Come visit us!
Appointments are strongly recommended. Walk-in researchers may be turned away if security requirements are not met or complied with.
We recommend taking Metro
Federal Center SW Metro Station at 401 3rd St. SW, is 1 block away, serving Silver, Blue, and Orange Lines. L'Enfant at 600 Maryland Ave. SW is just over a half mile walk, serving the Orange, Silver, Blue, Yellow, and Green lines.
Parking is limited and expensive
If you are staying at one of the hotels, you will have to pay for parking in the hotel parking lot. The nearest public garage is beside Federal Center SW Metro station. Google Maps will give you the best idea of where parking lots are. Street parking is limited and on a meter system.
U.S. Citizens
Making an Appointment
A few days before your visit, contact the archives to make an appointment. Because we are a federal agency, we have security protocols that must be complied with. If they are not, researchers can and may be turned away.
We will need:
- Your full name
- Address
- Telephone number
- Research topic
- Dates of your visit
- *Confirmation that you are a U.S. citizen.
Our archivists can work with you to make the most of your vist with a little bit of communication! Please look through our Finding Aids page, and talk to the archivists to make sure that the materials you are looking for are here. You may find what you are looking for already scanned and available online by looking through our DMS. If you are younger than 16, you must be accompanied by a parent or guardian to perform research in our facility.
Please come to the West Entrance of the NASA Headquarters Building. There will be a security desk as soon as you walk in. You will stop there, tell the security personnel that you have an appointment for research in the Archives.
Please be prepared:
- Have your ID, such as a driver's license, state ID, military ID, badge from another federal agency, or U.S. passport.
- Have the name and phone number of the archivist you made the appointment with. You can find their phone numbers in their signature blocks. Security will call down to the Archives to inform the archivist of your arrival.
- Once they arrive, you will go through Security. Just like the airport, your bag will go through the x-ray machine and you will go through the scanner. The guard will direct you through and tell you when to retrieve your bag.
- The Archives are on the Concourse level, so you will take the elevator down with the archivist, who will then check you in, provide an orientation and reference interview if necessary, and then retrieve your boxes.
Non-U.S. Citizens
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Permanent Lawful Residents
Permanent Lawful Residents are permitted to use the same procedures as U.S. citizens.
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Non-U.S. Citizens
Please contact us at least 14 business days in advance to begin the security process. This timeline is not something NASA HQ Archives has any control over, and cannot be bypassed. Visitors who have not been cleared by security will not be admitted, regardless of whether they have an appointment.
Please come to the West Entrance of the NASA Headquarters Building. There will be a security desk as soon as you walk in. You will stop there, and tell the security personnel that you have an appointment for research in the Archives.
Please be prepared:
- Have your passport ready.
- The name and number of the archivist you made the appointment with. Their phone numbers are in their signature blocks. Security will call down to the Archives to inform the archivist of your arrival. Feel free to sit in the waiting room until they arrive to escort you.
- Once they arrive, you will go through Security. Just like the airport, your bag will go through the x-ray machine and you will go through the scanner. The guard will direct you through and tell you when to retrieve your bag.
- The Archives are on the Concourse level, so you will take the elevator down with the archivist, who will then check you in, provide an orientation and reference interview if necessary, and then retrieve your boxes.