National Air and Space Museum - July 19, 2025

Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall, Returning July 28

img { display: block; align: center; border: 0px;...

Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum

An artist's concept of the Milestones of Flight gallery.

Gallery Spotlight: Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall

When Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall reopens on July 28, some of the most iconic artifacts in the National Air and Space Museum collection will go back on display, including Apollo Lunar Module 2, Chuck Yeager's Bell X-1, and John Glenn's Mercury Friendship 7.

With artifacts arrayed along walls and suspended from the ceiling — and interpretive displays that provide background and context — this central gallery of our Washington, DC, location will invite visitors to explore the expansive collections that make up the rest of the Museum’s exhibits.

This exhibition is made possible by the generous support of The Boeing Company and the Thomas W. Haas Foundation.

GALLERY HIGHLIGHTS

A Valiant Return: North American X-15

At long last, the North American X-15 returns to display! Deinstalled in 2019, the X-15 was one of the first artifacts to leave Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall as part of our renovation. The rocket-powered X-15 flew faster and higher than any other airplane. It bridged the gap between human flight within the atmosphere and human flight beyond the atmosphere into space. Only three X-15s were built, and the one in Milestones of Flight was flown by Apollo astronaut Neil Armstrong.

New to the Gallery: Lunar Orbiter

Lunar Orbiter photographed against a black background.

Until the 1960s, high-resolution images of the Moon came from telescopes and could not capture the far side. The Lunar Orbiter program changed that. It placed probes in orbit around the Moon for satellite mapping, offering an improved view and access to the far side. Then the program was reconfigured to support the Apollo program. Five Lunar Orbiter missions photographed both the near and far sides of the Moon in 1966 and 1967 to prepare for the Apollo landings, including photographing potential landing sites. An engineering model of Lunar Orbiter joins the display in Milestones of Flight. Learn more in a new blog.

Pride of Place: Bell X-1 Glamorous Glennis

Bright orange Bell X-1 hanging in the gallery.

The exhibition also features the first aircraft to break the sound barrier. Chuck Yeager's flight in Bell X-1 Glamorous Glennis on October 14, 1947, demonstrated that aircraft could be designed to fly faster than sound. Yeager pushed the rocket-powered Bell X-1 to Mach 1.06, 700 miles per hour, at an altitude of 43,000 feet. Bell X-1’s success was a critical step on the path that has led to modern military jets routinely flying at supersonic speeds.

Behind-the-Scenes: Suspending Aircraft

A man in a high-viz vest works to suspend an aircraft in the museum.

To display so many iconic artifacts, Milestones of Flight takes advantage of its multi-level hall by suspending aircraft to be viewed from below on the first floor and at eye level from the second floor. In this photo, our team suspends the Bell XP-59A Airacomet, America's first jet-powered aircraft.