
Shuttle Orbiter
shuttle orbiter, the airplane-like part of the
shuttle,
is
about the
size of a
three main sections.
DC-9
The forward
jetliner. It
has
fuselage holds
The mid
fuselage houses the payload (cargo) bay and
robot arm (Remote Manipulator System). The
aft fuselage has the vertical tail, three main
engines, and orbital maneuvering engines.
The crew of five to seven sleeps, eats, and
the
crew cabin, with the
flight deck.
the cabin mid deck below the flight
cooks
in
deck.
Crew members
float about,
moving
between the decks through two hatches. The

galley, or kitchen, contains a large variety of
foods.
The astronauts take turns preparing
three meals a day for the crew.
The payload bay
is
not pressurized
To enter
it,
air lock.
There, they change into space
suits.
the astronauts go into an
Then they can work
or outside the ship.
in the
bay
Inside the Orbiter

This
with
cutaway view of the shuttle Discovery

its
payload bay doors open reveals
deck and cockpit
the orbiter's interior. About 120 feet long
Flight
and 57 feet high, the orbiter has
Commander's
wingspan of 80
feet. Its
biggest area
the payload bay.The crew
live in
is
the
forward fuselage cabin.
seat
Pilot's seat
Two crew
seats
Payload bay controls

Airlock
Crew hatch
Toilet
Mid deck
Avionics bay (onboard
electronics)
Forward control thrusters
Nose wheel
for landing
Reinforced carbon carbon

(RCC) on orbiter nose
Thermal
tile
shield
Payload bay doors

Payload bay
Camera on RMS
RMS (Remote Manipulator

System)
Communications
held by
satellite,
RMS
Main landing wheels

Delta
wing
Elevon (combines function of

aileron
and elevator)
Main engine
Aft control thrusters
Orbital
maneuvering engine
Rudder and speed brake

Vertical tail stabilizer
Fun Fact: Big Load

The payload bay can hold over 60,000
pounds, or 30 tons, of cargo, including
space station parts,
satellites,
telescopes, Spacelab, a portable science

laboratory, or other equipment.
Space Telescope
ACE
shuttle missions,
which
last
usually one to
weeks, often launch equipment

it,
or repair
it.
two
in space, retrieve
In 1990, the space shuttle Discovery
launched the huge Hubble Space Telescope
(HST)
into Earth orbit. Called the
on the universe,"
it
was expected
"new window
much
to give
clearer pictures of space than ever before because

it
would be orbiting outside Earth's atmosphere.

Unfortunately, the
were blurred because
first
images from the
HST
of a faulty mirror system.
After over a year of training, crew
in
the space
shuttle Endeavour took off to repair the telescope

in
December 1993.
The astronauts worked on
the telescope
standing on the shuttle's big robot arm, the Remote
Manipulator System. They replaced corrective
added a new camera, and other

By January images from the telescope
showed the repairs had worked. The pictures were
optical equipment,
parts.
clear
and spectacular! These images have helped
scientists learn
much more about
the universe.
.*
*W4
._
p*>
<*
Underwater Training
Astronauts prepare for a mission to repair
the Hubble Space Telescope
training in a
feeling of
space by
huge tank of water.The
moving
that of floating
of space.
in
in
in
water
is
similar to
the weightlessness
r *#
Space Repairmen
In
December 1993, two astronauts
of the
This
Celestial Eye
Hubble Telescope image shows
space shuttle Endeavour repair the Hubble
huge glowing "eye" known
Space Telescope. They work
6751. The nebula
at
the end of
the shuttle's robot arm. The astronauts
is
as nebula
NGC
luminous cloud of
gas ejected from the hot star
in its center.
inserted special mirrors to correct the flaw

that had blurred the telescope's images.
Fun Fact: Eve
in
tne Sky
Swirling Galaxies
An image from the repaired Hubble Space

through telescopes on
Looking
at stars
Earth
hard since the atmosphere
is
distorts the image. Orbiting
370 miles
Telescope shows the close encounter of
two
galaxies. The starry pinwheels, galaxy
NGC 2207 with
galaxy
lie
large bright center
and
above the Earth, the Hubble Space

Telescope gets
much
clearer view.
years
IC
2163,
away from
tens of millions of light
Earth.
Meeting Mir
N June
29, 1995, the space shuttle Atlanta*
historic flight.
It
successfully
made
met and docked
with the Russian space station Mir, or "Peace,"

orbiting 245 miles above the Earth. Shuttle
commander Robert
mission
L.
Gibson steered
docking position near Mir. Both were
Atlanta* into
hurtling through space at 17,500 miles an hour.
Gibson had
down and very

avoid a crash. He also
slow Atlanta*
to
maneuver it to
act quickly enough
carefully
had
to
the space station before
He performed
the
it
to catch
drifted
maneuver
>
and lock onto
beyond reach.
perfectly.
After docking, the Atlanta* crew

floated through a connecting tunnel
to enter
Mir and met
cosmonauts
inside.
the Russian
For
five days,
two crews socialized and

worked on experiments together.
This was the first ol several visits
of space shuttles to Mir. The two
the
countries that were once fierce

rivals in
much
space have since done
to cooperate with
to increase space
each other
knowledge.
Space Partners
A mission patch
for a
1996 Shuttle-Mir
mission emphasizes the cooperation
between the two nations

space projects. At
in
peaceful
right, a poster
promotes
the rental of space on Mir to American

research companies.
Linked Together
Docked
in
space, the shuttle Atlantis and
Mir space station float

picture
was taken by
spacecraft
in
in orbit.
Soyuz
June 1995. Such joint
missions helped pave the

the
new
This
ferry
way
for
work on
International Space Station.
Fun Fact: Long Trip

The record time
for living in
space
is
held by Russian doctor Valeri Poliakov.
He stayed on Mir
From
a total of
438 days!
his experience, scientists learned
much about how the human body

adapts to long periods
in
space.
.v
<\v
Maneuvering
Steering the shuttle
in
in
Mir
Space
space requires two
The Russian space station Mir passes
New
systems. The orbital maneuvering system
over
(OMS) engines slow the shuttle down and
the station was replaced by the
move
International Space Station
it
up or down. Then 44 rocket
thrusters on the craft's nose and
be
fired to
change speed
tail
can
or direction.
Zealand.
In orbit
since 1986,
in
was abandoned and allowed

the atmosphere as
it fell
new
2001. Mir
to burn
up
back to Earth.
W*
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in
Space Bear
Magellan! Bear became the
Living in Space
first official
when he
Discovery
teddy bear
in
space
flew aboard the shuttle
1995. Sponsored by
in
group of school children, he was
an "education specialist."
ATS
it
like to blast into
space and
fly
on the
space shuttle?
Do you
How
the
get sick?
do you use
bathroom?
What do you
eat?
How do you
sleep? These are
all
questions astronauts
are often asked.
Most astronauts are

very excited
and
at liftoff
they enjoy the free

reeling of weightless-
ness
in
are a
space.
little
at first,
Some
space sick
but soon
adjust to the lack of

gravity.
They
learn to glide, twist
and
somersault expertly through space.
The crew
Space Toilet
Astronauts aboard the shuttle use this
special toilet.
It
has
air
suction
in
gravity to
remove wastes through
and bowl.
It
place of
a
hose
also has foot restraints so the
astronaut using
it
won't
float
eat the
same foods and drinks
they enjoy on Earth, including
fruits,
vegetables
meats, and desserts, but they eat them from
The astronauts do not

shower because water would escape and float
disposable containers.
in
away!
blobs everywhere. Instead, they squirt water on

Mission Patches
Space shuttle mission patches have
design symbolizing each mission and the
names
of astronauts on the mission.
The shuttle has

a bathroom and special toilet the crew use.
To sleep, the astronauts curl up inside
sleeping bags hung on a wall or simply float
a sponge and take sponge baths.
in a
comfortable spot.
Butterfly Experiment
These Painted Lady butterflies emerged
from cocoons on
space shuttle mission.
They were an experiment planned by

group of high school students
caterpillars can
develop
microgravity of space.
in
the
to see
a
if
Moving
in
Brushing Up
Space
Mission specialist Carl Walz floats through

a
tunnel from the shuttle cabin into
Bursch brush their teeth on the shuttle.
They use disposable brushes with edible
science laboratory module. Although
astronauts often feel nausea at
soon enjoy moving

feels like
swimming
in
space.
first,
Many
in air.
Astronauts Frank Culbertson and Daniel
they
say
it
toothpaste and squirt water

There
is
in
their
mouths
no sink or running water because
the water would float around the cabin.
Sally K. Ride (1951-
Sally Ride
became the
woman
space
in
in
1983. Trained as
physicist, she joined
became an
American
first
NASA
in
specialist. Here,
she sleeps
restraint on the shuttle.
1978 and
astronaut. She flew on the
space shuttle Challenger as
.*B_*te
mission
in a
sleeping
ETURNING
to Earth, the shuttle orbiter
is
trans-
formed from a spacecraft into a giant glider.

