Milestones of Flight

This gallery features famous airplanes and spacecraft that exemplify the major achievements in the history of flight.

Among the achievements celebrated here: Charles Lindbergh's solo trip across the Atlantic in his Spirit of St. Louis; the first American jet aircraft, the Bell XP-59A Airacomet; the Bell X-1 in which "Chuck" Yeager first broke the mythical "sound barrier"; the fastest aircraft ever flown, the North American X-15; the Mercury capsule Friendship 7 flown by John Glenn; the Apollo 11 command module Columbia from the first lunar landing mission; Mariner, Pioneer, and Viking planetary explorers; and the first privately developed, piloted vehicle to reach space, SpaceShipOne. You can even touch a Moon rock.

A major renovation is now underway. The new Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall, to be completed for the Museum's 40th anniversary in 2016, will change the way we tell the many stories of how aviation and spaceflight have transformed the world.