Smithsonian Journeys Experts

Roger D. Launius is former chief historian of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and most recently Associate Director for Collections and Curatorial Affairs at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum. He is the author, most recently, of NACA to NASA to Now: The Frontiers of Air and Space in the American Century (NASA SP-2022-4419, 2023); Apollo's Legacy: The Space Race in Perspective (Smithsonian Books, 2019); Reaching for the Moon: A Short History of Space Race (Yale University Press, 2019); and The Smithsonian History of Space Exploration: From the Ancient World to the Extraterrestrial Future (Smithsonian Books, 2018). He is also a recipient of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal and the Exceptional Achievement Medal. He has been a guest commentator on space history for all the major television and news radio networks.