National Air and Space Museum staff contribute to many larger Smithsonian efforts during any given year. For example, this year the Smithsonian Folklife Festival staff came calling. The 2010 Festival running June 24-28 and July 1-5, features the “culture” of the Smithsonian. “Smithsonian Inside Out” allows visitors to interact with Smithsonian experts and get a glimpse behind-the-Castle-doors, so to speak.
Ever wonder how we hang those huge airplanes? Museum specialist Samantha Snell will tell you.
Do you have questions about spacesuits? Division of Space History staff will provide some answers.
What kinds of skills are needed to produce a large exhibition? Hear one of the exhibit teams talk about the gallery, Moving Beyond Earth.
Did you know that our designers often create 3-D models of exhibitions? See some models and talk to our design staff.
How does Smithsonian staff collaborate with visitors? Help Smithsonian educators, including some from the National Air and Space Museum, test a variety of exhibition components.
What’s the latest news from Mars? Meet some of the scientists in the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies and hear about their latest research projects.
Andy Johnston of the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies talks about satellite images of Earth at the Smithsonian's annual Folklife Festival.
Designer Jennifer Carlton shows designs for the new Pioneers of Flight exhibition at the National Air and Space Museum.
So, grab a water bottle, some sunscreen, and a hat, and visit us at the festival. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see a different perspective of the Smithsonian. Check the Festival website http://www.festival.si.edu/2010/smithsonian_inside_out.aspx for specific schedules.
Tim Grove is chief of Education at the National Air and Space Museum’s Mall building.
Sixty years ago, before dawn on a humid June morning, a massive North Korean ground army, and aircraft flown by Soviet pilots, pushed across the border into South Korea. Troops and tanks had obtained complete surprise and rapidly advanced deep into South Korea. Only a valiant defense by the Eighth Army to the north and west of the port of Pusan provided a toe-hold on the peninsula from which to mount a counter-offensive. Supported by the recently-made-independent U.S. Air Force tactical fighter planes and naval aircraft from Task Force 77, United Nations forces led by the United States were able to turn the initial tide and begin a brutal and costly attack that eventually reached as far north as the North Korean border with China. One of the most brutal confrontations of the Cold War, the struggle for Korea ended in stalemate.
Korean War Overview
Air Bases in Korea (MIG Alley in light blue)
But aviation technology was anything but stagnant during these years and changed dramatically and permanently during the Korean War. Piston driven fighter planes like the F-51 Mustang and F-82 Twin Mustang were rapidly phased out of service and replaced with turbine powered aircraft like the P-80 and F-86 Sabre. Jet powered, air-refuelable planes had great difficulty taking on gas behind the older, slower KC-97 aerial tanker. It was so slow that an up-and-down “toboggan” maneuver was necessary to ensure enough speed for the jets to hold on the refueling boom. As with most propeller-driven planes, the KC-97 would become another casualty of the Korean War, eventually replaced by the KC-135 (Boeing 707) Stratotanker.
F-82 Twin Mustang
The Boeing Dash-80, on exhibit at the Udvar-Hazy Center, was the prototype for the KC-135 Stratotanker
By far the most famous American plane of the Korean War was the F-86 Sabre. Shortly after the MiG-15 arrived in Korea, the U.S. Air Force countered the move by deploying their own swept-wing air superiority fighter. The F-86 horizontal tail was constructed as a single piece (known as a “slab”). This design permitted greater maneuverability at near-supersonic speeds. With this advantage, coupled with skilled and experienced pilots, Sabre victories in aerial combat tallied 3 to 1.
A North American F-86 Sabre shoots down a MiG-15 in "Gabby Scores Again" by Robert Cunningham, courtesy of Lockheed Martin
The Grumman F9F-2 Panther (left), straight wing design and the F9F-6 Cougar (right), swept wings
While tactical aircraft were rapidly changing from props to jets and from straight wings to swept wings, the strategic force was also changing shape. With nuclear weapons now part of the U.S. arsenal, an airplane was needed to deliver such weapons against cities deep in Soviet territory. The B-36 Peacemaker, a massive 10 engine aircraft (6 piston driven propellers and 4 turbojets) became the strategic bomber that offered a deterrent capability against both the Soviets and the Chinese. The B-36 did not participate in the skies over Korea, rather, those aircraft served the purpose of keeping the war from expanding beyond very tight political boundaries.
This B-36 Peacemaker was outfitted to carry its own fighter planes into battle, one on each wingtip.
Although the ground war became a stalemate, the changes in aviation technology during the early 1950s marked a permanent shift in the way air wars would be fought.