First, its maneuvering engine rockets fire a last
time to slow it down to drop from orbit.
Reentering Earth's atmosphere,
it
passes
through scorching heat and tremendous rnction.

The thermal heat shield does its job well and
protects the ship during the fiery journey. Next,
computers guide the orbiter through a
series of
speed
S turns to slow it down more. The
drops from over 17,000 miles an hour to about
orbiter's
350 miles an hour.
The
craft glides in silently.
At about 20 miles
from the runway, the mission commander

control and brings it in for a landing. The
can also land automatically,
if
takes
shuttle
As the
between
necessary.
wheels touch down, the craft lands at

200 and 226 miles an hour and slows to a stop.
Then the astronauts exit the orbiter on ordinary
aircraft landing steps.
Fun Fact: Mission Names

The
official
name
of the space shuttle
is
the Space Transportation System. Each
mission
and
is
named with
number,such
the letters STS
as STS
1.
Fun Fact: Flying Success
Coming into Land

Like
giant bird, the shuttle Co kn
glides
unpowered
Space Center. The
Kennedy
to land at
commander aims
carefully landing the craft.
If it
misses
the runway, he cannot turn around to
come back and
What
Once the
a
try again.
Drag
shuttle's
wheels
hit
the runway,
parachute opens to slow the
orbiter.
As the craft lands at over 200 miles an
edrag chute helps
it
gradually
brake to a stop.
MBMaMMMtt
I
Getting a Lift
The shuttle Atlantis

to
mount
it
With no power
atmosphere
orbiter
to
its
is
lifted in a
on the back of
to fly
after
must be
launch
it
machine
Boeing 747.
through the
lands, the shuttle
ferried by a
747 back
gy
ftv
1
'
^m ^^_
Piggyback Ride
Aboard
747
ferry,
the shuttle Atfun
returns to Florida after being repaired in

California. Shuttles are
used over and over,
always launching from Kennedy Space

Center
in Florida.
*''
K; m^
L.
site.
2^
II
largest object ever built in space, the Intern-
ational
in
an
Space Station (ISS)
artist's
floats in
concept. Begun
in 1998,
sprawl twice the size of a Football

complete. The ISS
is
being
Earth orbit
will
it
Field
when
built jointly
by
16 nations, including the United States, Russia,
Canada, countries of the European Space

Agencv, and Japan. It will cost about $60
Already home
the station has a
to
billion.
an American- Russian crew,
roomy
kitchen, bathroom,
and
sleeping and exercise areas. Giant solar panels
convert energy from the Sun lor electric power.

The station will provide an international center
for
many kinds
of scientific research. In
laboratories, scientists will study
life in
its
space
new medicines and materials lor use

on Earth. One day, the ISS may also be the
and
test
departure terminal for missions to other planets.
"4 Outpost
in
Space
AH) miles hujh over Farih, the
[raveling
International Sp.no Station
A crew
of 7 will live
jet
ill
is
shown
as
it
when complete, around 2006.
will look
space as big as
cabins. The size of
fields,
two
the station will weigh
pounds.
a million
Fun Fact: Big Job

More than 40
trips
by space shuttle and
other craft will be required to deliver

the parts, supplies, and equipment
needed
to build the ISS.
Fun Fact: Speeded Up

Traveling
more than 17,000 miles an
hour, the ISS
16 times
whips around the Earth
a day.
The crew on board see
the Sun rise and set every 90 minutes.
Building the ISS

ME
220 miles over Earth, the world's highest
construction
is
in full
site
bustles with activity
swing. Workers
move cranes
and work
hoisting
huge building blocks. The giant structure going
up
is
the International Space Station.
workers building
it
The
are astronauts.
The construction work will continue for Five

The astronauts will spend many hours of
spacewalks assembling the station. They will get
help from a large robotic arm made in Canada
years.
and possibly a
around
flying robotic "eye" that can circle
to inspect the
huge
station.
In the finished station, scientists believe
the absence of gravity will allow
them
to
do
experiments not possible on Earth. They hope to
new ways to treat and prevent

more powerful computer chips, stronger
metals, and better weather forecasting systems.
Life on the ISS will also provide knowledge for
future space travel beyond Earth's orbit.
develop new drugs,

diseases,
Early Space Station
Escape Vehicle
Since living
in
the ISS crew
space can be dangerous,
may have
a "lifeboat" to
In
May 2000,
orbit Earth.
the
first
parts of the
The station
at this
new
return to Earth quickly in an emergency.
two
Here, an experimental prototype of such a
module, Unity (top),
small craft, the X-38, parachutes to
Russian power and propulsion module,
landing after
a test flight.
sections, or modules. The
Zarya ("Sunrise"
is
ISS
stage has
first U.S.
joined to the
Work
Construction
All Systems Go
Astronaut James Voss moves part of
new
Russian crane to connect
new
ISS.
May
22, 2000, Voss
During
it
In this artist's
Williams also added

installed handrails
shuttle
complete, the station will be a busy center
6-hour spacewalk
and astronaut
concepts space
has docked at the finished ISS. When
to the
of scientific research,
Jeffrey
new antenna and
new
discoveries,
and
exciting plans for future missions to
explore space.
and camera cable.
tr
mm
i
inn
**>*&
tfa
Research and Design

HAT
will flight in the future
be like?
How will
tomorrow's space explorers travel? Scientists

are
working
new
to design
vehicles to
make
space travel easier and cheaper.
One
recent design idea for a reusable
spacecraft
was
Based on the
in
the X-33, or VentureStar.
"lifting
body,"
an upright position,
it
orbit,
would
lift
off
then return to
Earth and land belly-down on a runway.
Another design was the X-37.
It
would be
launched into orbit from the space shuttle.
would work
its
own
in orbit,
power.
The X-43 was a plane designed

spacecraft into orbit.
this plane
many
would
Known
fly at
as the
burn
fuel,
it
to
launch
"Hyper X,"
"hypersonic" speeds,
times the speed of sound.
engine would allow

to
It
then return to Earth by
to use
"scram-jet"
oxygen from the
air
X Prize Trophy
instead of using costly rocket fuel.
The Hyper-X could launch
craft into space at a
coming years,
research to develop
competition
scientists will continue
new experimental
design ideas, this X Prize
trophy will be awarded to the winner of
tenth the cost of the rocket-propelled space

shuttle. In
new
To stimulate
vehicle.
concepts.
for a
Modeled
new space
launch
after early aviation prizes,
the privately funded X Prize will also

include $10 million.
Hyper-X
In this artist's
concept, the X-43, or
Hyper-X research plane, roars up toward

the fringes of space. Such planes, designed
many times
to fly
one day be used

space
the speed of sound,
may
to launch vehicles into
orbit.
X-33
The X-33, or VentureStar, flies
in this artist's
concept.
It is
for reusable vehicles to
space
orbit,
travel.
It
and land
in
Earth orbit
one of many ideas
lower the cost of
would take
off like a rocket,
horizontally, like an airplane.
Fun Fact: Split-Second Timing

The fastest "air-breathing," winged
aircraft today, the
travels in speeds
SR-71 Blackbird,
measured
in
tens of
miles-per-minute. Hypersonic planes

like
the Hyper-X
may
miles-per-second!
ZO
travel in
speeds of
Mother Ship
This art
shows how the Hyper-X would be
launched, riding on
wing of
a rocket
under the
B-52. Dropped at 40,000 feet,
the rocket would boost the Hyper-X to
100,000
would
feet,
fly
then
on by
its
fall off.
own
The plane
power.
Testing, Testing
Scientist Vince
Rausch holds
Hyper-X mounted on
tunnel. Wind-tunnel tests
plane could
In
an
artist's
rocket
lifts a
fly to
model
its
to reach space.
(right), a
Hyper-X on
wind
show such
Mach 10
concept
a rocket in a
Pegasus
nose.
X-37
In this
for
imaginary scene, the X-37
is
ready
launch from the payload bay of a
space shuttle. About half the length of

the shuttle, this craft would orbit up to
21 days, performing experiments.lt
would then return
IZI
to Earth
on
its
own.
Mission to Mars
ARS, the red
planet, has fascinated people for centuries.
Since the 1960s,
many have dreamed
of exploring
and perhaps colonizing Mars. Earth's neighbor

solar system,
About
Mars
lies
about 40 million miles away.
half the size of Earth,
similar to Earth's.
and polar
ice caps.
In 1976,
it
many
has
features
These include mountains, canyons,

Yet Mars'
than Earth's and the planet
Mars and
in the
is
air
100 times thinner
is
a freezing desert.
two Viking landers touched down on

