Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Location | Chantilly, Virginia, United States |
---|---|
Coordinates | 38°54′41″N 77°26′39″W / 38.91139°N 77.44417°W |
Type | Aviation museum |
Visitors | 1.6 million (2017)[1] |
Public transit access | Fairfax Connector Route 983 |
Website | airandspace |
The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, also called the Udvar-Hazy Center, is the
The 760,000-square-foot (71,000 m2; 17-acre; 7.1 ha) facility was made possible by a $65 million donation in October 1999 to the Smithsonian Institution by
Architecture and facilities
Designed by
An expansion of the Udvar-Hazy Center is dedicated to the behind-the-scenes care of the Smithsonian's collection of aircraft, spacecraft, related artifacts and archival materials. On December 2, 2008, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center received a gift of $6 million for phase two from Airbus Americas Inc. — the largest corporate gift to the Smithsonian Institution in 2008.[6]
The wing includes:
- The Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar — spacious enough to accommodate several aircraft at one time with a second-floor viewing area designed to give visitors a behind-the-scenes look.[7]
- Archives — the foremost collection of documentary records of the history, science and technology of aeronautics and space flight will be housed in a single location for the first time, providing researchers with ample space and equipment.[6]
- The Emil Buehler Conservation Laboratory — provides conservators much-needed space to develop and execute specialized preservation strategies for artifacts.[6]
- Collections processing unit — a dedicated loading dock and specially designed secure area for initial inspection and analysis of artifacts.[8]
A further expansion of the collections center was approved in December 2016.[9] The addition will be made up of three additional storage modules on the south side of the building.[10]
Collection
The center was opened on December 15, 2003. The Udvar-Hazy Center displays historic aviation and space artifacts, especially items too large for the National Air and Space Museum's building on the National Mall, including:[5]
- The Enola Gay, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress which dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan
- The orbital spacecraft Space Shuttle Discovery was put on public display in the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar on April 19, 2012, replacing the atmospheric test vehicle, Space Shuttle Enterprise.[11]
- A first-generation tracking and data relay satellite (TDRS) that hangs directly above Discovery
- The Gemini 4 space capsule
- The Friendship 7 space capsule
- A Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft
- An Air France Concorde supersonic airliner
- A United States Air Force Lockheed C-121 Super Constellation,[12] the military version of the Lockheed Constellation("Connie") airliner
- The Boeing 367-80 ("Dash-80") jet transport, which was the prototype for the KC-135 tanker and the 707 airliner
- The only surviving Bell XV-15 experimental tiltrotor craft
- A PGM-11 Redstone rocket
- A SAM-N-2 Lark like the one which scored the first successful United States surface-to-air missile interception of a flying target
- The only surviving Verville-Sperry M-1 Messenger, the USAAS's first messenger aircraft
- The Langley Aerodrome A, an early attempt at powered flight by Smithsonian Secretary Samuel Pierpont Langley
- The Northrop N-1 experimental aircraft
- The only surviving Pan AmClipper Flying Cloud
- One of two surviving German Heinkel He 219 Uhu night fighters
- The only surviving German Dornier Do 335 Pfeil[13] fighter
- The only surviving German Horten Ho 229 prototype flying wing jet fighter/bomber
- The only surviving German Arado Ar 234 Blitz jet bomber
- The only surviving German Horten H.VI flying wing aircraft
- One of three surviving German Bachem Ba 349Natter rocket-powered interceptors
- The only surviving Japanese Nakajima J1N1-S Gekko
- The only surviving Japanese Aichi M6A1 Seiran
- The only surviving Japanese Kyushu J7W Shinden
- One of four surviving Northrop P-61 Black Widow night fighters
- One of two surviving Boeing P-26 Peashooter fighters
- A Bede BD-5, single-seat, home-built aircraft that was somewhat popular in the 1970s (5J version is the smallest crewed jet aircraft)
- The Beck-Mahoney Sorceress, known as the "winningest" racing biplane in aviation history
- A British Hawker Hurricane fighter
- A Japanese balloon bomb like the one that killed six U.S. civilians in Oregon during World War II
- Lockheed Martin X-35 Joint Strike Fighter, prototype of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II
- Gulf of Sidra incident (1989).
- The Gossamer Albatross, which was the first man-powered aircraft to fly across the English Channel
- The primary special-effects miniature of the "Mothership" used in the filming of Close Encounters of the Third Kind
- The Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer piloted by Steve Fossett for the first solo nonstop and nonrefueled circumnavigation of Earth
- The first aircraft operated by FedEx, a Dassault Falcon 20
- A piece of fabric from the LZ 129 Hindenburg that survived the Hindenburg disaster.
