Monthly Archive for July, 2009

Missing Something?

Published by The National Air and Space Museum on July 31, 2009 in Behind The Scenes and restoration.
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Most of us have a “junk drawer” that contains, among other oddments, stray keys.  Restoration specialists working on the Douglas World Cruiser “Chicago” recently found two such strays in the aircraft:

Since the “church key” (can opener) was found on top of the engine, it was probably used to open oil cans rather than refreshments for the pilots. The skeleton key is more mysterious.  Restoration specialist Will Lee, who found it in the seat of the rear cockpit, reports that it was pristine but unmarked.  So, if your house predates the 1924 flight, have you been wondering where one of your keys is?  We might have it!

Anne McCombs is a restoration specialist in the Collections Division of the National Air and Space Museum.

The Veteran Behind the Airplane

Published by The National Air and Space Museum on July 29, 2009 in Aviation, Behind The Scenes, History, On View at the Museum and Stories.
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The docents at the Udvar-Hazy Center enjoyed meeting a special visitor on May 16, 2009. His name is Jim Henry, a WWII naval aviator. Henry was one of the pilots that flew the F4U-1D Corsair that is on display at the Center. He and his wife Debra traveled from California with the express purpose of visiting his former aircraft.

Jim Henry and Udvar-Hazy Center docent Bruce Cranford, one of the docents who met with Henry, in front of the Corsair.

He carried with him a small briefcase packed with aircraft identification, photos, and memorabilia of his years in the military. Henry located the craft by reading a publication that identified by bureau number those Corsairs that still survive. He shared a number of photos with us, which verify that the BU numbers match the Museum’s aircraft.

Henry said he first flew the aircraft in 1944 on the East Coast and later in the southeast, although he was never assigned to a squadron that maintained the aircraft. When he was posted to an overseas assignment in the Pacific along the coast of China, he piloted Grumman F4F Wildcats, which he felt was a letdown after flying the Corsair.

He was a delightful and engaging person and it was a pleasure to meet one of the people behind the artifacts we so often talk about during our tours at the Udvar-Hazy Center.

Jim Iannuzzi is a member of the Udvar-Hazy Center docent corps and currently serves as Docent Council chairman.

The Museum, the Udvar-Hazy Center, and Tysons Corner, Virginia

Published by Paul Ceruzzi on July 27, 2009 in Behind The Scenes, Publications, Research and Stories.
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“You wrote a book about Tysons Corner? Isn’t that a shopping mall?”

Tysons Corner, Virginia circa 1957. Photo courtesy of Fairfax County Library, Photographic Archive.

I’ve lost count of the times I’ve gotten this response from colleagues when I tell them that, yes, I wrote a book about Tysons Corner, Virginia, a suburban crossroads about ten miles west of the National Air and Space Museum. What’s more, I wrote it on “company time,” as part of my duties as a curator in the Division of Space History. Tysons Corner is home to Tysons Corner Center, one of the largest malls on the East Coast, and Tysons Galleria, an upscale mall that is a little beyond my budget. It is also home to “Fairfax Square,” where one can buy Hermes scarves, Gucci loafers, and Tiffany… whatever they make (way beyond my budget).

Tysons Corner, VA in 2005. Image courtesy USGS

Tysons Corner, VA in 2005. Image courtesy USGS

But that’s not why I wrote the book. What private company is the largest single employer in Northern Virginia? The answer: Northrop Grumman, which in 2004 had 19,000 local employees, scattered throughout the Dulles Corridor. General Dynamics has its headquarters in nearby Falls Church, and Boeing and Lockheed Martin are also major employers in the region. True, they do not make airplanes or spacecraft here. What they do is the vaguely-defined “systems integration,” or that catch-all phrase, “IT” (Information Technology). The CEO of Northrop Grumman recently said that Northrop Grumman is fundamentally an IT company that also happens to build air and space craft. The company was formed in 1994 by the merger of Northrop, whose “Polar Star” is on display in National Air and Space Museum’s “Golden Age” exhibit, and Grumman, which built the Lunar Modules that took twelve astronauts to the Moon 40 years ago. Let’s hope that U.S. aerospace companies continue to build flying machines of such beauty. I wrote Internet Alley because, as I drove to and from the Udvar-Hazy Center during its construction, I wanted to find out what was going on in all the buildings that I passed on the way.

One final note on the title: “Internet Alley” refers to the Dulles Corridor, where historically the management and overall design of the Internet took place, even if its engineering was done elsewhere. For many years the primary switch for all East Coast Internet traffic was located in the parking garage of a modest building in Tysons Corner, and to this day the “root server” that keeps track of all the dot-com addresses is located near Dulles Airport.