Pathfinder landed. These craft
in 1997,
sent back images that
showed Mars
to be
rocky
Yet scientists believe Mars once had water
and
arid.
that
may have
held microscopic
life.
In 2001,
Mars
Odyssey was launched to orbit Mars. It will

analyze Mars' surface and look lor water
underground. Such probes may pave the way
for
human
explorers.
A human
mission to
would take about two years. The
Mars
explore
travelers
lor months, extracting
Mars
would
oxygen from
Mars' carbon dioxide atmosphere. They might find

fossils,
No
actual proof of other
one knows what
lies in
story of flight has shown,
dreams become
as
Parachute Landing
In this artist's
module
glides
the universe.
tomorrow
will
be exciting
reality.
Steep (limb
concept, a Mars landing
down from
life in
the future. Yet, as the
spacecraft by
This explorer climbs the sheer rock face
of a Martian
cliff.
Studying the formations
parachute. After landing, the astronauts
of rocky walls and canyons on Mars will
would explore the planet by
help scientists learn the history of the
vehicle and study
supporting
its
human
a rover
potential for
life.
planet, from volcanic activity to rivers

or other water.
Tales Told by Rocks
A mission
specialist in
examines
a rock
Two
geology
Taking a Look
Fun Fact: Pure Fiction

In
she has picked up on
and look
at robot
Mars. Scientists exploring the planet wil
years before.
look for clues to possible early
human
rocks.
If
any
life
life in
forms have existed, the
lander craft sent to Mars
No plans now
1898, British author H.G.Wells wrote The
War of the Worlds^ novel about
would be found
in fossils.
such a mission will take place perhaps

the next 20 years.
creatures
Visitors to
things.
Mars
Mars has
will
see remarkable
volcano three times
exist for a
mission to Mars. Yet experts hope
from Mars invading Earth.
was broadcast on
radio.
It
In
1938, the story
was so
convincing,
taller
than Mount Everest and a huge
canyon.
It
is
four times deeper and ten
in
many
best evidence
Fun Fact: Sightseeing on Mars
explorers stop their vehicle to get out
believed the invasion
was
real!
times longer than the Grand Canyon.
Milestones of Flight
1907
PaulCornuof France makes the
1915
plane built with
First fighter
1931
British inventor Frank Whittle
Before 1900
1100- Chinese
gunpowder
invent
and use early rockets as weapons
1300s
Explorer Marco Polo reports
Bug\n the
human-carrying
flight in the
1500
1783
Artist
1908
China
Leonardo da Vinci of
Italy
1908
Glenn Curtiss
The
flies his
first
Charles W.Furnas,
WilburWright
human
recorded
flight in a
1909
French brothers Joseph and
flies
1918
1919
and
to France
Baron Manfred von RichthofeTi,
Atlantic
Ocean
is
as the Red
down and
shot
1933
killed
experimental airmail service
First
1933
the United States
British pilots
John Alcock and
makes public demonstration
Arthur Brown
flights
flight across the Atlantic
fly first
1908
Jacques Charles of France invents
The
1935
nonstop
when
the hydrogen balloon
1804
George Cayley
Englishman
Sir
invents and
flies
the
Thomas
Selfridge
1909
Frenchman Louis
Ble'riot
1920
First Pulitzer
1923
First
1852
Henri Giffard of France invents
and
flies
the
across the English
Channel
1909
steam-powered
flying
German engineer Otto

becomes the
gliders
first
of
191
Lilienthal dies after a glider crash
1896
American Samuel
powered
Langley
make the
first
flight, in
about
woman
first
Ford Tri-Motor
1926
American Robert
H.
launches the
successful
to earn
1912
woman
first
1926
to receive a
CalRodgers
U.S.
coast to coast
1927
Hans von Ohain
the
flies
first jet
Heinkel He 178
Inventor Igor Sikorsky test-pilots
new
design, the
helicopter, the
first
practical
VS-300
Goddard
1939- World War
II
Navy
Richard Byrd of the
flies
Fokker
over the North Pole
Quimby becomes the
F.VII
Charles Lindbergh makes the
in
first
1941
Japanese
bomb
U.S. naval base at
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
first
1942
First military
helicopter design by
Igor Sikorsky
flight across the
Atlantic Ocean, flying 3,610 miles
driven model called an

Harriet
reaching
Jersey
scientist
and
aircraft, a
introduced
first
nonstop solo
in
84 days
1912
Commander
in a
flies
across the United States
steam-
their helium
II,
1944
Quimby becomes the
Harriet
is
liquid-propellant rocket
pilot's license
unmanned
machine,
flying
the
is
American
1896
launches a large
Orleans
1926
a pilot's license
glider test flights
P.
New
German
builds
1939
Baroness Raymonde de Laroche of

France
New
Lakehurst,
his
1910
in
explodes and crashes at
26 hours
months
six
Lilienthal
a series
in
is
machine,
person to pilot
and begins
Albert Stevens and Orvil Anderson
The German airship Hindenburg
Douglas World Cruisers Chicago
and
Leviathan, rises several inches off
1891
and Macready
held at Reims,France
the ground for a few seconds
the Boeing
1937
United States by
round-the-world
Hiram Maxim's enormous
airliner,
introduced
Douglas DC-3 begins service
1939
1924
the Grande Semained'Aviation,

Sir
is
1936
international air meet,
first
powered by steam
1894
fly
and 50 minutes
first dirigible,
The
held
is
nonstop transcontinental
Kelly
first to fly
Trophy Race
flight across the
becomes
than-air craft, a model glider
the
modern
247,
altitude record
killed
is
person to
first
72,395 feet
Wright
heavier-
first
Lt.
First
balloon, Explorer
crash riding with Orville
in a
the
is
of the United States set an
Ocean
airplane fatality occurs
first
Wiley Post
first
solo around the world
Etienne Montgolfier
1783
Amelia Earhart becomes the

to fly solo across the
in
WilburWright goes
932
woman
Baron,
with
turbojet engine
first
blades,the Fokker Eindecker
German ace known
airplane passenger,
first
machines
hot-air balloon invented by
1918
public airplane
United States
sketches early designs for flying
First
plane June
patents the
to fire
through spinning propeller
over 5 feet for 20 seconds
1300
kites in
machine gun synchronized
helicopter, hovering
first flight in a
1942
First
successful launch of
Germany's V-2 rocket
337; hours
"Aerodrome"
woman
to fly
Channel and
across the English

later that
killed in a flying
1900
Orviile
first
and Wilbur Wright
fly
1913
glider
The
first
controlled,
powered
flight in
their airplane, the Flyer, going

feet in 12
1913
The Wright brothers patent their
his
own
flies
the
Monaco
first
1914
First
scheduled
manufacturing company
First U.S.
Women's
First airship flight
combat, the
Air
Derby
1944
First British jet fighter,
the Gloster
Meteor, begins service
in
World
around the world
by German ship Graf Zeppelin

1
1929- The Great Depression
four-
944
1945
1939
Attacks of the Japanese kamikazes
An atomic bomb
is
dropped on
Hiroshima, Japan from a U.S.
Boeing B-29
1930
St.
Petersburg to Tampa, Florida
1914- World War
First jet fighter flies in
German Messerschmitt Me 262
airline flights, of a
flying-boat service from
aircraft
in a
engine plane, the Le Grand
American inventor Glenn Curtiss

forms
and
over the South Pole
flies
Warll
Russian inventor Igor Sikorsky

builds
120
seconds
plane design
1907
in
929
The Wright brothers achieve the

first
1906
1929
1
held
Byrd
Ford Tri-Motor
Schneider Trophy Race for

is
929
is
accident
their
seaplanes
1903
year
1944
First airline
Church,
1930
First U.S.
stewardess, Ellen
coast-to-coast passenger
airline service begins
1918
IZt
1946
hired by United Airlines
is
The Soviet Union introduces

fighters, the
1947
American
pilot
becomes the
jet
MiG-9 and Yak-1

Chuck Yeager
first
person to
fly
speed of sound
faster than the
in
the Bell X-1
1947
1962
The Spruce Goose,
boat and
a flying
the largest airplane ever built,

for
1962
one mile
flies
1963
Test flight of the first jet airliner, the

British
1976
woman
1964
de Havilland Comet
becomes the
1978
space
in
1979
Gulf of Tonkin resolution passed
by Congress, giving President
command
attacks
Launch of
U.S.
in
U.S.
probes Viking
U.S.
1994
and
1997
1
probe Mariner
1979
4,
American Bryan Allen
pilots the
Gossamer Albatross
the
First flyby of
777
designed
U.S. probe
Mars Global Surveyor
high resolution imaging of the
in
first
planet's surface
1997
flight across the
U.S.
probe Pathfinder lands on
Mars and deploys
remote-
controlled rover to explore and
1950- Korean War

1964
first aircraft
reaches Mars orbit and begins
English Channel
Vietnam
the
completely by computer
2 orbit
Venus
human-powered
to
Test flight of the Boeing

jetliner,
probe Pioneer-Venus
orbits
Lyndon Johnson war powers
first
and land on Mars
Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova
first
Concorde, the
supersonic jetliner
of the Lockheed SR-71
First flight
of the Soviet Union
feet
1949
flights of the
Crisis
Blackbird reconnaissance plane
an altitude of 80
at
The Cuban Missile
photograph the surface and
Saturn U.S. probe
1953
which reaches Mars and transmits

1950
Soviet
MiG-15s and American
images
Pioneer
analyze chemicals
in
Martian rocks
to Earth
Lockheed P-80 Shooting Stars meet
1965
in first
combat between
cosmonaut
Soviet
takes the
in
first
1980
spacewalk
Korea
First jetliner,
the
American
first
Cochran
pilot Jacqueline
first
woman
1969
1981
Apollo 11 astronauts Neil
to fly
Aldrin
The North American F-100 Super

