Rebecca Maksel

Rebecca Maksel is a senior associate editor at Air & Space.

The Northrop Grumman EA-6, the only electronic warfare aircraft in the Museum's collection, was flown to the Museum in March by members of Marine Squadron VMAQ-2.

The Prowler Retires After 48 Years of Electronic Warfare—And No Combat Losses

The iconic Northrop Grumman EA-6B flies into history—and the National Air and Space Museum collection.

Margery Durant and Ariel, circa 1931.

The "Air-minded" Socialite

In 1931, Margery Durant decided to share her love of aviation by embarking on a round-the-world flight.

Edward G. Gibson, science pilot for Skylab 4, demonstrates zero-gravity as he floats through the airlock module hatch. About astronauts’ life in space, Raymond Loewy wrote, “Whether their experience will be one to which they wish to return, rich and rewarding, or a ghastly stretch in some cosmic Devil’s Island, is, in a large way, up to us all.”

Making Skylab Human-Friendly

Best known for his iconic designs, from the Lucky Strike logo to <i>Air Force One</i>, Raymond Loewy also consulted on NASA’s first space station.

The National Air and Space Museum opened on July 1, 1976.

An Aerospace Landmark Begins a Major Renovation

Architect Gyo Obata's marble-and-glass museum is home to thousands of aerospace treasures.

Alaina Lewis with the 90-inch mahogany propeller she made for a Bristol F.2 Fighter, her most challenging job to date.

How to Make a Propeller in Six Days

Ask Alaina Lewis, proprietor of Culver Props, in Rolla, Missouri.

Pilots of No. 19 and No. 616 Squadrons—along with Flash the Alsatian and Rangy the spaniel—pose by a Spitfire. “How should you live if you are 20 and will be dead by the end of the summer?” asks Chaplain Guy Mayfield.

The Battle of Britain, Through a Chaplain's Eye

Guy Mayfield's diary records the hopes and fears of the young R.A.F. aircrews who risked their lives.

“Most wings have ribs and spars. This has no ribs,” says Karl Heinzel, above. The center wing portion has controllable camber for takeoff, climbing, and landing.

Restoration: The 1912 Olmstead Pusher

A Smithsonian retiree brings a Wright-era airplane back to life.

Audio announcements broadcast in rooms with a length greater than five times the width have noticeable echoes. Add hard floors and lots of background noise, and the audio will be further distorted.

The War on Annoying Airport Announcements

The quest for quieter airport terminals continues.

The Clementine model, its interstage and solid rocket motor (bottom half) were discarded before insertion into lunar orbit.

Clementine Pointed the Way to a Lunar Return

In the 1990s, this modest lunar orbiter found out what the moon is made of.

Hal Shelton’s 1949 map of United Air Lines’ Denver-Chicago route.

Mapping the Transcontinental Route for United Air Lines

Hal Shelton’s natural-color maps of the United States gave air travelers a whole new way to see the country.

A refueling stop at Mongalla, Sudan, in 1930. Oil and gas were supplied to the way stations by the Anglo-Dutch company Shell.

The Flying Darkroom

The photographs of Swissair founder Walter Mittelholzer.

The main entrance of Moisant International Airport in New Orleans, circa 1960s.

As Late as 1963, Some U.S. Airports Were Still Segregated

For many years, U.S. airspace was integrated, but ground terminals were not.

Surrounded by robotic tools for assembling satellites in space, Megan Smith looks forward to the day when a crewed habitat will orbit the moon.

To Build in Space

I love my job, and here’s how I got it.

Scientists need to get up higher than the 200-foot observation tower—and its view of the Peruvian Amazon—to see the big picture. That’s where NASA’s satellites come in.

Outbreak Forecasting

Using NASA satellites, scientists are learning to predict malaria outbreaks.

The Gottorf Globe as it currently appears, in the Kunstkamera Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The World According to Gottorf

The bizarre history of one of the world’s earliest planetariums.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain in flight, Philippines, 1945.

Air & Space Quiz: Experts Only

Author Peter Taylor notes that “Follow the Führer Above the Clouds” was just one of the propaganda images offered to the Ministry of Information by war artist Paul Nash. “The Ministry thought they were unlikely to be understood by the public and turned them down,” he writes. “Or perhaps they were trying to avoid starting a panic about flying Nazi sharks.”

When War Gets Weird

Pink Spitfires, flying sharks, parachuting pigeons: Surprising stuff from the Imperial War Museum collections.

1902: Wilbur Wright gliding down the steep slope of Big Kill Devil Hill.

Colorized Images Bring the Past to Life

Seeing iconic aviation photographs in a whole new way.

The new Dambuster squadron won't feature the traditional RAF roundel, but will display a gray “stealthy” version.

Five Things You Didn't Know About the RAF

A book of trivia to celebrate the centennial of the first air force.

Visitors to the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center can see the restored Heinkel He 219—unassembled, but still awe-inspiring.

A Feared Nazi Night Fighter Is Being Restored 70 Years Later

The Heinkel He 219 will soon have its nose-mounted radar back.

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