In addition to serving as the department chair, Dr. Margaret A. Weitekamp curates the Museum's social and cultural history of spaceflight collection, more than 5,000 artifacts that include space memorabilia and space science fiction objects. These everyday mementos of the space age—which include toys and games, medals and awards, buttons and pins, as well as comics and trading cards—complete the story about spaceflight told by the Museum's collection of space hardware and technologies.

She is the author of Space Craze: America’s Enduring Fascination with Real and Imagined Spaceflight (Smithsonian Books, 2022), which won the 2024 Gardner-Lasser Aerospace History Literature Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), as well as Right Stuff, Wrong Sex: America's First Women in Space Program, which won the Eugene M. Emme Award for Astronautical Literature from the American Astronautical Society (AAS). With Matt Shindell, she expanded and revised the second edition of Spaceships: An Illustrated History of the Real and the Imagined (Smithsonian Books, 2022). In addition, she wrote an award-winning children’s picture book Pluto’s Secret: An Icy World’s Tale of Discovery (Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2013), in collaboration with David DeVorkin and illustrated by Diane Kidd.

She is currently working on a new project about 21st Century renovations of science and technology museums. 

Article

• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2019. "“Ahead, Warp Factor Three, Mr. Sulu”: Imagining Interstellar Faster‐Than‐Light Travel in Space Science Fiction." The Journal of Popular Culture, 52, (5) 1036–1057. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpcu.12844. 2019
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2017. "The image of scientists in The Big Bang Theory." Physics Today, 70, (1) 40–48. https://doi.org/10.1063/PT.3.3427. 2017
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2016. "Two Enterprises: Star Trek's Iconic Starship as Studio Model and Celebrity." Journal of Popular Film and Television, 44, (1) 2–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/01956051.2015.1075955. 2016
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2015. "‘We’re physicists’: Gender, genre and the image of scientists in The Big Bang Theory." The Journal of Popular Television, 3, (1) 75–92. https://doi.org/10.1386/jptv.3.1.75_1. 2015
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2013. "Review of Marie Lathers, Space Oddities: Women and Outer Space in Popular Film and Culture, 1960-2000." Technology and Culture, 54, (1) 38–39. https://doi.org/10.1353/tech.2013.0033. 2013
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• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2009. "Uniquely American or Universally Human? Commemorative Medals and Apollo 11 Symbolism." Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly, 16, (2) 18–25. 2009
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2008. "Selling Education in the Shape of a Shuttle, in a Special Issue: Celebrating 50th Anniversary NASA in Florida (1958-2008)." The Florida Historical Quarterly, 87 210–234. 2008
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2007. "Review of Almost Heaven: The Story of Women in Space." Historical Studies in the Physical and Biological Sciences, 37, (-) 134–135. 2007
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2007. "Review of The Astronaut Farmer, DVD, directed by Michael." Journal of American History, 112, (4) 157–158. 2007