Sabre becomes the
supersonic
first
become the
land on the
first
humans
1983
to
Moon
operational
1970
The
first
jumbo
jet,
the Boeing
the
1971
round-the-world
jet
First
use of the Apollo Lunar Rover
to explore the
passenger
1971
Moon
The Soviet Union launches the

space station, Salyut
first
1971
986
First
A U-2 spy plane
is
shot
down
over
1972
The
the
human
first
aboard Vostok
in
space,
in
1973
America
1973
in
space on
all
First
2000
shuttle mission with
Air France
Concorde crashes on
Concordes
grounding of
First
for safety testing
crew (of American astronauts
and Russian cosmonauts)
1974
John F.Kennedy
return
Record set
for first
Station
nonstop non-
2001
1989
American space station,
man on
him safely
the
1975
Space shuttle Challenger explodes
from
seconds after launch,
atmosphere
killing all
2001
The Soviet Union launches
its
two
the
orbit the Earth, in
first
American
1976
The
first
the
probe 2001 Mars Odyssey
Flyby of Uranus-U.S. probe
elements and searching

sub-surface water
First flight of
the 8-2 stealth
is
launched to orbit Mars and study
Voyager
2001
First
spacewalk by
for
Canadian
astronaut, Chris Hadfield. He helps
new
robotic
arm on the
Flyby of Neptune-U.S. probe
install a
Voyager
International Space Station that
Hubble Space Telescope launched
1991
space
scheduled commercial
be used to finish building the
Projected opening of the National
and Space Museum's new
Steven
F.
Udvar-Hazy Center
at
Lockheed F-117 stealth fighter
Washington Dulles International
becomes the
Airport, to
in
IZ5
2003
Air
1991
American and
in
in
the planet, analyzing chemical
1990- Persian GulfWar
space mission of
nations, an
burning up
is
fall
station
1990
Soviet spacecraft dock
to
Mercury Friendship 7
first joint
orbit,
to
space station Mir
Mercury-U.S. probe
the Apollo-SoyuzTest Project,
the
to
U.S.
will
First flyby of
In
The Russian space station Mir
abandoned and allowed
bomber
Mariner 10
Earth before 1970

is
is
placed on the International Space
Skylab
will place a
John Glenn
1989
The United States launches the

first
speech announcing that
Moon and
of Jupiter-U.S. probe
first
space, in Mercury
U.S. President
makes
First flyby
Freedom 7
962
1986
Moon
Pioneer 10
Alan Shepard becomes the
American
two Apollo missions,
Gagarin of the Soviet Union
becomes the
1961
last
1986
Apollo 16 and Apollo 17, land on
the Soviet Union
1961
woman
crew members
probe to successfully orbit
Mars-U.S. Mariner 9
Yuri
An
takeoff, resulting in
by the Rutan Voyager
Boeing 707
1961
American
refueled flight around the world
service by Pan American Airways
1960
2000
747, enters service
first satellite, is
launched by the Soviet Union

First
space shuttle,
Spacelab
1986
1959
a U.S.
the shuttle Challenger
begins flying missions

1,
trip
jet fighter
Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance plane
Sputnik
of
Astronaut Sally Ride becomes the

first
1983
1957
First flight
the Columbia
Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz"
1956
round-the-world balloon
sound
faster than
1953
The Milling Orbiter 3 makes the
the Lockheed F-117A
spacewalk, lasting 22 minutes
becomes the
999
Testing begins on stealth fighter,

first
Comet, enters service
American
International Space Station (ISS)
1981
to take a
Work begins on building the
Gemini 4 astronaut Edward White
the de Havilland
is
1953
Flyby of Saturn-U.S. probe
Voyager
1965
1952
1998
Alexei Leonov
jet fighters
combat
in
first
stealth aircraft
the GulfWar
commemorate
100 years of
flight
Glossary
Mach number A measure of the speed of an
A huge, powerful tracked vehicle
aeronautics The science of heavier-than-air
crawler
flight.
used to transport spacecraft to launch pads.
Movable devices on airplane
ailerons
wings used
to
make the
A structure such
airfoil
aircraft
propeller blade that generates
moving
rapidly through the
An
airlock
airtight
on
lift
in
or
more spacecraft
Mach
join
two
An
more
or
during war between
air battle
the
its
to
movement through
The
or stunts in the
art of
performing precision
A movable control on an airplane
that
makes
climb or descend.
it
Fire
from antiaircraft guns.
A powered heavier-than-air
water by
by
aboard
and work
A seaplane supported on water
a boatlike hull rather
than
wing An
aircraft
flying
machine with flapping
An
seaplane
aircraft that
can take off and
An
sound barrier
invisible barrier of
extreme
turbulence and drag an aircraft encounters

bird.
A substance, such
The region beyond Earth's atmosphere.
space
combustion of
reaches the speed of sound.
it
as liquid oxygen,
a fuel in a rocket
A reusable
space shuttle
craft
used to travel
A canopy of fabric attached
Of greater weight than the
heavier-than-air
that
bag with gas lighter than
is
aircraft or to
The cargo
the pilot raises one wing and
drop supplies.
a spacecraft carries.
The motion of an
When
stall
an
aircraft
wings cannot produce
moves so slowly
lift
and
it
capable of flying into
stealth aircraft
Aircraft
enemy
without being detected.
territory
its
falls.
nose
aircraft's
With
streamlined
up or down.
smooth shape
to reduce
air resistance, or drag.
A sealed
pressure suit
A barrier of protective material
on the outside of a spacecraft to shield
maintain normal
air
suit
designed to
pressure around a pilot's
it
body
from the intense heat of reentering Earth's
lowers the other during a turn.
to
emergency
displaced.
heat shield
air.
into space.
of a balloon or airship.
by
air
When
those of a
like
from
pitch
surrounding
body
orbiting a larger
land on water.
payload
aircraft.
large
body
space.
exits
made
An object
space, such as a weather satellite
orbiting Earth.
To circle a planet, star, or other
The passenger or crew
The operation of heavier-than-air
craft
left
a spacecraft.
craft.
rotor that spins freely.
A lighter-than-air
A section of
parachute
An unpowered, heavier-than-air
compartment
bank
in
that allows
with only wing
The body of an airplane.
gondola
filling a
satellite
rigging and harness, used for

glider
balloon
control, usually at the rear
surfaces.
fuselage
aviation
for a helicopter or
makes the plane turn
of an airplane, that
when
An airplane that has an
unpowered
A movable
rudder
during
set of wings.
oxidizer
oxygen, surrounding the Earth.

autoqiro
An astronaut trained
combustion chamber.
layer of gases, including
rotating wings, called
lift
autogiro.
Houston,Texas.
floats, or
pontoons.
flying
blades, that provide
one
wings,
a spacecraft.
atmosphere
An assembly of
rotor
facility that
spaceflights at Johnson
monoplane A fixed-wing airplane with
in
flying boat
fly
it
other down.
a special task or tasks
ornithopter
powered by an engine.
A person trained to
when
floats.
steerable, lighter-than-air craft
astronaut
aircraft
with one wing going up and the
or right horizontally.
orbit
A seaplane supported on the
float plane
aircraft.
airship
The movement of an
rotates,
spaceflight.
module
air.
flak
airplane
in
roll
air.
elevator
maneuvers
perform
speed of sound.
NASA
The
manned
mission specialist
a spacecraft.
aerobatics
to the
the speed of sound.
Space Center
fighter planes.
shape that hinders
pressure
air
is
monitors
Resistance created by an airplane's
drag
that
1.0
Mission Control
space.
dogfight
when
or
air.
chamber
separates areas of different
bank.
wing
as a
When two
dock
compared
aircraft
in
the lowered atmospheric pressure of
high altitudes.
Flying faster than the speed
supersonic
of sound.
thermal
rising
body of warm
used by
air
atmosphere.
barnstormers Traveling stunt
performed
after
World War
fliers
who
a
powered
An instrument that
bombsiqht
when
to release a
bomb
tells
to hit a
A Japanese suicide
bomb-laden planes
during World
The shaking of an
buffeting
aircraft as
War
lighter-than-air
Shockwaves.
that
A powerful device that launches
The compartment where the
where
fuel
flew
warships
is
II.
a rocket
and oxidizer are mixed and
thrust.
lift
Of
less
weight than the
thrust
air
flies in
propeller
one on top of another.
One
or
more blades
rotating on a
and driven by an engine to turn and
system of using radio
An
in
beams
to
air
passing
reentry
body Wingless
aircraft created to test
early space-plane designs.
The point
designed to
enemy
at
which
a spacecraft returns
control over
roll
from
during
yaw The movement
flight.
of an airplane's nose
side.
Also called zero 6, this
zero gravity
is
atmosphere.
astronauts feel
A vehicle used to launch spacecraft
rocket power.
IZ6
control
state of apparent weightlessness that
into space. Also a device or
a rocket ignites
A system that uses
wing warping
space and passes through Earth's
rocket
into the sky.
weightlessness The absence of notable
from side to
When
sets of wings,
wires to twist, or warp, the wings to achieve
air.
aircraft
An airplane with three
effects of gravity.
air.
the
take photographs and spy over
airfoil.
and launches
The pushing force created by a
propeller or by a jet or rocket engine that
propels an aircraft or spacecraft.
reconnaissance plane
the
and
triplane
radar
glider of paper or cloth
fuel
thrust.
navigate or locate objects
The upward force created by
liftoff
Russian term for astronaut.
outer space.
The combined rocket
territory.
around an
lifting
in
propel an airplane through the
displaced.
A tethered
kite
to gain height.
oxidizer a rocket engine burns to create
shaft
wind.
ignited to produce hot gases that create
cosmonaut
who
pilot
control an airplane or spacecraft.
combustion chamber The part of
into Allied
pilot
stretched over a framework that
airplanes from aircraft carriers.
sits to
designed
it
nears the speed of sound and encounters
cockpit
jetliner
bomber
target.
catapult
study a body
hundreds of passengers.
kamikaze
and gliders
rotor.
jumbo jet A wide-bodied
other.
birds
lift
propellant
to carry
crews
aircraft that gets vertical
A fixed-wing airplane with two
wings,one on top of the
sets of
An
I.
from
biplane
An unmanned
probe
helicopter
spacecraft sent to
weapon
using
zeppelin
the kind
first
Zeppelin of
when
the
floating in space.
rigid lighter-than-air airship of
created by Count Ferdinand von
Germany during World War
I.
Index
Boldface
A-3
rocket,
type indicates illustrations.
77
Coleman,
A-10 Thunderbolt 11,64,65