So there you have it, and perhaps you may think of all this the next time you go to the mall.

Paul Ceruzzi is a curator specializing in aerospace computing and electronics in the Division of Space History at the National Air and Space Museum.

Blériot's Cross-Channel Flight

Published by Allan Janus on July 25, 2009 in Archives, Aviation, History and Stories.
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NASM-2B02568, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Archives

Louis Blériot sitting in his Bleriot XI at the start of his cross-Channel flight of 25 July 1909. NASM-2B02568, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Archives

Early in the morning of July 25th, 1909 – a hundred years ago today - Louis Blériot (1872-1936) crossed the English Channel, a distance of 22 statute miles (36.6 km) from Les Barraques (near Calais) to Dover. There had been longer flights and further flights, but the conquest of the Channel by air was a sensation and brought Blériot instant fame. Blériot had been a successful manufacturer of automobile headlamps who became fascinated by aeronautics in starting in 1901.  He brought his latest aircraft to Les Barraques, the Type XI, a little monoplane fitted with a 25-horsepower, 3 cylinder Anzani motor. The London Daily Mail had put up a £1,000 prize for the first airplane flight across the Channel, and Blériot was competing with two other aviators, Hubert Latham and Charles de Lambert. Lambert, who received his training from Wilbur Wright, had been injured in a test flight and was out of the running. Latham had already attempted a Channel flight – he had made it halfway across the Channel in his Antoinette IV monoplane on July 19 when engine failure brought him down in a forced landing in the sea.  On the morning of the 25th, Latham was ready for another attempt with a replacement aircraft, but was still fast asleep when Blériot took to the air.

The flight took 36 minutes, 30 seconds, and was not without suspense. Blériot had also been injured in a test flight and was in pain with a badly injured foot. The photograph above, taken just before the flight, shows the strain that Blériot was under. It began to rain, and Blériot feared that the moisture would cause the Anzani to pack it in. The weather became turbulent, and visibility declined; he later recalled thinking – I am alone. I can see nothing at all. At Dover, the wind nearly caused him to crash, and his landing gear and propeller were damaged. But he had made it, and he was declared the winner. It was the first successful flight by an airplane over a large body of water. Hubert Latham was not happy when he finally woke up.

Louis Blériot, standing on the left, after landing at Dover. SI93-9132, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Archives.

Blériot became a hero, celebrated on both sides of the Channel. And his Type XI became a best seller – many were produced by the Blériot firm, others by foreign licensees, and many were built by enthusiastic amateur builders in Europe and America. The Museum has a Blériot Type XI built by Blériot Aéronautique at Levallois, Perret, France, in 1914 and originally flown by Swiss aviator John Domenjoz, a Blériot company flight instructor and noted daredevil. Blériot’s original Type XI is in the possession of the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris, which has a special exhibit on Blériot’s flight. A replica Type XI built by Pascal Kremer will attempt to repeat the flight today – here’s a video of it in flight.

A postcard caricature of Louis Blériot, 1909 - an example of Blériotmania from the time of his flight. Georges Naudet Collection (Acc. XXXX-0479), SI 85-17170.

Allan Janus is a museum specialist in the Museum’s Archives Division.

The World’s First Military Airplane

Published by The National Air and Space Museum on July 23, 2009 in Aviation, Highlights from the Collection and History.
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The 1909 Wright Military Flyer on display at the National Air and Space Museum. Smithsonian image 2005-20387

This summer, the world is marking the 40th anniversary of one of the greatest milestones in aerospace history, and one of the most remarkable of all human achievements—the first Moon landing by Apollo 11.  But the summer of 2009 also marks another meaningful event in aerospace history.  It is the centennial of military aviation.  Almost from the outset of successful human flight following the Wright brothers’ breakthrough flights in 1903, the application of this new technology for military purposes was discussed and speculated upon.  Just as most recognized the airplane would change the world in general, many foresaw, with a fair degree of accuracy, that the airplane would have profound implications for warfare and military defense.

