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N A T I O N A L   A I R   &   S P A C E   M U S E U M

Washington D.C.

The Bell X-1 was the first aircraft to break the sound barrier. It was affectionately named "Glamorous Glennis" by its world famous pilot Chuck Yeager as a tribute to his wife.

Mariner 2 was the first spacecraft to study another planet. On December 14, 1962, passing within 21,600 miles of Venus, scientific information was transmitted back to Earth. We learned that Venus is very hot, has no measureable magnetic fields or radiation belts, and there are no Walmarts anywhere on the face of the planet. Oh wait, that was in 1962, that was way before Walmart's meteoric rise. Fast-forwarding to today, perhaps Walmart has made some inroads into the Venus economy. Maybe we need to send another probe?

Aboard Friendship 7 on February 20, 1962, John Glenn was the first person to orbit the Earth.

The first American spacewalk was performed by Edward White aboard Gemini IV. Oh wait, he couldn't have been onboard, he had to venture outside the spacecraft. The first American spacewalk was performed by Edward White beside Gemini IV. How's that? Better?