Aerodrome
5 ,14-15
No.
54,61,63,66-67,98
68-69
Air Force One,

air races,
18-19,20,
21,
module), 84, 86, 87, 92
Comet
jetliner,
"Flying Car,"
54-55, 62,
63
Aldrin,
Cornu,Paul,70
75
Benjamin
Davis,
Apollo missions, 10,80,82,
DC-3
54-55
0.,
48
Friendship
Garriot,
DC-9
jetliner,
106
Gemini program,
DH-4
fighter,
28
Gibson, Robert L, 110
atomic bombs, 56, 57
dirigibles,
14
100,105,106-7,108,
Clamorous Clennis
AV-88 Harrier"jump jet,"62
112,115
Doolittle,
rocket-plane),
James H.,31
B-17 Flying
B-24
53
52-53
121
Electra 10E,
12-13, 14,74,75
28-29
Bean, Alan, 89,
fighter, 48,
Bleriot, Louis,
49,50,53
1,20
Breitling Orbiter
83,100,102,104,105,
56-57
260 (aerobatic plane),
74
C-141B
F-1
73
80
Cayley, George, 1 2,
6,
70
Halberstadt fighter,
helicopters,
F-18 Hornet,
63,64
F-105DThunderchief,61
Cherry Blossom (Ohka
F-1
35
122-23
Schwalbe,
58-59
58-59
Hindenburg
60
110-11
Jet,
Flak Bait (B-26 bomber),
44-45
float
73
Orion P-3,
flight attendants,
34-35
72
P-51 Mustang,
48-49
40
Piccard, Bertrand, 74, 75
Green Giant" (HH-3E
helicopter),
Piper
61
Cub
J-3,
72
Post,Wiley,30,31
Powers, Francis Gary, 66
Jones, Brian, 74, 75
10-11
UH-1 Huey
helicopter, 70,
V-2
76
rocket,
71
30-31, 38-39
44B
71
Vertol
Rogers, Will, 30, 31
Vin Fizz (biplane), 21
Rutan,Dick,74
Voss,James,118,119
Saturn V rockets,
helicopter,
aircraft),
seaplanes,
707
Weber, M.S.,
Whittle, Frank,
68, 69
68-69, 115
jet,
98
White, Ed, 81
21,31,43
jetliner,
74-75
82-83, 94
Schirra,Wally,80
Shepard, Alan, 80, 81 90
Winnie
Mae
Women's
59
(Vega),
30-31
Airforce Service
Pilots
70
Skylab (space station), 5,
World
(WASPS), 53
Cruisers,
32-33
Wright, Katharine,
94-95
Slayton, Donald, 80,
97
19
Wright, Orville and Wilbur,
8,
11,16-19,20,21
Soyuz spacecraft, 96-97, 110

X-1 rocket-plane, 10,
35
100-15,117,118,121
space
suits, 5,
94-95,
80-81,
X-15 rocket-plane,
X-33 VentureStar,
58-59
78-79
120-21
X-37 spacecraft, 120, 121

X-43"HyperX','120,121
XI
monoplane,
Yeager, Chuck,
104,107
20-21
10,58
Yeager,Jeana,74
Young, John, 90,91, 100
36-37
Spitfire fighter,
48-49, 50,
(satellite),
76-77,
78
SR-71 Blackbird,
11,
66-67,
98,120
Staaken
Zeppelin, Ferdinand von, 26
Zeppelins,26 27
51
Sputnik
Pegasus rocket, 121
"Jenny" (Curtiss JN-4), 21, 28,
42, 44, 68,
94,121
SPADXIII(biplane),25
P-47 Thunderbolt, 48
116-19
42
Rodgers, Cat, 20,21
Spirit of Saint Louis, i,
International Space Station
48
86-87,89-91,98-99,
55
OleMiss (Robin),
50
Udvar-Hazy Center,
Vega,
space stations,
Ohka (kamikaze bomber),
108-9
8,
40, 41,
34-35
76-77, 82-83, 84,
110-11,116-19
Hubble Space Telescope
"Jolly
113
Spaatz, Carl,
Paulus, K.,13
53
22
Sopwith Camel, 22-26
rocks,8, 9, 10,86,88,
plane,
airliner,
8,
space shuttles, 11,83,
55
(airship),
247D
U-2 spy plane, 66
Sikorsky, Igor,
(jet fighter),
Noorduyn Norseman
Hellcat fighter,
Richthofen, Manfred von,
747 jumbo
16,60,61,
(ISS),110,111,
17A Nighthawk, 64-65
69
to,
89,90,92
60
Charles, Jacques, 12
46-47
27
22-23
"Red Baron,"8,
41
Tuskegee Airmen,
Voyager (long-distance
P-40Warhawk,49
64-65
F-86 Sabre
clippers (flying boats),
A., 34,
Goose" (Ford Tri-Motor),
Turner, Roscoe,
51,64,65
Ride, Sally,
96
46-47
40,41
S-3B Viking (fighter),63
Hydro plane, 21
Challenger (space shuttle), 105
bomber), 55
78
Montgolfierjoseph and
4 Tomcat, 63
F-16 Fighting Falcon,

1
body,
Etienne, 12
Hurricane (fighter),
F-4 Phantom 11,61
Starlifter,
lifting
Mir (space station),
44
Grissom,Gus,80
(HST),
C-130 Hercules, 73
Carpenter, Scott,
M2-F3
HH-3E helicopter,61
Enterprise (space shuttle), 11

Extra
3,74,75
78
53
70-71,87
EnolaGay (B-29 bomber),
95
body,
Moon
shuttle),
108,109,115
Alexander Graham, 13
lifting
MiG-1 5
38-39
Endeavour (space
M2-F1
Messerschmitts, 48, 49, 50,
77
Graf Zeppelin (airship),
38-39
47
flying boat,
81,98
Gossamer Condor, 74
86-87,92,93
40
biplane,
Mercury program, 10,80,
29
67
77
Rausch,Vince,121
rockets,
88-89, 90
Mars, missions
Gossamer Albatross, 1 4,75
86-87,
Clipper,
3-4,65
"Tin
radar, 50,
Thomas, 97
Thunderbirds (USAF team),
Rickenbacker, Eddie, 8,
M-1 30
Me 262
spy plane,
Goddard, Robert, 76,
63
Earhart, Amelia, 8, 31
B-52 bomber, 62, 78, 79,
Bf109
Prowler,
Eagle (lunar module), 84,
56-57,58
Bell,
E-2CHawkeye,63
EA-6B
B-29 Superfortress, 52,
barnstormers,
58-59
Gloster Meteor jet fighter, 59
B-26 Marauder, 53
balloons,
Hawk
34-35
Robin (biplane),
Macready, John
X-1
(Bell
gliders, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18,
Global
67
Fortress, 52,
Liberator,
44
Duke, Charles, 90, 92
B-2 Stealth Bomber,
M-2
Glennjohn, 10,80, 81
Dornier Do-X flying boat,
B-1B bomber, 62
buggy"),
14
autogyro, 71
63
49
lunar modules, 84,
80-81
GivaudanNo. 7,15
planes,
2, 1 3,
0wen,5,95
Giffard, Henri,
tri-motor),
314
(Fokker
22-23
Lopez, Donald,
Gagarin,Yuri,80,96
Discovery (space shuttle),
AWACS
120-21
78,
90,92-93
43
104-5,110-11,115
body" (wingless
Lunar Rover ("Moon
airliner,
103,
81
80,81
DC-7
87
Mark
R-7 rocket,
37,38
(capsule), 10,
DC-6 weather plane, 72
Armstrong,
Tereshkova, Valentin^
14, 15
P.,
Vinci, 12
Lilienthal, Otto,
70-71
104
Atlantis (space shuttle),
"lifting
aircraft),
84-93,94,96-97,100,
Neil, 84, 86,
Samuel
Leonardo da
34-35;
(capsule), 80,
Stafford,
Question
and Algene, 34
Langley,
42-43
airliner, 9,
35
G., 34,
Lindbergh, Charles, 8, 29, 36,
Freedom 7
Dauntless bomber,
Allen, Bryan, 74,
14-15
40,41
Daimler, Otto, 15
Oakley
Key, Fred
22-23
47J helicopter,
86-87
46-47
Ford Tri-Motor ("Tin Goose"),
44-45, 54
Edwin "Buzz," 84,
Kelly,
PW-9D(biplane),34
Quesada,Elwood,35
Quimby, Harriet,21
34, 35; trimotor,