The National Air and Space Museum famously has in its collection the original 1903 Wright Flyer, but the Museum also possesses the 1909 Wright Military Flyer, the world’s first military airplane.  After bringing their design to a level of practicality in 1905, the Wright brothers set about finding a customer for their invention.  An obvious choice was the U.S. Army, who had already been developing an aeronautical program with lighter-than-air vehicles.  In 1908, the U.S. Army Signal Corps advertised for bids for a two-seat observation aircraft, and Orville Wright came to Fort Myer, Va., with a Wright machine to demonstrate and attempt to meet the Army’s performance requirements.  Midway through the trials, on September 17, 1908, the Wright airplane malfunctioned and crashed, severely injuring Orville and killing his passenger, the Army’s official observer, Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge.  Both Wilbur and Orville returned to Fort Myer in 1909 with a new airplane and successfully completed the trials.  On August 2, 1909, the Signal Corps officially accepted the Wright airplane, the first purchased and put into service by any government.  The 1909 Wright Military Flyer served until 1911, training Army pilots, and was then transferred to the Smithsonian Institution for public display.  It is the seed that spawned the military aerospace industry, and a significant portion of aviation history.

In these modern times, when it is almost impossible to talk about military actions without an aviation component, I often think of a quote from Orville Wright, who during World War II was asked if he had any regrets about inventing the airplane in light of the massive destruction then being wrought from the air.  He replied: “I don’t have any regrets … .  I feel about the airplane much the same as I do in regard to fire.  I regret all the terrible damage caused by fire.  But I think it is good for the human race that someone discovered how to … put fire to thousands of important uses.”  Of course, when reflecting upon the military applications of flight technology, its destructive and somber elements must never be dismissed.  But we must also appreciate and admire the skills, goals, and accomplishments with which military aviators have employed the Wrights’ invention.  In 2009 we observe a century of military aviation, and it all began with that frail Wright machine that hangs in the National Air and Space Museum.

Peter L. Jakab is Associate Director for Collections and Curatorial Affairs at the National Air and Space Museum.

One Way Museum Visitors Help Develop Exhibitions

Published by Tim Grove on July 22, 2009 in Behind The Scenes, Exhibitions, space and Web & New Media.
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A Museum evaluator talks with visitors as they try a new interactive.

Last week we began evaluating the first of four new computer interactives that will go into the upcoming “Moving Beyond Earth” exhibition. Visitors got to test their space knowledge with a simulation of Space Flight Academy, a quiz format that will allow up to fifteen people to play at a time. Over the next month we will give visitors the opportunity to help us test three more interactives: one is a multi-touch table where six people at a time will gather around and design their own space station modules; one allows the visitor to play the role of flight director in a real-life mission scenario; and one matches a visitor’s interests and skills with several fascinating jobs in the space industry.

Visitors try out a new interactive still in development.

Most Museum visitors don’t realize how much work goes into each and every interactive component in an exhibition. Whether it’s mechanical or computer-based, an interactive must have several qualities:
• It must be engaging – visitors must want to do it
• It must have an educational point – yes, we want our visitors to learn!
• It must complement and support the major themes of the exhibition around it
• It must be easy to understand – if visitors are confused they won’t complete it
• It must withstand the use and abuse of millions of hands per year – we don’t want it to be broken constantly

At the National Air and Space Museum, interactives are often designed completely in-house, but sometimes we hire help from the outside. In either case the process combines a tremendous amount of creative energy with accurate and well-researched content. Once we have a solid idea, we then ask our incredibly talented production staff to come up with a plan to build it.  Sometimes they come up with the brilliant ideas.

Other interactives in the works will give visitors an opportunity to accompany the Tuskegee Airmen on a mission over Germany, to help Charles and Anne Lindbergh pack for their flight on the Tingmissartoq, to arrange logistics for the Douglas World Cruisers’ round-the-world-flight, and to design an airplane so it will be competitive in the air races. Another one will allow visitors to decode a Morse code message, explaining the process of sending and receiving messages as Anne Lindbergh did as radio operator for her husband’s exploratory flights on the Tingmissartoq.

Interactives make any exhibition a more active experience, and we couldn’t develop them without the opinions of our visitors who agree to test the prototypes. If you visit the Museum and someone asks you to try an interactive, help us out! We want your input!

Tim Grove is acting Chief of Education at the National Air and Space Museum’s building on the National Mall.

Apollo 11 and the World

Published by Roger Launius on July 15, 2009 in History, Research, space and Stories.
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Forty Years ago on July 20 the world stopped for a brief instant to witness a remarkable accomplishment, the first instance in which humanity set foot on another body in our solar system. It was a remarkable time.

Launch of Apollo 11. NASA Photo.

When the Apollo 11 spacecraft lifted off on July 16, 1969, for the Moon, it signaled a climactic instance in human history. Reaching the Moon on July 20, its Lunar Module—with astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin aboard—landed on the lunar surface while Michael Collins orbited overhead in the Apollo 11 command module. Armstrong soon set foot on the surface, telling millions on Earth that it was “one small step for [a] man—one giant leap for mankind.” Aldrin soon followed him out and the two planted an American flag but omitted claiming the land for the U.S. as had been routinely done during European exploration of the Americas, collected soil and rock samples, and set up scientific experiments. The next day they returned to the Apollo capsule overhead and returned to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24.