- Mercury-Atlas 10 unused Project Mercury spacecraft
- U.S. Coast Guard Sikorsky HH-52 Seaguard helicopter
- A Sikorsky JRS-1 twin-engine aircraft, one of only three surviving aircraft from the Attack on Pearl Harbor
- A Launch Entry Suit
- A Vought RF-8 Crusader reconnaissance aircraft
- A McDonnell Douglas F-4S Phantom II fighter
- A Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 fighter
- The NASA Pathfinder, an early solar powered aircraft
- A Piasecki PV-2 helicopter
- A French Caudron G.4 bomber
- A German Focke-Wulf Fw 190F fighter/bomber
- A British Westland Lysander Army cooperation aircraft
- A CASA 352L transport
- A Republic F-105D Thunderchief fighter-bomber
- A Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter
- Darryl Greenamyer's Grumman F8F Bearcat "Conquest I" racing aircraft
- The North American P-51C Mustang "Excalibur III" fighter
- A North American F-86 Sabre fighter
- A Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter
- A Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat fighter
- A Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 "Fishbed" fighter
- A Beechcraft Bonanza
- A Beechcraft Model 18
- A Bell 47 helicopter
- A Bell H-13 Sioux helicopter
- A Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopter
- A trainer aircraft
- A Grumman A-6E Intruder ground-attack aircraft
- A Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk fighter
- A Vought F4U-1D Corsair fighter
- A Piper J-3 Cub
- A Grumman G-22 Gulfhawk II
- An Aeronca C-2 ultralight aircraft
- The Stanley Nomad glider
- An Arrow Sport A2
- A FS-1300 communications satellite, previously a ground spare for Sirius Satellite Radio
- The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission payload that flew on STS-99.
- Shrike Commander
- Gondola of Breitling Orbiter 3,[14] the first balloon to fly around the world non-stop
- Gondola C-49 of Goodyear Blimp Columbia (N4A), class GZ-20, and Gondola of Goodyear Pilgrim[15][16]
- A Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka kamikaze aircraft
- A Pegasus XL air-launched rocket.
- Foam 331, an 9/11[17]
The museum is still in the process of installing exhibits, and 169 aircraft and 152 large space artifacts were on display as of May 2012;[5] plans called for the eventual installation of over 200 aircraft.[18] The current list is maintained at the Objects On Display page of the Smithsonian Institution NASM Collections site.
Events
A number of events are held at the museum throughout the year.[19] These include lectures, book signings, sleepovers, and events for children. Some of the museum's larger events include Air & Scare for Halloween,[20] an open house,[21] and Innovations in Flight: Family Day and Outdoor Aviation Display.[22]
Media appearances
The center made its first media appearance in the 2009 film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The center remained open while filming took place, although certain areas were closed.[23] The SR-71 that is on display in the museum is featured as the vehicle mode for Jetfire, a Decepticon who switches sides to become an Autobot, in the film. In the film, it is referred to simply as the National Air and Space Museum.[citation needed]
Gallery
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The Enola Gay
-
TheGemini VII space capsule
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An Air France Concorde F-BVFA
-
From top to bottom:North American P-51C Mustang, Boeing 367-80, and Bowlus BA-100 Baby Albatross.
See also
- List of aerospace museums
References
- ^ "Visitor Statistics". Smithsonian Newsdesk. Archived from the original on February 9, 2018. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- ^ Small, Lawrence M. (December 2003). "A Century's Roar and Buzz: Thanks to an immigrant's generosity, the Steven Udvar-Hazy Center opens its massive doors to the public". Smithsonian. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
- ^ "Steven F. Udvar Hazy Center History". Archived from the original on July 30, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
- ^ Triplett, W. "Hold everything!" Smithsonian. Vol. 34, December 2003, p. 59.
- ^ a b c "National Air and Space Museum Press Kit: Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Fact Sheet". Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on April 7, 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
- ^ ISBN 9781904832072. Archivedfrom the original on January 24, 2023. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
- ^ Irvine, Madison (October 11, 2017). "Experience the History of Wartime Aviation at Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center". Argunners Magazine | Military War History Website. Archived from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
- ^ National Air and Space Museum Receives Gift from Airbus for Phase Two of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Archived January 11, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Commission Action" (PDF). National Capital Planning Commission. December 1, 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- ^ "Executive Director's Recommendation" (PDF). National Capital Planning Commission. December 1, 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- ^ "Space Shuttle Discovery Flies to the Smithsonian". Smithsonian Nationalk Air and Space Museum. April 17, 2012. Archived from the original on May 7, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
- ^ "Lockheed 1049F-55-96 "Constellation" - National Air and Space Museum". Archived from the original on February 1, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- ^ Dornier Do-335 Archived May 17, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Gondola, Breitling Orbiter 3". Archived from the original on July 6, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
- ^ "Goodyear Blimp Gondola Goes to Smithsonian". Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
- ^ "The Airships Land at the Udvar-Hazy Center". Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
- ^ Magazine, Smithsonian. "First-Responder Rescue Truck From 9/11 Goes on Display at the National Air and Space Museum". www.smithsonianmag.com. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- ^ "Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: Looking Ahead" Archived December 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine Accessed September 30, 2006
- ^ "Events | National Air and Space Museum". airandspace.si.edu. Archived from the original on February 8, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
- ^ "Air & Scare | National Air and Space Museum". airandspace.si.edu. Archived from the original on February 6, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
- ^ "Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Open House | National Air and Space Museum". airandspace.si.edu. Archived from the original on February 6, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
- ^ "Family Day and Outdoor Aviation Display - Innovations in Flight Aircraft Display". Innovations in Flight Aircraft Display. Archived from the original on February 6, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
- ^ Keith Knight (June 7, 2008). "More High-Fliers at Air & Space". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 7, 2008. Retrieved October 27, 2017.