Dik Daso is a curator in the Aeronautics Division of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
President Obama’s “Educate to Innovate” campaign, announced last year, calls for increased literacy in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) for all students. Increased STEM literacy means increased understanding of key scientific concepts, increased familiarity with technology and its applications, and increased exposure to the experimental process.
As one of the world’s most popular museums, our stories of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are engaging and relevant to old and young visitors alike. Just spend a day counting the number of school groups and young families ooh-ing and aah-ing over our exhibits! To all our staff and visitors, it’s obvious that the National Air and Space Museum is a key component of President Obama’s goals to inform, challenge, and inspire students through STEM education.
One exciting way we are able to support STEM education in the DC Public Schools is through the Science in Pre-K Program, funded by PNC Bank’s Grow Up Great With Science program. Now starting its second year, Science in Pre-K provides professional development to DCPS preschool teachers to support teaching science through exploration and problem solving.
Teachers explore the mechanics of water flow at the National Air and Space Museum during a Science in Pre-K session.
A core component of the Science in Pre-K program is giving teachers opportunities to explore science concepts themselves, before they introduce these ideas to their students. Too often teachers are asked to implement science units before they themselves are familiar with the material, particularly with early childhood and elementary teachers, who often don’t have strong science backgrounds. Early childhood staff met with teachers at the museum seven times during the school year for full-day science inquiry sessions. Teachers explored using the same materials their students used. Additionally, significant time was spent discussing the scientific concepts and theories behind their observations and discoveries.
Science in Pre-K students check out the hands-on propeller in the Wright Brothers gallery.
Back in the classroom, 3- and 4-year-olds made connections between their daily science explorations and the bigger picture at the National Air and Space Museum. For example, during a recent unit on the properties of water, students explored water movement in their classrooms with tubes and water wheels. During their field trip at the National Air and Space Museum, students heard the story of Orville and Wilbur Wright’s first airplane making connections between how water flows and how air flows – and, how early airplanes used propellers to help them fly.
Connections like these, between the classroom and museums, are not only fun but critical in exciting teachers about STEM education – and children about STEM subjects. With the Science in Pre-K program at the National Air and Space Museum, teachers are equipped to inspire and instruct a new generation of scientists and engineers!
Lise Zinck is the Science in Pre-K program assistant in the Early Childhood Education department.
As she became the first American woman in space in June 1983, headline-writers couldn’t resist wordplay on her name: O What a Ride! A Ride in Space, Sally’s Ride into History, Sally’s Joy Ride. People at the launch chanted and wore T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan “Ride, Sally Ride,” echoing the refrain of the 1960s hit song “Mustang Sally.”
Sally Ride was the first American woman in space.
Inflight view of the crew of STS-7. From left to right are Norman E. Thagard, mission specialist; Robert L. Crippen, crew commander; Sally K. Ride, mission specialist; and John M. Fabian, mission specialist. Seated in front of the group between Crippen and Ride is Pilot Frederick H. Hauck.
Despite this frivolity, Sally Ride’s presence on Challenger for the seventh space shuttle mission truly was a ride into history, for it broke the sex barrier in U.S. human spaceflight. Granted, it occurred 20 years after Valentina Tereshkova soared into orbit for the Soviet Union and almost 20 years after Barbie became an astronaut. Yet after that milestone passed, the space shuttle and then the International Space Station became places where women could work and eventually take command, as routinely as in workplaces on Earth.
Ironically the first American woman to go into space had not aspired to be an astronaut since childhood, as others had. She learned of NASA’s astronaut recruitment as she completed graduate school and instantly decided to apply for a career in spaceflight.
The priority of Sally Ride might have been otherwise; any of the six women accepted into the 1978 class of astronauts might have been cast as the first to fly. Anna Fisher, Shannon Lucid, Judith Resnik, Sally Ride, Rhea Seddon, and Kathryn Sullivan completed training and qualified for flight assignments together. All flew in space within two years.
From left to right are Shannon W. Lucid, Margaret Rhea Seddon, Kathryn D. Sullivan, Judith A. Resnik, Anna L. Fisher, and Sally K. Ride. NASA selected all six women as their first female astronaut candidates in January 1978, allowing them to enroll in a training program that they completed in August 1979.
These six women navigated together through the ways of an all-male astronaut corps. In their wake a total of 48 women became astronauts, accounting for almost 20% of the 258 astronauts selected for the shuttle-space station era and including seven women of African-American, Hispanic, or East Indian descent.