Buzz Aldrin's bootprint on the lunar surface during the Apollo 11 mission. NASA Photograph.

This flight to the Moon received great scrutiny. “This is the greatest week in the history of the world since Creation,” President Richard M. Nixon enthused upon greeting the Apollo 11 crew when they returned from the Moon. Christopher Flournoy recalled that as a five-year-old when the mission occurred he may not have understood much of what took place but nonetheless was excited by the experience. He remembered his father saying that “he was never more proud of being an American than on the day our flag flew on the Moon.”

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin poses for a photograph beside the deployed United States flag during Apollo 11 Extravehicular Activity (EVA). NASA Photograph.

One seven-year-old boy from San Juan, Puerto Rico, said of the first Moon landing: “I kept racing between the TV and the balcony and looking at the Moon to see if I could see them on the Moon.” As a fifteen-year-old I sat with friends on the hood of a car looking at the Moon and listening to the astronauts on it. These experiences were typical. “One small step,” hardly; Neil Armstrong nailed it with the second phrase of his famous statement, “one giant leap for mankind.”

Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, Commander of Aollo 11, took this photograph of Lunar Module Pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin on July 20, 1969. NASA Photograph.

The flight of Apollo 11 met with an ecstatic reaction around the globe, as everyone shared in the success of the astronauts. The front pages of newspapers everywhere suggested how strong the enthusiasm was. NASA estimated that because of nearly worldwide radio and television coverage, more than half the population of the planet was aware of the events of Apollo 11. Although the Soviet Union tried to jam Voice of America radio broadcasts most living there and in other countries learned about the adventure and followed it carefully. Police reports noted that streets in many cities were eerily quiet during the Moon walk as residents watched television coverage in homes, bars, and other public places.

Official congratulations poured in to the U.S. president from other heads of state, even as informal ones went to NASA and the astronauts. All nations having regular diplomatic relations with the United States sent their best wishes in recognition of the success of the mission.

View of Earth from Apollo 17. NASA Photograph.

Those without diplomatic relations with the U.S., such as the People’s Republic of China, made no formal statement on the Apollo 11 flight to the U.S., and the mission was reported only sporadically by its news media because Mao Zedong refused to publicize successes by Cold War rivals. It was not until February 1972 when Nixon flew to China and met with Mao Zedong that the United States established formal diplomatic relations with the nation. China and other nations may soon return to the Moon, fully recognizing the success of the Apollo program. What might that portend for the future?

Roger D. Launius is senior curator in the Space History Division of the National Air and Space Museum.

Visit the 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11 web site to share your thoughts and see a list of commemorative events being held at the Museum.

Countdown to the Moon, Thursday, July 16

Published by Kathy Hanser on July 14, 2009 in News & Events and On View at the Museum.
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Regular summer visitors to the National Air and Space Museum are familiar with the Museum’s popular event, Mars Day. This year, Mars is taking a backseat to allow us to honor the 40th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing with Countdown to the Moon Day.

The Moon in 3-D. This anaglyph shows the area around the Apollo 11 landing site (yellow dot). It can be viewed in three dimensions using red/blue 3-D glasses (red lens over your left eye). More 3D images of the Moon (and glasses) will be on hand as well as staff scientists who will describe lunar geology and spacecraft landing site selection.

The day will be filled with interesting and fun hands-on activities. See the lunar landscape in 3-D; talk with scientists active in lunar research; learn about NASA’s new spacecraft for exploring the Moon; see the materials that protected astronauts on perilous re-entries; hear all about lunar dust; and talk to a geologist who has been a test driver of the new generation of lunar rovers. For youngsters ages 3-8, there will be Moon-related stories.

Meet Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean at Countdown to the Moon Day.

Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean in his studio.

As a special attraction, Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean will be on hand to welcome you to a new exhibition of his art and related artifacts, and sign copies of his book, Alan Bean: Painting Apollo, First Artist on Another World.

Don’t miss this opportunity to speak with the Museum’s experts on this day dedicated to the Moon!

Countdown to the Moon Day is on Thursday, July 16 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at the National Mall Building in downtown Washington, DC.  Visit the Countdown to the Moon Day site for more 3D anaglyphs and event information.

Kathleen Hanser is a Writer-Editor in the Office of Communications at the National Air and Space Museum.