triplane,
Curtiss,Glenn,21
airships,
kamikaze bombers, 55
Fokker aircraft:T-2 transport,
69
82
Jupiter rocket,
airplane,
73
machines,
flying
68
jetliner,
powered
flying boats, 29, 44,
Cooper, Gordon, 80, 98
68, 69
planes,31,33, 73
Flyer: first
8,16-17;TypeA,18-19
Columbia (space shuttle),
Concorde
aircraft carriers,
float
100-1,105,114,115
30-31,41
air traffic control,
28
Bessie,
Michael, 84, 87, 92
Columbia (Apollo
reconnaissance, 22,23,
aerial
Collins,
R.IV.
bomber),
(Zeppelin
26-27
Zero (fighter),
49
Source Notes
Picture Credits
Position
R=
on page:
bottom, T= top,
B=
C=
1=
center,
(NASM
Inc.
left,
Baggage Label
right
Sources: NASM = Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum,

SI = Smithsonian Institution, NASA = National Aeronautics and
Space Administration, NASA-ARC = NASA Ames Research
Center, NASA-KSC = NASA Kennedy Space Center, NASA-JSC =
NASA Johnson Space Center, NASA-DRFC = NASA Oryden Flight
Research Center, NASA-MSFC = NASA Marshall Space Flight
Center, NASA-LARC = NASA Langley Aeronautical
Research Center, NASA-SSC = NASA Stennis Space Center, USAF =
U.S. Air Force, DOD = Department of Defense.
Collection
NASM-1A10506;
1:
2000 USAF Thunderbirds, photo by TSgt Kevin
NASM; 1 0-1 1
Long,
Interface Multimedia,
999
10 B:
SI,
Eric F
BCNASM
NASM; 43
Collection,
NASM
98-20518);43 BR:
(SI
Airline
NASM
NASA-DRFC EC65-884;79 BR: NASA-DRFC EC61-0034.80 BL:
Airline
Poster
NASA-LARC
Baggage Label
81
EL- 1996-00089;
80 TR: NASA 61-MR3-109 80-
Eric
Long,
F.
NASM
44 CR: SI-94-1938;44 BR:
98-20504);
(SI
NASM
USAF.courtesy
SI-A-945-A; 44-45:
97-1 6235); 81 CBR: NASA-JSC S62-00303; 81 BR:
p. 1 7:
Eric
23:
from Orville Wright
letter
F.Long,
NASM
USAF.courtesy
NASM
97-17480);48-49
(SI
48-49
NASM
NASM
Long,
F.
97-15875);
(SI
98-15407);49 TR: Dane
(SI
NASM
74-4295);
(SI
Poster Collection
TR:NASM
Long,
NASM
5 164-2);
85
Sanderson,
Peter Alway;83 TR: NASA-KSC KSC-92PC-
Erie F.Long,
NASM
99-1 5165-6); 84 TC:
(51
99-151951:84-85
(SI
all
NASM; 84-85
R: NASA;
T: Fred
Eric
p.
B: Eric F.Long,
NASM
1978
86 BL: NASA-JSC S69-38749, 86-87:
NASA-JSC S75-29715;87 BR: NASA 69-H-1421.88 BL: Mark
NASM
Avino.NASM
(SI
2000-9371
89 TR: NASA-JSC
);
97-15094);88-89:
Eric
NASM
F.Long,
AS1 2-49-7278; 90 L:
98-15545);
(SI
Eric
F.
NASM
13 CL: SI-A-30908-A; 13 CR: SI-A-39013; 13 BL:
17019:14 B:
4x5 A&l
SI
12583, 14-15 C:
Coll.
NASM
B: Eric F.Long,
NASM
Poster
13 BR: SI-A-31421, 14 C:SI-87-
Garnet kx.Langley Model #5 and Houseboat
14-15
53 TR:
(SI
1933
(SI
Carl
Sams
R.
II;
16 B:Mark
(SI
97-
(SI
15333); 16-17 C: SI-A-26767-B; 16-17 B: SI-A-42363,
7 TR:
(SI
2000-9387); 55 BR:
56 BL: NASM
7306);
56-57:
R. G.
MPB Corporation
of the
NASM-
NASM
Avino,
(SI
NASM
NASM
95-8196);55 TR:
p.
36:
p.
39:
NASM
USAF.courtesy
JSC AS16-1 13-18294;92-93:
48:
Charles A. Lindbergh, The Spirit of St. Louis
Eric
NASM
(SI
BL: SI-A-38681 -B;
4483);
58 TR:
Friedman, 17 CR: SI-A-41898-E; 17 BR:
S.
NASM
2000-4554); 58 BL: USAF.courtesy
(SI
(New
York:
Amelia Earhart, Last Right
New York: Harcourt
Brace
letter of U.S.
combat
fighter pilot Quentin C.
to his fiancee, Jackie, in 1944.
p.
58:
NASA-KSC AS11 44-6642.94 BL:
95 TR: NASA-JSC SL3-108-1278; 95 TR:
2001
Howard
A speech
to
Parliament by British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill, August 1940.
Chuck Yeager, Yeager (New
York:
Bantam Books,
1985).
p.
75:
Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones, Around the World

in
S.
20 Days: The
Flight
(New
Story of Our History-Making Balloon
John Wiley & Sons,
York:
Inc.,
1999).
Friedman; 95 C: NASA-JSC S73-243 15.95 CTR: NASA-JSC

p.
2001 Howard
51:
NASA-JSC SL14-143-4706;95 TL: NASA-JSC SL3-108-1307;
2001-1900);57 BR: USAF.courtesy
(SI
p.
NASA-JSC S72- 1 5409; 94 TC: NASA-JSC S73-23952; 94-95:
98-15873). 57 TR:
(SI
for
98-15805): 90 BC:
(SI
117-18841,92 TR: NASA-JSC AS12-51-7510;92CR: NASA-
gift
85-
(SI
Wor
and Company, 1937).
18423,92 BL: NASA-JSC AS 16- 11 7- 18840; NASA-JSC AS16-
98-20692);
(SI
the Great
Washington Press
Charles Scribners Sons, 1953).
(SI
through AS16-107-17440;90-91: NASA-JSC AS16-114-
NASM
F Long,
Eric
NASM
U.S. Navy, courtesy
Long and Mark Avino.NASM
Eric
NASM,
Smith, Douglas SBD-3,
Poster Collection
2001-
(SI
91-1471)54 BL:
(SI
Memory and
NASA-JSC AS16-1 17-18825.90 B: NASA AS16-107-17432
97-15363);53 CR: Ross Chappie,
(Sl-2001-1899);53 BL: USAF.courtesy
SI-99-42462; 54-55:
SI,
1A32841;15TCR:NASM-1A15248;15BCR:NASM-9A00001;
16 CL:
NASM
Long,
F.
2047);53 BR: USAF photo, courtesy
96-15732);
94-2198), 15 TR:
NASM
Eric
1999).
89 BR: NASA-JSC
S71 -2 1 244;
Long,
Inc.,
A. Pisano, et al,
the Smithsonian Institution, 1992).
99-
(SI
Dominick
in the Air (Seattle: University of
Freeman.Sflfum
p.
NASM
A-46594-F);52-53:USAF,courtesy
25:
NASA-JSC AS1 1 -40-5868:87 TR: NASA-JSC S69-31 740, 87 CR:
Poster
98-20001 ); 52 BL: USAF, courtesy
84 BL:
50 BL: SI-85-7272;
98-20672); 50-51:
(SI
Frank Woottor\,Achtung,Spitfire!;51
1895,
Blockhouse, 1968,
80-2093);49CR:SI-81-896;49 BR:
(SI
B. Farrar,
T: Eric
NASM
C: USAF.courtesy
Richard
rocket drawings
97-17491);48 BR: USAF.courtesy
(SI
B:
Aanenson
Collection (SI 98-20121);
Aviation History
in
98-15802-11);82L: NASA-JSC S69-3996J.82BC:
(SI
NASA M-108;82-83T: NASA-KSC KSC-69P-0168, 82-83
94-2306); 44 BR: SI-89-9947; 47 TL:
(SI
SI-96-16068;47 C: SI-80-17077;48 BL: SI-2000-9714, 48 TC:
(SI
A19640490000);12-13:SI-93-2342;13T:SI-A-627-B;
to a friend.
Manfred von Richthofen.from an autobiographical
by Anne Millbrooke (Englewood, Colorado: Jeppesen
NASM
F Long,
Eric
Collection (SI
NASM; 12 BL: SI-A-3379-M; 12 TC: NASM (TMS-
(SI
account, The Red Baron, as quoted
NASM
98-15068);46TR:SI-80-9016;46-47:
(SI
book have been taken from the
in this
following sources:
NASA-JSC S65-30428; 80-81 B: NASA-JSC 564-2233 1
T:
81 TR: NASA-JSC S65-63197;81 CTR:
Poster Collection
Quotes used
p.
50 TR: NASM
Gruenwald; 5: NASA-JSC SL3-115-1837;8TR, 9: Carolyn Russo,
98-202921:43 CR:
SI
Collection;^ BL: SI-85-1941 1;44TR:
Penland,
Front Cover: NASA-KSC KSC-92PC-1895:

