National Air and Space Museum, Aviation museum on National Mall, Washington D.C., United States.
The National Air and Space Museum is an aviation and space museum on the National Mall in Washington D.C. that displays aircraft, spacecraft, and rockets. The collection spans two locations and features hundreds of original objects from the history of flight.
The museum opened in July 1976 after thirty years of planning and collecting objects. Congress established the institution in 1946, shortly after World War II.
The place houses pieces from hundreds of years of aviation history, showing the shift from the first powered flights to space travel. Visitors see capsules that carried humans to the moon and machines that lifted off more than a century ago.
The main location sits on Jefferson Drive between 4th and 7th Street SW and opens daily without admission charge. The galleries spread across multiple floors, so plan time for thorough exploration.
A second location near Dulles Airport displays larger machines in wide hangars, including a Space Shuttle and a supersonic airliner. The hangar hall there offers more room for bulky objects that do not fit on the National Mall.
Location: Washington, D.C.
Inception: 1946
Official opening: 1976
Elevation above the sea: 4 m
Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible
Fee: No
Operator: Smithsonian Institution
Part of: Smithsonian Institution
Address: 655 Jefferson Dr SW, Washington, DC 20560
Opening Hours: Monday-Sunday 10:00-17:30
Phone: +12026332214
Email: NASM-VisitorServices@si.edu
Website: https://airandspace.si.edu
GPS coordinates: 38.88833,-77.02000
Latest update: December 4, 2025 19:00
Washington DC, the capital of the United States, houses the three branches of federal government and the nation's most significant political institutions. The White House serves as the presidential residence, while the Capitol building hosts Congress and the Supreme Court represents the judicial branch. The National Mall extends 2 miles (3 kilometers) and connects historic monuments such as the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, and Washington Monument, which commemorate the nation's founders. The city holds an exceptional concentration of museums, many belonging to the Smithsonian Institution and offering free admission. The National Air and Space Museum displays the history of aviation and space exploration, while the National Gallery of Art presents an extensive collection of European and American art. The Library of Congress preserves over 170 million items and ranks as the largest library in the world. Memorials such as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial honor significant events and figures in American history. Historic districts like Georgetown and Embassy Row, along with green spaces such as the Tidal Basin and Theodore Roosevelt Island Park, complement the capital's cultural and natural offerings.
Sites dedicated to space research and UFO phenomena include scientific facilities and historic places where humans try to understand the universe and explore the question of extraterrestrial life. These sites include radio telescopes that listen to signals from space, space launch centers, labs where planetary missions are planned, and museums that keep the history of space programs. Some places like the Very Large Array in New Mexico or the Jodrell Bank Observatory in England have been watching the cosmos for decades. Others, like the Kennedy Space Center in Florida or the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, serve as bases for current space missions. The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington holds thousands of objects from the history of space exploration. The Roswell Museum in New Mexico documents one of the most famous UFO incidents. Area 51 in Nevada, a military site closed to the public, keeps fueling rumors about secret aerospace research.
Washington D.C is more than just the White House and the presidency of the United States. The city contains a collection of iconic monuments, national museums, and government buildings that represent American history and culture. Here, we suggest stepping off the beaten path and discovering the city from another perspective, away from the noise of American politics.
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