My Three Days on the Moon

Published by The National Air and Space Museum on July 13, 2009 in Behind The Scenes and Research.
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What will the astronauts who return to the Moon with NASA’s Constellation program drive? I had a chance to find out last October as a member of NASA’s Desert Research and Technology Studies (Desert RATS) during the field test of the Lunar Electric Rover (LER) at Black Point lava flow in Arizona.

LER in Unpressurized Rover (UPR) Configuration. Photo courtesy of NASA.

During the first week, two crews, each consisting of one astronaut-commander and one geologist, tested the LER in the unpressurized rover (UPR) configuration, where the vehicle is driven standing up with the spacesuits locked securely into turrets. The turrets rotate 360 degrees so the crew can make observations to the side or behind them as they drive, a capability the Apollo astronauts did not have. The UPR allows crews to get in and out of the vehicle quickly at each geologic stop, but the disadvantage is that crew members remain in their spacesuits for the entire duration of the extra vehicular activity (EVA).

LER Uncompressed Rover (UPR) Configuration

LER in Small Pressurized (SPR) Configuration. Photo courtesy of NASA.

The final week was spent testing the LER in the Small Pressurized Rover (SPR) configuration, above, on a long duration lunar mission simulation. I served as the crew geologist alongside the mission commander, astronaut Mike Gernhardt. We lived and worked in the SPR for three days, with daily schedules modeled after Apollo and International Space Station missions. The crew followed routes to various geologic stations to conduct an extensive scientific survey of the area, covering a total distance of about 35 miles.

The SPR offers several advantages over the UPR such as driving and making science observations without wearing a suit, sleep stations, meal options, a bathroom, and the ability to quickly ingress and egress the spacesuit.  Crews enter the suits, which are attached to the rear of the SPR, through a hatch in the back of the suit and use manual levers to close the hatch and unlatch from the SPR. This eliminates the need for an airlock.

In September 2009, the Desert RATS team will conduct another field test at Black Point lava flow, with two crew members living inside the LER on a 14 day mission.

Dr. Brent Garry is a geologist in the Museum’s Center for Earth and Planetary Studies.

Watch this video presentation on Brent’s excellent adventures driving these futuristic Moon rovers.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrzV8q4QqdY]

Meet Brent and the Museum’s other planetary scientists in person at Countdown to the Moon Day on Thursday, July 16 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. in the National Mall building in honor of the 40th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.

Here is a NASA video of the Desert RATS in action.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRfOlipKPDk]

See also a related NASA EDGE podcast.

Dome In A Day: Progress on the Public Observatory Project

Published by The National Air and Space Museum on July 9, 2009 in Astronomy, Behind The Scenes, Exhibitions and On View at the Museum.
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t24CFnyvcOE&hl=en&fs=1&]

The Public Observatory Project (POP) is nearer to completion.  We are in the process of installing a large professional Boller & Chivens telescope in a 22-foot dome that will be available for four hours each day (weather permitting) to view the Sun, Moon and planets from the east terrace of the Museum. POP will be available for casual observing and for school and special interest groups. It will also be the Museum’s nerve center for the International Year of Astronomy throughout the rest of 2009 and well into 2010.

Over the past two weeks many people have devoted many many hours to making the Public Observatory Project (POP) closer to being ready for the public.  Once the rim of the foundation had been cast, Andy, Katie and John used both GPS and a simple shadow gnomon to determine the north-south alignment, marking the line on the rim of the foundation.  Then, a concrete pad was poured and leveled, followed by thick pads of Sorbothane, then a 6 x 6 foot iron plate, and finally the sole plate, tilted 3.6 degrees to the north to accommodate the latitude difference between Harvard, Massachusetts, the original home of the Boller & Chivens telescope, and Washington, D.C.  Larry and Ted continued to work on modernizing and ruggedizing the electronic relay system for the telescope, the pier was poured and trimmed, and finally, this week, assembly started.

The dome gore sections were brought to the terrace, as well as the walls, with the help of Joe Deregt, who came all the way from Australia to lead the charge.  The dome was assembled, then the walls went up.  Finally, yesterday, the 60-ton crane arrived, the pedestal was fitted to the pier base, and, by noon, the dome was lifted into place, carefully fitted by adjusting the base, and finally, after testing dome rotation (smooth!) the walls were secured to the foundation rim. At the end of the day, Frank, Stephanie, Joe and David were treated to dinner by curators from the Division of Space History!

More background on this project is provided in a previous blog post.

Dr. David DeVorkin is curator of the History of Astronomy in the Space History Division of the National Air and Space Museum.