2-3:
Poster Collection,
86-
SL3-108-1292;95 CBR: NASA-JSC S73-38687;96 CTL:
NASM
(TMS-A19740481000);96CBL: courtesy The
86:
Neil
Armstrong
in a
NASM
Moon,
televised landing on the
July 20, 1969.
NASM (TMS-A19640054000), SI; 18
R Long,
18-19: SI-86-9865; 19TL: SI-A-42783-L, 19 TR: SI-85-10844;
20
NASM
CL: Georges Naudet Collection,
20 TR: SI-96-16073; 20-21
51-87-10389;
85-17170);2O BR:
(SI
NASM
Long,
Eric F
(SI
A-3853); 22-23:
J.
B.
22 BL:
USAF, courtesy
(SI
NASM
Deneen, Von Richthofen's Last Flight,
F Long,
NASM; 58-59:
USAF, courtesy
2001 Howard Friedman; 58-59 BL:

John Batchelor, 59 CR: Sl-75-16331 59 BR:
97-17485); 59 TR:
Illustration
NASM
60
(SI-79-4623);
TL: Richard Rash,
NASM, Sl;61 TR:
NASM
Photographs Collection [Driggs) (1993-0040-TEMP-0001),
Fairchild, via
1985 United Features Syndicate,
NASM
Robert Soubiran Collection,
2001
Howard
25 TR: Mark
Batchelor;
Avino,
NASM
(SI
94-2230); 27 TL: NASM-7A4491
(SI
28 TR:
SI-93- 16054;
Sgt.
27 TR: NASM-
28 BR:
SI-85- 1 2324-D;
SI-77-1 1793;30 BR: Carolyn Russo,
30-31
1982 Ralph
1911, courtesy
(SI
98-20101
);
B. Steele,
NASM
(SI
The Winnie
NASM; 31 TC: NASM
Eric
F.Long,
99-40459); 32 B: SI-A-32568-B; 32-33 T:
(SI
2001 -1890); 32-33 B:
33 TR: SI-75-2
Avino,
86;
34
(SI
Eric
F.Long,
NASM
NASM
F Long,
Eric
(SI
NASM
94-2285);
BL: SI-76-21 77; 34-35 T: SI-76-17446;
USAF, courtesy
NASM
Volga,
31 TR: NASM-2A40088; 31 CR: NASM-
(SI
34-35 B:
BL:
Neg 93-5512);
Mae at the
NASM
(SI
83-8854); 35 TC: Mark
37
Eric
C: Eric
NASM; 37 T: Dane
F Long,
F.
SI-78- 1 7771
Long,
;
B:
Nathaniel
0744;
Dewell Collection,
(SI
79-763);
38-39 T: SI-73-4032, 38-39
NASM
(SI
NASM
(SI
80-2082);
Historical Archives,
80-12338);41 TR: SI-91-14177; 41 C: SI-A-42344-E; 40 CL:

Airline
Baggage Label
Collection,
93-15843); 40 BLSI-90-10182, 42 CLDeltd
courtesy
NASM
Air Lines,
NASM (TMS-A19950279000),SI;42CT:NASM
(TMS-A19711461000),SI;42CB:NASM(TMS-A19710687022),
SI,
42 BL:
Sl-A- 1932;
42-43: American
Airlines, Inc.
98-15587);
Eric
(SI
F.
Long,
NASM
98 BL: Wnght/McCook
Eric
Field
F.
101; Robert L.Crippen in
p.
11 3: Sally Ride with
Staff Sgt. Steve
Dunaway;65 BL, BR:
T:
SI (SI
(NASM-
NASM
99- 15007); 66 TR:
Sgt.
York: Lothrop, Lee
Still
(WF-42364),NASM,98 BC: Courtesy
NASM
88-321,98 BR: NASA, courtesy of
Photograph
of Fairchild,
NASM
(SI
Thurow;
Eric
R:
NASM
(SI
NASM
(SI
108
JSC STS061-48-001,
9A-00030. 66-67:
Berliner,
102-103
2000-9349); 103: NASA-KSC KSC-96PC-
2001-2277); 106-107:
L:
Eric
F Long and
Illustration
NASA-MSFC 9263351; 108-109: NASA-
109 TR: NASA.The Hubble
(STScl/AURA, STScl-PRCOO- 1 2);
Heritage
Team
109 BR: NASA and Hubble
Team (STScl-PRC99-41 );
10 CL: NASA-KSC,
Don. Distance
(SI-88-l4302);68-69:USAF;69BL:NASM-1A14822;69TR:
NASA-JSC STS071-S-072; 111 TR:
British Aerospace, photo by Adrian Meredith; 69 BR:
Friedman; 1 1 1 BR: NASA-JSC STS76-71 3036; 1 12 TL: NASA-
(SI
2O01-1903);7OBL:SI-92-706;7O-71:EricF.
NASM
(SI
2000-9362); 71 BL:
F.
NASM
with
NOAA
1999
Historical Archives;
Kollars,
NASM
74
NASM (NASM
BL:
Friedman; 76-77: SI-77- 1020;
S.
77 CL:
NASM (TMS-
A19751576000).SI;78TR:NASM(TMS-A197U115000),SI;
225; 78-79:
Eric
F Long,
NASM
(SI
in Aviation.
Washington,
D.C.:
Smithsonian Institution Press, 1984.

L.
Visions of a Flying
and
Machine: The Wright
the Process of Invention. NYC: Scholastic,
98-15574-43); 112-1 13 C:
(SI
Jennings, Terry
12-1 1 3 B: NASA-KSC;
C:
NASA-DRFC EC91-659-2; 115
B:
J.
Planes, Gliders, Helicopters,
and Other
Flying Machines. NYC: Larousse Kingfisher Books,
13 CL: NASA MSFC
1995.
NASA-DRFC EC98-
20-1 21 NASA-DRFC ED98-4483 1

:
Lopez, Donald. Flight. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life, 1995.
Maurer, Richard. Rocket!
How A
Toy
Launched the Space Age
NYC: Crown, 1995
Patrick
BL:
Kam,
21 TR: NASA-DRFC
All art
by Pat Rawlings, courtesy
Center for Earth and Planetary Studies (CEPS).
77 BLSI-73-7925;
Eric F.Long,
NASM
2000-3882);
NASA; 123 B:Map by US Geological Survey, courtesy
1940 National Geographic Society;
78 BL:
(SI
121 BCR: NASA-LARC EL1997-00059; 121 BR: NASA MSFC-
Clark University (SI-A-44528-A); 77 CR: Clark
University (SI-A-42103);
F.Long,
00789/9905003; 122-123:
Anthony Stewart,
Eric
NASM
ED97-43968-4; 121 TCR: NASA-LARC EL- 1997-00038;
Breitling SA, courtesy NASM (NASM 9A0001 7); 76 L: SI-A-5367; 76 BC: SI-77-1 4261 76 R: 2001
T: B
Wiley, 1996.
Hardesty, Von., and Dominick Pisano. Black Wings: The
Time-Life
NASM, 75 BR:
77
Long,
NASA-DRFC ED98-44824-l;120TR: 2001
9A-00020); 75 CR: Carolyn Russo,
Howard
and Other
S.
NASA STS101-716-079;118-119:NASA MSFC 9503938. 120
Budd Davisson (SI-2001-1891);74-75: James A.Sugar;

75 TL: NASA-DFRC ECN-12604;75 TR: Breitling SA,
courtesy
Institute Staff. The Spinning Blackboard
DRFC EC00-0096-77;118 BC: NASA STS101-714-028; 118 TR:
73 TR: DoD photo by Tech.
USAF;
112 TR:
F.
13 TR: NASA-JSC STS051-10-025;
115
2001-1902);
Staff Sgt. Jerry Morrison,
in Aviation.
110-111:
44740-2; 116-117: NASA MSFC 9802675; 118 BL: NASA-
USAF; 73 CR: USAF photo by Scon Spitzer;
73 BR: DoD photo by
1994.
Doherty, Paul., and Dan Rathjen and Exploratorium Teacher
Jakab, Peter
Howard
NASA-KSC KSC-96PC-1334;115T:NASA-KSCKSC-92PC-1461;
and fly00017);73 TL: Hans