Only three women were selected as pilots: Eileen Collins (USAF), Susan Still Kilrain (USN), and Pamela Melroy (USAF), all of whom arrived in the 1990s after gaining the requisite military flight experience. A woman commanded three of 132 shuttle missions launched to date. Collins flew twice as pilot and twice as commander; Kilrain flew twice as pilot; and Melroy flew twice as pilot and once as commander. All have now left NASA so there will be no women seated up front on the final missions.
Forty-five women have served as mission specialists— the onboard scientists, engineers, and physicians responsible for much of the workload in orbit. They hold 25 Ph.D. degrees in various fields of science and engineering and seven M.D. degrees. Three of them—Bonnie Dunbar, Shannon Lucid, Tamara Jernigan—have flown in space five times. One woman—Peggy Whitson—served as space station commander and set a new long-duration space record. More than half of the women astronauts also fly aircraft.
Sally Ride made history as the first U.S. woman in space, but the feat is more nuanced. She and the other five women who were first selected to be shuttle astronauts each made history, through grit and determination and some dreaming, to be ready for the opportunity of spaceflight. They entered science and engineering in the 1960s as these fields began to open up to women. They came of age as the civil rights, equal rights, and women’s movements stimulated changes in American society and opened new career possibilities. They were poised to step through the door opened by NASA’s affirmative action policy and its aggressive recruitment of women and minorities for the astronaut corps.
Accomplished American women have flown in space since 1983, so it no longer seems newsworthy; it’s just natural. That is the history that flowed from Sally Ride’s shuttle mission.
Valerie Neal is in her 20th year as the Shuttle-era human spaceflight curator in the National Air and Space Museum’s Space History Division.
What does it take to organize a fly-in at the National Air and Space Museum? Lots of time and lots of good friends! As we head into our sixth year of Become a Pilot Day, it’s a great time to look back at how it all started and where we go from here.
As a pilot myself, the idea of a fly-in was a no-brainer. The Udvar-Hazy Center, immediately adjacent to Washington Dulles International Airport and with lots of outdoor space to tie down aircraft, was perfectly situated to host such an event. After some convincing of my boss and the Museum’s leadership, and the generous support of a donor ready to support the event, I was ready to coordinate the first ever fly-in at the Smithsonian.
Become a Pilot day, 2005
It was a little nerve-racking to now be in charge of finding aircraft and pilots for an event that had no precedent. For the first year event, we decided to accept planes and pilots that had someone at the National Air and Space Museum who could vouch for them. We had 30 aircraft scheduled to attend (27 made it), and each of them knew either me or the Museum’s curator of general aviation, who is also a pilot. It was a great day, everything went smoothly and the weather was great. A few airplanes were nestled up at nearby Landmark aviation the night before, including mine, so even if the weather had been bad we would still have planes on the ground. My husband was drafted to lead the “airplane conga line” in our Navion from the parking area at the airport to the Udvar-Hazy Center.
From the pilots and aircraft flying in to the people helping on the ground, Become A Pilot Day could never happen without our volunteers. That first year, I knew I was going to have a bunch of pilots landing at Dulles, which can be a bit of a challenge for someone used to flying at a small field. Instead of the usual taxi of less than a mile, they’d have to taxi about six miles across the airport to the Udvar-Hazy Center. I knew I’d need some of the best aircraft parkers in the world. As it happens, my husband and I volunteer at Oshkosh (now AirVenture) which is the largest general aviation fly-in in the world, so I called up the co-chair of vintage parking and another senior aircraft parker and said, “Hey, you guys want to come to the Museum and park some planes?” They said “Sure, sounds like fun.” Considering they both lived in Colorado and came out on their own dime, that’s a big deal! They’ve returned to support us every year since.
Aero Vodochody L-39. One of several aircraft featured in a temporary outdoor display at the National Air and Space Museum "Become A Pilot" family day.
MD500 Helicopter. One of several aircraft featured in a temporary outdoor display at the National Air and Space Museum "Become A Pilot" family day at the Udvar-Hazy Center.
We have no shortage of folks willing to help and share their love of aviation with the public. Everyone from Museum volunteers & staff helping with logistics & public programs, to Civil Air Patrol Cadets, Jr. ROTC cadets, and scouts helping with everything from crowd control to the 6AM FOD Walk (FOD stands for Foreign Object Damage) to make sure there’s nothing outside on the ground that might be sucked into a jet engine.
We had a great mix of aircraft and pilots the first year, and each year we’ve had a few more aircraft, from farther away and representing even more diversity. We’ve had many different kind of pilots including record setting pilots, famous pilots, commercial jet pilots, flying businessman, a elderly gentleman with an equally elderly aircraft, weekend pilots, glider pilots, hot air balloon pilots, aircraft mechanics, dentists, military pilots, hang gliders, and just about everything else, but one thing that remained constant, they all volunteered to be here and they all love flying.
