The National Air and Space Museum Archives Division supports the Museum’s mission and assists scholars and researchers by acquiring, preserving, organizing and describing the documentary evidence of aerospace history.

The Archives Division’s collections span the history of flight from ancient times to the present day and include a wide range of visual and textual materials – over 12,000 cubic feet of documents, including over 900 individual collections, 2 million photographs, 9.5 million feet of motion picture film and 3,500 hours of video, and over 2 million technical drawings.

The Archives Division staff welcomes all inquiries from members of the public - researchers, students, and hobbyists. Contact us - we'll be happy to help.

THE ARCHIVES DIVISION HAS MOVED — SELECTED SERVICES REOPENING JANUARY 10, 2012

During the Fall of 2011, the National Air and Space Museum's Archives Division moved the majority of its offices and collections to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. The following services will reopen as of January 10, 2012:

Access to the reading room and collections located at the Steven F. Udvar Hazy Center (Tuesday-Friday 10am to 4pm by appointment)
Access to the Archives/Library Reading Room and Technical Files Collection in the Museum on the Mall (Tuesday-Friday, 10am to 4pm by appointment). Please note new hours.
Reproductions of drawings (custom search and all prepared sets), captured German/Japanese documents, and technical manuals
Photo orders
Photocopies of collections material

The following services will remain suspended until further notice:

Reproduction of materials on microfilm
Film and video requests
Audio collection request

The Archives expects many orders to be submitted upon reopening, so please anticipate delays in order fulfillment. Please only submit one of any type of order so that we can assist as many patrons as possible.

Please check this page for up-to-date information regarding the reopening of services. E-mail or call the new Archives phone number 703-572-4045 with questions.