(SI
Poster Collection;
2001
BL:
9500974; 113 CR: NASA-JSC STS007-26-1 438; 114-115:
Long and Mark
Department of Commerce, Flying
Collection (fly00269
Groenhoff Photographic Collection,
Lono
Eric
Eric
2001-1877); 72 TR. BR: National Oceanic and
(SI
73 CL: Boeing
JSC,
2001-1888:71 TR:
Ed Kashi; 71 BR: U.S. Coast Guard; 72 BR:

Avino,
989 Glavkosmos, courtesy NASM
1 1
Women
1990.
NASM
Long,
CBR:
NYCWorkman,
Minneapolis: Lerner, 1991.
Brothers
F.
Long,
NASM-1B10487;71 CTR:NASM-9A00009;71
Minneapolis: Lerner, 1990.
Flights.
Briggs, Carole, At the Controls:
American Black
USAF; 68 BL: NASA-ARC; 68 TR: Boeing Historical Archives
SI
and Shepard Books, 1986).
Dynamic Experiments on Force and Motion. NYC: John
Heritage
Eric
landing,
& Back (New
NASA-KSC KSC-
104 BL: NASA S99-E-5065; 104-105:
John Batchelor;
F Long,
78 CTR: NASA-DRFC EC88-0180-4; 78 BR: NASA-DRFC ECN-
C: American Airlines,
Long,
Mark Avino,
CL: USAF
Eric
F.
1041;
USAF photo
66
Space
For Further Reading
99 TR: NASA-KSC KSC-OOPP-0532,
JSC STS068-67-013;102 BC: NASA-JSC S88-26662;
D.
2000 USAF
66 BL:
To
2001-
99PP-0532; 100-101: NASA-SSC 96-PC-828; 102 BL: NASA-
Staff
James
comments on the same
Susan Okie,
NASM
Long,
Collection
(SI
p.
97-16108); 98 TL:
(SI
98-1 501 2); 98 TR:
100 BL: NASA-KSC KSC-99PP-1337; 100
NASM
43
97 BR:
NASM
1901); 98-99: NASA;
7A21713);43TC:SI-97-15046;43TR:SI-89-1216,43CT:
Poster Collection (SI 98-20756);
75;
Long,
SI-98-41062.67 TR: NASA-DRFC EC94-42883-4.67 CR, BR:
Sgt.
C:
89-7061 ); 40 CR: Dane
80-2101);41 TL: Boeing
Sl-90-10186;40 C:
(SI
(SI
NASM-2B07750; 41 BL: SI-78- 1 3936; 40 TR:

L.
Penland,NASM
(SI
NASM
NASM; 37 BC: SI-A-42065-A, 37 BR:
38 BL: SI-86-
SI-A-45874;39 BR: Dane Penland,
38-39
Penland,
64 TR: USAF photo by Tech
Atmospheric Administration
97-15335);35TR:SI-76-15516;35C: 2001
Howard S.Friedman; 35 BR: NASM-1A46344;36 BL: SI-A-336;

36-37:
Coppage;
R.
photo by by Master Sgt. Rose Reynolds,
NASM
30
1975,NASM;97TR: NASA-JSC S75-
space shuttle
first
aboard the shuttle Columbia, April 12, 1981.
Blackburn, Ken., and Jeff Lammers. The World Record Paper
Summers; 63 TR: NASA-
Thunderbirds, photo by TSgt Kevin Gruenwald;
Poster Collection
2A40311;31 BR: SI-A-43352;32TL:
Gary
by by Staff Sgt. Andy
L:
29 CR:
SI-94-4476,
(SI
62-63: US Navy
Brunelle;
64 BR: NASA-DRFC-EC95-43249-04; 64-65
Dale Hrabak,
Poster Collection (SI 98-20079);
29 BL: SI-87-10374; 29 BR:
SI-89-1 182,
D.
Mossman; 64 CR: USAF photo by
NASM(SI81-14836),28-29:SI-A-4463;29TL:SI-85-12346-A;
29 TR: NASM
(SI
Magdaleno; 64 BL: USAF photo by
Officer 3rd Class Nick
F.Long,
1993-0063-TEMP-0002), NASM, 28
C.
96-97: Andrei Sokolov,5oyu/-/l/>oto
100: John Young, upon landing after the

flight
96 TR: NASA-JSC S75-33375;
Airplane Book.
Eric F
AC85-0740- 13,63 CR: DOD, 63 BR: US Navy photo by Petty
7A44903-1 27 CR: NASM-7A44903-2; 27 BR: World War

Exhibit Collection
Douglas
Staff Sgt.
photo by Chief Petty Officer Troy
26 CR:
Eric
Keller,
p.
Cosmonauts
of the Yuri Gagarin
NASM (NASM-1B33031),SI;62BL:USAF;62TL:
USAF photo by
T:
John
86-1 2094);
USAF (USAF-29589AC), courtesy NASM, 26-27:
NASM
24
A-48746-U), 24 BL:
(SI
Friedman; 24-25: Illustration
S.
Inc
Richard
Perot Foundation;
20361 97 CTR: NASA-JSC S75-29432, 97 CBR: NASA-JSC
Vietnam, 1978,
Museum
SI-75- 10226;
AST-03-1
60-61 Frank Wootton, Night Reconnaissance Over
2001-1887);61 CR:NASM-1B37661;61 BR: Courtesy of
by the
Over the Caspian Sea,
NASM(NASM-7A33647),SI;6OBL:NASM-7A33601;6OBR:
1971.NASM (SI86-5656);22 BR: NASM-9A00006, 23 BL:
96 BR:
NASM
2001-1889);60CL:SI-80-5653;60CR: USAF.courtesy
SI-97- 16672;
Lerrt
Training Center, Star City, Russia;
B,
SI-76-13317,23TR:SI-87-16023;23CR:WorldWarl
NASM; 23 BR:
96 BL:
S.
Dale Hrabak,
(St94-2184);21 TL: SI-72-10099; 21 TR: SI-89-21 352, 21 C:

SI-98-15036; 21 BR: SI-A-471 54;
(SI
Eric
94-2284); 79 BL:
1/8
NASM
Staff. Flight.
Alexandria.VATime-Life, 1990.
The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
i
i
-w/
he dream
of flight
is
as old as
human
airship
lindenburg; the dogfights
Chuck
o!
World
history.
Wars
collection of the National Air
the sound barrier; the Apollo astronauts
Based on the outstanding

and
Space Museum in Washington D.C., the
Book of Flight traces the remarkable story
of the pioneers, inventors, and pilots who
turned that dream into a reality.
Richly illustrated with more than 350
photographs and illustrations that portray the
development of aviation and space flight,
this book takes you on an exciting journey
through time. Here you'll experience the
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human
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steps on the
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flights;
Amelia Earhart's
the explosion of the
78155
U.S. $14.95
Canada $19.95

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The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

ational Air and Space

shuttle Endeavour roars toward space.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored

any form or by any means, electronic,

The author gratefully acknowledges the

mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written

the National Air and Space

permission of the Publisher.

of Louis Bleriot soars above

book possible. Dominick

Chairman of the Aeronautics

and Michael Neufeld, Curator

U.S. Cataloging-in-Publication Data

the English coast.This photograph

the Space History Division, read the

(Library of Congress Standards)

manuscript and offered many helpful

probably taken soon after Bleriot's

suggestions. Valerie Neal, Curator

questions throughout the project. Special

thanks to Melissa Keiser of the Archives

Flying in close formation,

the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds practice

the National Air and Space

Garriott deploys a solar

Includes the development of flight and

highly useful information. Thanks also to

Programs, and Patricia Graboske, Chief of

U.S. Cataloging-in-Publication Data

(Library of Congress Standards)

shield to shade the U.S. space station

gathered the photographs

questions about them with detailed and

the book and patiently answered

National Air and Space

from the collections of

in flight history illustrated

gave assistance and answered

the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space

Rinard. 1st ed.

assistance throughout the project.

Skylab from the Sun.

the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space

the assistance of her colleagues at the

ISBN 1-55209-619-X (bound)

National Air and Space

The photo editor gratefully acknowledges

National Air and Space

Kaske, Dan Hagedorn, and Brian Nicklas

support; Joanne London

the United States

(Aeronautics) for assistance with the

P.O.Box 1338, Ellicott Station

trophy and flight materiel collections as

David Gant (Exhibits) for assistance

scanning images; Cathleen Lewis and

Hyman, Visual Communications,

assistance with Soviet photographs and

(Center for Earth and

Design, Ltd., Arlington, Virginia

Planetary Studies) for assistance with

photography and maps; and the

Manager Educational Programs