The pigeon – ubiquitous bird, oft city-dweller, and… war hero? You might even consider the humble pigeon to be the first military aviator. Before radio, homing pigeons were one of the most reliable forms of communications for sailors at sea and troops in trenches. The American use of these feathered aviators really took off during World War I when trench warfare made it dangerous for human runners to deliver messages from the front line. And these birds were not only integral to communications, some even rose to the level of heroism. On today’s episode, Emily and Matt take you through the history of this often overlooked military asset and tell the story of one hero bird, Cher Ami.

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Pigeons Are Pilots Too

We see the connections to aviation and space in literally everything. From our favorite movies and the songs in our playlists to the latest news of space exploration and your commercial flight home for the holidays – aerospace is literally everywhere you look. Twice a month our hosts riff on some of the coolest stories of aviation and space history, news, and culture. We promise, whether you’re an AVGeek, wannabe Space Camper, or none of the above, you’ll find not only a connection to your life but you’ll learn something interesting in the process.

History

Society & Culture

AirSpace will be back in two weeks with brand new epsiodes. In the meantime, enjoy this episode from our friends at the podcast, This is Love.

When twin rovers named Spirit and Opportunity landed on Mars twenty years ago, they were only supposed to last 90 Martian days. But years passed, they were still alive, and engineers kept taking care of them. “I remember telling myself, ‘Please don’t die, Opportunity. Please don’t die.’”

Find more information about this episode here. 

AirSpace is from the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.

Bonus! This is Love: Tau = 10.8

While we get Season Nine ready for you, we turned to our friends at Sidedoor to bring you a story of running and running and running and running…in Space! We’ll let them take it from here:

Until the 1970s, women were barred from competing in U.S. marathons because of the belief that the "violent movements" of running would wreak havoc on their reproductive system, "thus defeating a woman’s true purpose in life, i.e., the bringing forth of strong children." Through a series of steps, stumbles—and one epic tackle—running pioneers like Roberta "Bobbi" Gibb and Kathrine Switzer blazed the trail for women marathoners who followed, including Sunita Williams—the first person to run the Boston Marathon in space!


Sunita Williams, astronaut
Jennifer Levasseur, curator, Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum
Peter Sagal, marathoner; host of NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
Bobbi Gibb, first woman to run the Boston Marathon
Kathrine Switzer, first women to officially run the Boston Marathon


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Bonus! Space Marathon

You’ll have new AirSpace episodes soon, but since they may have found Amelia Earhart’s plane(!!!) we thought we’d revisit our episode on her and Eleanor Roosevelt’s somewhat unlikely friendship.

On a spring evening in 1933, Amelia Earhart took first lady Eleanor Roosevelt on a joyride. Imagine two women—dressed for dinner at the White House (white gloves and all)—stealing away from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave to pilot and co-pilot a nighttime flight to Baltimore. On this episode of AirSpace, we’re detailing the high-flying friendship of these two women – from their shared background as social workers to their mutual love of flight and advocacy of women’s empowerment and social justice. Amelia and Elanor took the business of being role models seriously, leading by example and using their influence to elevate important societal issues. Talk about an influencer power couple!

Thanks to our guests who helped us contextualize their history and friendship – biographers Allida Black and Susan Butler.

AirSpace is made possible by the generous support of Olay.

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AirSpace Revisited - With a Little Help From My Friends

As we look forward to the upcoming total solar eclipse over North America, AirSpace is looking back in time to a much much older eclipse. In 1142 a total solar eclipse with much the same path as the one coming up April 8. It was also the sign in the sky the Seneca needed to join the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, a representative democracy that would govern six tribes below Lakes Erie and Ontario. Before a 1997 journal article, Western Historians insisted the eclipse that decided the Seneca happened much later in the 15th or 16th century. We talk to one of the authors of the paper about the tradition, evidence, and astronomy behind the more accurate date.

Thanks to our guest in this episode:


Dr. Barbara Alice Mann, Professor Emerita-University of Toledo


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When the Sun Went Out

Did you know that it takes the Earth 365-ish days to orbit the sun? It’s that ‘ish’ that makes February 29 a thing every four years. We talk to one of the Museum’s astronomy educators to get the low down on Leap Day.

Thanks to Astronomy Educator Shauna Brandt Edson for joining Emily for this episode.

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Pigeons Are Pilots Too

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