January 30, 2026

— The National Air and Space Museum will count down to its 50th birthday this summer by showcasing artifacts from each of the 50 U.S. states before debuting five new galleries.

The Smithsonian repository for historic flying machines and record-setting rockets first opened July 1, 1976, as a gift for the nation's bicentennial. Now half a century later, the National Air and Space Museum is nearing the completion of a $1 billion, multi-year effort to reimagine and renovate its flagship building as celebrations are held for the U.S. semiquincentennial.

National Air and Space Museum 50th. Click to enlarge in new pop-up window. (Smithsonian)

Astronauts and astronomers

Among the exhibitions premiering on July 1, two are themed to space exploration as felt on and conducted from Earth.

The "RTX Living in the Space Age Hall," presented by the former Raytheon Technologies, replaces the museum's Space Race gallery. The exhibition looks at how technology developed for the exploration and utilization of the solar system has impacted how we live on Earth.

Artifacts in the hall span the nearly seven decades that humans have been sending objects (and then themselves) into space. RTX Living in the Space Age includes returning displays, such as NASA's backup Skylab orbital workshop and a full-scale engineering mockup of the Hubble Space Telescope, while also introduces new additions to the museum's collection, including Blue Origin's first New Shepard rocket to reach space and then return to make a vertical landing.

"The RTX Living in the Space Age exhibition is important because it is going to highlight not only the fact that we're going into space, but how we're living in space," said Bernard Harris, a former NASA astronaut and director at RTX, in a video statement.

Also opening is "U.S. National Science Foundation Discovering Our Universe," an exhibition of the tools that changed our understanding of the cosmos. Focused on the future of astronomy, the gallery displays scientific instruments from multiple space telescopes, including the Hubble.

Other exhibitions debuting on July 1 include "Jay I. Kislak World War II in the Air," "Textron How Things Fly" and the "Flight and the Arts Center." The latter will open with "The Ascent of Rauschenberg," featuring 40 works that highlight artist Robert Rauschenberg's focus on flight and space in his multi-medium paintings.

That leaves "At Home in Space" to open on Oct. 30 and "Modern Military Aviation" on Nov. 11 (Veteran's Day) to mark the completion of the renovations, including all 20 exhibition spaces, the full refacing of the building's exterior cladding and the replacement of outdated mechanical systems. The Smithsonian had hoped to have all of the work done by the museum's 50th but the schedule was impacted by last year's government shutdown.

Half-century celebration

The "50 for 50: 50 Artifacts from 50 States" countdown will kick off in May. The online feature will show how every part of the country has played a role in the history of air and space.

In addition, the museum will make the records for all of the objects currently on display at both of its location — the building on the Mall and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia — available online so no matter where you are, you can access images and information for the more than 6,000 objects in the national collection.

The popular Exploring Space Lecture Series will resume with a 50th anniversary theme, highlighting the science and stories behind objects from the museum's Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall.

A 50th anniversary film series will take place on the last Monday of every month at the museum's Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater in Washington. Selections include "Wall-E" and "Hidden Figures," as well as a special Feb. 2 screening of "The Right Stuff" introduced by the National Air and Space Museum's space history department chair Margaret Weitekamp and Project Mercury artifact curator Emily Margolis.

The museum's podcast, AirSpace, will also release an anniversary-themed limited series taking listeners behind the scenes of key moments in the museum's history. AirSpace is sponsored by Lockheed Martin.

Additional programs and projects may be added as the museum's 50th and United States 250th anniversary grow nearer.