We add or do something different each year, but we always have the same basic foundation: great volunteers who are enthusiastic about air and space and sharing their love for aviation with our visitors. For our visitors, it is a rare opportunity to meet pilots, see working airplanes up close and in many cases, climb into the pilot’s seat. This year will be no different, with about 50 airplanes and lots of activities, including a demonstration from wing walkers (on the ground, of course).
I would like to personally thank all of our volunteers and sponsors we’ve had for the past six years of Become a Pilot Day. It’s an enormous amount of work, but when the day comes and the ramp is full of kids of all ages climbing in and out of working airplanes, all smiling and having a great time, it’s worth every bit of effort and then some. On this day one can’t help but feel that the sky is not the limit.
Margy Natalie is the docent program manager at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at the National Air and Space Museum.
1. Continuous, Supersonic Afterburner. Ever wonder what causes the diamond pattern in the SR-71 jet engine exhaust? It’s due to the extra thrust provided by the afterburner which is actually supersonic, creating successive shock waves that show up as the diamond pattern. The SR-71 engines fly continuously in afterburner, except when refueling.
2. It Can Stand the Heat. Flying more than three times the speed of sound generates 316° C (600° F) temperatures on external aircraft surfaces, which are enough to melt conventional aluminum airframes. That’s why the SR-71′s external skin is made of titanium alloy, to shield the internal aluminum airframe. But the tires, which retracted into the wings during flight, also had to keep from melting! Aluminum was mixed in with latex when the tires were created and they are filled with nitrogen. The tire pressure on the SR-71 was 415 psi (compared to the 32-35 psi in your automobile tires!).
3. Pilots Must Suit Up. SR-71 pilots have more in common with astronauts that you might think. They flew so high (80,000-85,000 ft), pilots had to wear special pressure suits that were actually modified spacesuits.
4. The Secret’s in the Inlets: The speed and agility of the SR-71 is largely due to the unique design of the engine inlets. To handle the dramatic changes in air speed and pressure, air literally had to be slowed down to subsonic speeds before entering the jet engines.
5. It’s Fast. Really fast. How fast is a typical 747 aircraft moving when it lifts off the runway? 155 knots (185 miles per hour) How fast is the average SR-71 traveling when it lifts off the runway? 210 knots (242 miles per hour) The SR-71 cruised at over Mach 3. It could operate safely at a maximum speed of Mach 3.3 at an altitude more than 16 miles, or 25,908 m (85,000 ft), above the Earth. Other aircraft can approach this speed, but only for short duration. The only other aircraft to fly supersonic for hours at a time was the Concorde, and that couldn’t fly Mach 3.3. The Museum’s SR-71 holds the world speed record for manned air-breathing jet aircraft.
6. Best of the Fleet. The Museum’s SR-71 holds six world records. The most dramatic was its final flight to the Museum when it set a speed record on March 6, 1990. Lt. Col. Ed Yeilding and Lt. Col. Joseph Vida flew from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds, averaging 3,418 kilometers (2,124 miles) per hour. After landing at Washington-Dulles International Airport, the airplane was turned over to the Smithsonian.
7. Flown by Museum Staff. That’s right. The Museum’s SR-71 was flown by Tom Alison, a former National Air and Space Museum’s Chief of Collections Management. Flying with Detachment 1 at Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa, Alison logged more than a dozen ’972 operational sorties.
Museum Docent Buz Carpenter was also an SR-71 pilot and instructor, though he did not fly the Museum’s aircraft. Here Buz talks about his longest SR-71 flight on a recently declassified mission.
8. It’s A Movie Star. Yes, but no autographs, sorry. Our SR-71 was featured in the major motion picture “Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen,” as Jetfire. The cast and crew filmed on-site at the Udvar-Hazy Center for 8 days. No, the Decepticon emblem is not actually attached to the nose gear door of the aircraft. We don’t think… but it can be seen in the display case located in the nearby Cold War exhibit station.
Landing gear door cover bearing Decepticon emblem from "Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen." In the movie, the Museum's SR-71 plays "Jetfire," a former Decepticon turned good Transformer. One of several items from the movie on display in a case exhibit at the Udvar-Hazy Center.
9. Years of Darkness. In addition to flying secret missions in its previous life, the SR-71 was stored in a custom hangar built solely for its protection in a secured area of the Dulles Airport property after it was turned over to Smithsonian. It remained there for over 10 years until the Museum had a display facility where it could be viewed by the public – the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
SR-71 outside former storage hangar at Dulles International Airport. Photo #SI92-14090 by Mark Avino, National Air and Space Museum.