Blog Posting

• Weitekamp, Margaret A. and Cochrane, Dorothy. 2019. "Remembering Geraldyn "Jerrie" Cobb." Air and Space Stories Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Apr 18, 2019. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/remembering-geraldyn-jerrie-cobb-pioneering-woman-aviator. 2019
• Weitekamp, Margaret and Cochrane, Dorothy S. 2019. "Remembering Geraldyn "Jerrie" Cobb Pioneering Woman Aviator." Air and Space Stories Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Apr 18, 2019. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/remembering-geraldyn-jerrie-cobb-pioneering-woman-aviator. 2019
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2016. "Enterprise Studio Model Back on Display." Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Stories Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Jun 27, 2016. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/enterprise-studio-model-back-display. 2016
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2016. "NASA's Early Stand on Women Astronauts: "No Present Plans to Include Women on Space Flights"." AIRSPACE BLOG: Behind the Scenes at the National Air and Space Museum 2016
• Weitekamp, Margaret A., Collum, Malcolm, and Wilson, David. 2016. "Revealing the Colors of the Star Trek Enterprise." Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Stories Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Aug 17, 2016. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/revealing-colors-star-trek-enterprise. 2016
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2015. "Inside the Enterprise Studio Model." AIRSPACE BLOG: Behind the Scenes at the National Air and Space Museum Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Apr 23, 2015. http://blog.nasm.si.edu/restoration/inside-star-trek-enterprise/. 2015
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2014. "Advising on the Star Trek Starship Enterprise." http://blog.nasm.si.edu Washington DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. December 30. http://blog.nasm.si.edu/behind-the-scenes/advising-on-the-enterprise/. 2014
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2014. "Moving the Star Trek Starship Enterprise Studio Model." AIRSPACE BLOG: Behind the Scenes at the National Air and Space Museum Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Sep 12, 2014. http://blog.nasm.si.edu/behind-the-scenes/moving-the-star-trek-starship-enterprise-studio-model/. 2014
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2014. "My Space Shuttle Memories, A Flickr Slideshow." AIRSPACE BLOG: Behind the Scenes at the National Air and Space Museum Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Jun 7, 2014. http://blog.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/my-space-shuttle-memories-a-flickr-slideshow/. 2014
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2013. "Pluto's Secret: Writing a Children's Book." http://blog.nasm.si.edu/ Washington, DC: National Air and Space Museum. March 8. http://blog.nasm.si.edu/behind-the-scenes/plutos-secret-writing-the-museums-first-childrens-book/. 2013
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. and DeVorkin, David H. 2013. "Vulcan? But It's Not Logical…." http://blog.nasm.si.edu/ Washington, DC: National Air and Space Museum. February 26. http://blog.nasm.si.edu/astronomy/vulcan-but-thats-not-logical/. 2013
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2013. "Women in Space." http://blog.nasm.si.edu/ Washington, DC: National Air and Space Museum. March 15. http://blog.nasm.si.edu/space/women-in-space/. 2013
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2012. "Bringing Buzz Lightyear to the Museum." http://blog.nasm.si.edu/ Washington, DC: National Air and Space Museum. March 30. http://blog.nasm.si.edu/highlights-from-the-collection/bringing-buzz-lightyear-to-the-museum/. 2012
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2011. "A Christmastime Price War--Over a Toy Ray Gun." http://blog.nasm.si.edu/ Washington, DC: National Air and Space Museum. December 15. http://blog.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/a-christmastime-price-war%E2%80%94over-a-toy-ray-gun/. 2011
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. and Young, Lisa A. 2011. "The Meaning Behind Folding an American Flag." http://blog.nasm.si.edu/ Washington, DC: National Air and Space Museum. December 21. http://blog.nasm.si.edu/behind-the-scenes/the-meaning-behind-folding-an-american-flag/. 2011

Book

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• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2022. Space Craze: America's Enduring Fascination with Real and Imagined Spaceflight. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Books. 2022
• Weitekamp, Margaret A., DeVorkin, David H., and Kidd, Diane. 2013. Pluto's Secret: An Icy World's Tale of Discovery. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers. 2013

