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The Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum (NASM) maintains the largest collection of historic air and spacecraft in the world. It is also a vital center for research into the history, science, and technology of aviation and space flight.
The Museum has two display facilities. The flagship building on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. has hundreds of artifacts on display including the original Wright 1903 Flyer, the "Spirit of St. Louis," Apollo 11 command module, and a Lunar rock sample that visitors can touch. The new Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center displays many more artifacts including the Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird", Boeing B-29 Superfortress "Enola Gay" and Space Shuttle "Enterprise". The museum continues to develop new exhibits to examine the impact of air and space technology on science and society.
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The National Air and Space Museum is the nation's repository of technological instruments in the fields of aviation and space exploration. The collection of technologies housed at the Museum on the Mall and a soon to be completed hangar near Dulles International Airport. The website includes digital versions of all online exhibits and many past exhibits. The site also includes the on-line only "Commemorations in the Archives" exhibit which includes archival photographs, video and audio files about the breaking of the sound barrier, Charles Lindberg and the Zeppelin. Scholars will find the NASM Archive Division site useful as it has detailed information about collections and access to them.