This week, we visit Colorado!

This week we visit Nebraska!

This week we visit Nevada! Between 1965 to 1972 every Apollo astronaut that walked on the moon trained at the Nevada Space Proving Grounds within the Nevada National Security Site. Also located in The Silver State is Nellis Air Force Base, the home of the Air Force and Space Force's Weapons School, the Red Flag Exercises, and the famed Thunderbirds.

This week, we visit West Virginia! Learn about the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory which serves as an important center of production for solid rocket motors for ammunition, rockets, and armaments. We also discuss West Virginia State University’s role as the first historically Black college to run a Civilian Pilot Training Program, and the incredibly important work done by Katherine Johnson in support of the Gemini, Mercury, Apollo, and Shuttle programs.

This week we visit Kansas! Some of the biggest names in aviation have roots in the Sunflower State, including Clyde Cessna, Walter and Olive Ann Beech, Al Mooney, Clyde Stearman, and Bill Lear. During World War II, Wichita was a key site for Boeing’s production of the PT-17 Stearman and the famed B-29 and these plants still produce aircraft today. On the space side, 4 astronauts come from Kansas, and 15 Kansas suppliers support NASA’s Orion spacecraft.

This week we visit Oregon! The Beaver State has often served as a training ground for astronauts in places like Lave Butte, Big Obsidian Lava Flow, Skylight Cave, Crater lake, and Painted Hills. When it comes to aviation, the state was home to famed pilot Tex Rankin, who operated one of the biggest flight schools in the nation, set multiple aerial records, and played a key role in producing military pilots in WWII. He even taught Jimmy Steward, Edger Bergen, and Errol Flynn how to fly.

This week we visit Minnesota! Five astronauts come from the North Star State, as did Robert Gilruth—the first Director of NASA’s Manned Spacecraft Center, and was a pivotal figure in the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. On the air side, famed aviator Charles Lindbergh was raised in Minnesota. He was a generational aviation force, whose impact extends well beyond his famed transatlantic flight.

This week we visit California! From the dawn of aviation to the present day, the Golden State has played an important role when it comes to training pilots, building aircraft, executing record-setting flights, innovating new technologies, and advancing flight test. On the space side, the state is a similar innovation, production, test, and launch juggernaut. On top of this, 29 astronauts are from California, and the state is home to important NASA and Space Force facilities! 

This week we visit Wisconsin! The Badger State was the home of airpower pioneer Brig Gen Billy Mitchell, top WWII U.S. ace Richard Bong, plus famed astronauts Jim Lovell and Deke Slayton. The state is also the location of EAA's massive Airventure airshow in Oshkosh.

This week we visit Iowa! Even though it is landlocked, the Hawkeye State played a big role in naval aviation history. It was the home of Eugene Ely, an early naval aviation pioneer who was the first pilot to takeoff and land from the deck of a ship. Iowa was also the home of Naval Air Station Ottumwa, which graduated 4,626 Navy pilots during World War II. On the space side, seven astronauts come from Iowa including Dr. Laurel Clark, Loren Shriver, and Peggy Whitson.