Chapter

• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2025. "Kids, Commerce, and Communists: Access to Space in the 1980s." In Greedy Science: Creating Knowledge, Making Money, and Being Famous in the 1980s. Gordin, Michael D. and McCray, W. Patrick, editors. 123–146. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. 2025
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2019. "Space History Matures-and Reaches a Crossroads." In NASA in the Long Civil Rights Movement. Odom, Brian C. and Waring, Stephen P., editors. 11–27. Gainesville, Florida: University Press of Florida. 2019
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2016. "Men into Space: The Space Race and Entertainment Television." In The Cold War and Entertainment Television. Maguire, Lori, editor. 203–217. Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars. 2016
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2013. "More Than "Just Uhura": Understanding Star Trek's Lt. Uhura, Civil Rights, and Space History." In Star Trek and History (Wiley Pop Culture and History Series). Reagin, Nancy, editor. 22–38. New York: Wiley. 2013
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2013. "Setting the Scene for Human Spaceflights: Men Into Space and The Man and the Challenge." In Spacefarers: Images of Astronauts and Cosmonauts in the Heroic Era of Spaceflight. Neufeld, Michael J., editor. 9–33. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press. 2013
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2013. "Softening the Orbiter: The Space Shuttle as Plaything and Icon." In Analyzing Art and Aesthetics, Vol. 9, Artefacts: Studies in the History of Science and Technology. Goodyear, Anne Collins and Weitekamp, Margaret A., editors. 88–103. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press. 2013
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2010. "National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)." In Encyclopedia of US Political History, Volume 6, Postwar Consensus to Social Unrest, 1946–1975. Langston, Thomas, editor. 271–275. Washington, DC: CQ Press. 6 2010
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2010. "Space Memorabilia." In Space Exploration and Humanity: A Historical Encyclopedia. American Astronautical Society and Johnson, Stephen B., editors. 991–993. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. 2010
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2009. "Foreword." In Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream. Stone, Tanya Lee, editor. ix. Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press. 2009
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2007. "Apollo Command Module Handbag." In After Sputnik: 50 Years of the Space Age. Collins, Martin J., editor. 136. New York: Harper Collins. 2007
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2007. "Babylon 5 Jumpgate Pin." In After Sputnik: 50 Years of the Space Age. Collins, Martin J., editor. 226. New York: Harper Collins. 2007
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2007. "Close Encounters of the Third Kind Mother Ship Model." In After Sputnik: 50 Years of the Space Age. Collins, Martin J., editor. 176. New York: Harper Collins. 2007
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2007. "Early Science Fiction and the First Rocket Researchers." In After Sputnik: 50 Years of the Space Age. Collins, Martin J., editor. 20. New York: Harper Collins. 2007
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2007. "Envisioning the Future as a Dark Place." In After Sputnik: 50 Years of the Space Age. Collins, Martin J., editor. 181. New York: Harper Collins. 2007
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2007. "Gemini VI-A Jingle Bells and Harmonica." In After Sputnik: 50 Years of the Space Age. Collins, Martin J., editor. 102. New York: Harper Collins. 2007
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2007. "Imagining Space Exploration as a New Frontier." In After Sputnik: 50 Years of the Space Age. Collins, Martin J., editor. 99. New York: Harper Collins. 2007
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2007. "Making Science Fiction Real in the New Space Age." In After Sputnik: 50 Years of the Space Age. Collins, Martin J., editor. 64. New York: Harper Collins. 2007
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2007. "Re-imagining the Earth and How We Live." In After Sputnik: 50 Years of the Space Age. Collins, Martin J., editor. 175. New York: Harper Collins. 2007
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2007. "Simulating the Space Experience for Everyday Citizens." In After Sputnik: 50 Years of the Space Age. Collins, Martin J., editor. 247. New York: Harper Collins. 2007
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2007. "Space-themed Lunchbox and Thermos Bottle." In After Sputnik: 50 Years of the Space Age. Collins, Martin J., editor. 85. New York: Harper Collins. 2007
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2007. "Sputnik's Reverberation through Popular Culture." In After Sputnik: 50 Years of the Space Age. Collins, Martin J., editor. 44. New York: Harper Collins. 2007
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2007. "Star Trek Starship Enterprise Model." In After Sputnik: 50 Years of the Space Age. Collins, Martin J., editor. 98. New York: Harper Collins. 2007
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2007. "Toni Foster's Bracelet." In After Sputnik: 50 Years of the Space Age. Collins, Martin J., editor. 107. New York: Harper Collins. 2007

Report

• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2018. Writing Pluto's Secret. 2018

Review

• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2020. [Book review] "Women Spacefarers." Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly, 27, (1), 63–64. 2020
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2016. [Book review] "From Twilight to Limelight: Meet the Human Computers in Heels who Juggled Science and Family - Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, From Missiles to the Moon to Mars, by Nathalia Holt." Times Higher Education, 28 July 2016, 44–45. 2016
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2016. [Book review] "Go, Flight! The Unsung Heroes of Mission Control, 1965-1992, by Rich Houston and Milt Heflin." Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly, 23, (1), 64. 2016
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2015. [Book review] "Marketing the Moon: The Selling of the Apollo Lunar Program, by David Meerman Scott and Richard Jurek." Technology and Culture, 56, (3), 777–778. https://doi.org/10.1353/tech.2015.0081. 2015
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2013. [Book review] "Review of Kendrick Oliver, To Touch the Face of God: The Sacred, the Profane, and the American Space Program, 1957-1975." Times Higher Education (UK), 5. 2013
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2013. [Book review] "Rocket Girl: The Story of Mary Sherman Morgan, America’s First Female Rocket Scientist, by George D. Morgan." Times Higher Education (UK), 2013, (12), 52. 2013
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2011. [Book review] "Technology: The spacesuit unpicked." Nature, 475, (7356), 294–294. https://doi.org/10.1038/475294a. 2011
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2010. [Book review] "Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon by Buzz Aldrin and Ken Abraham." Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly, 17, 60–61. 2010
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2008. [Book review] "A History of the Kennedy Space Center." Isis, 99, 654–655. 2008
• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2008. [Book review] "We Came In Peace For All Mankind: The Untold Story Of The Apollo 11 Silicon Disc by Tahir Rahman." Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly, 15, 57. 2008

Webpage

• Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2019. Ride, Sally K. American National Biography. Ware, Susan, editor. Feb 28, 2019 American National Biography, Oxford University Press. 2019

Book

• Weitekamp, Margaret A. and Goodyear, Anne Collins, editors. 2013. Analyzing Art and Aesthetics. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press. In Artefacts: Studies in the History of Science and Technology. 2013