10. The story behind the”Skunk:” The first Lockheed aircraft factory was built adjacent to an industrial plastics plant. When the wind blew just right, a horrible odor enveloped the Lockheed factory. The story goes that one day a Lockheed engineer, Irving “Irv” Culver, was so distressed by the odor, he began to answer his phone with the phrase, “Skonk Works, inside man Culver here…,” in reference to the then popular comic strip “Li’l Abner” in which a fictitious factory brewed a smelly concoction of ground up skunks and old shoes known to readers as “Skonk Oil”. Over time the phrase caught on and the name was eventually changed to “Skunk Works” at the request of the comic strip copyright holder. The little skunk on the tail of the SR-71 is the official logo of the Lockheed secret projects factory.
Skunk Works logo on Museum's SR-71. Photo #2005-6014 by Dane Penland, , National Air and Space Museum.
In a previous blog post, I discussed the influence that Wernher von Braun had on the vision of the way that human space travel would progress, from brief flights into space to long duration missions to Mars. To continue that discussion:
Wernher von Braun envisioned the space station to be something quite different from the International Space Station that is now in orbit: he imagined a wheel-shaped vessel that rotated to provide artificial gravity for its crew. It would serve as a refueling station, assembly station, and general “base camp” for deep space missions. Von Braun envisioned its crew playing a critical military role, conducting reconnaissance and even delivering nuclear weapons to targets below. Events proceeded along a different trajectory. In the heat of the Apollo program, NASA found that it could achieve a landing on the Moon faster and with fewer (only one) rocket launches, if the rendezvous and docking took place in orbit around the Moon, not Earth. That undercut the reason for having a space station as a base camp. Current plans for deep space exploration call for an Earth orbit docking, in which a small, crewed vehicle will dock with a heavier, uncrewed vehicle that will contain hardware for a deep space voyage. But this configuration involves little or no construction in Earth orbit, and would not require a human crew to assemble a Moon or Mars ship.
This model of Wernher von Braun's Space Station S-1 Model is on view at the National Air and Space Museum courtesy of the Walt Disney Company.
Likewise, as the U.S. military developed intercontinental ballistic missiles, reconnaissance satellites, signals-intelligence satellites, and other unmanned systems, the notion of a space station as a military base faded as well. Indeed, although historians have emphasized the connection between science fiction and the evolution of the U.S. space programs, the lack of Buck Rogers/Star Wars shoot-outs in space, so common in science fiction, is conspicuous by its absence in reality. This is a glaring example of a disconnect between depictions of space travel in science fiction and what has really happened. The closest the United States ever came to that was the highly-classified Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) program, in which an Air Force crew would occupy a modest station, based on Gemini hardware, in low Earth orbit. As automated reconnaissance and other military satellites improved through the 1960s, MOL was cancelled in 1969, before any hardware had been orbited.
The concept of rotating the station to achieve artificial gravity was never adopted, either, although people who spend extended periods of time in space do suffer from the effects of weightlessness. A rotating station adds mechanical complexity, weight, and cost. One reason for having a space station is to enjoy a micro-gravity environment for research; thus a rotating station would also need a non-rotating component, further adding weight and complicating the design. As astronauts gained experience in longer duration flights in the mid-1960s, NASA concluded that this requirement could be relaxed, if compensated by training, conditioning, and other procedures for those living for an extended period in weightlessness.
STS-131 Group Portrait, courtesy of NASA.
Over and above these modifications to the von Braun paradigm is the notion that one need not send humans to Mars at all, but rather explore the red planet with robots. This was never part of von Braun’s vision, yet robotic exploration of Mars and the outer Solar System has been part of NASA’s accomplishments in the past two decades. Those accomplishments are due in part to what is commonly known as “Moore’s Law,” the overall exponential increase in computing power since 1960. But one must be more precise about the nature of advances in computing as they apply to the substitution of robots for humans in space. We see this issue in current debates over NASA’s plan for future human-tended missions. In spite of the accomplishments of robotic craft, NASA leadership feels that these robots are no substitute for human beings. With all of the criticism of NASA in recent years, public support for sending humans into space remains high. To resolve this issue in favor of the robots, computers need not just get more and more capable—they are already doing that nicely—they also must attain a high level of artificial intelligence (AI), which will endow them with a consciousness that matches the consciousness of human astronauts. Human beings will long to personally travel through deep space, regardless of the obstacles. That may not be practical, but perhaps one can provide a fully equivalent experience by downloading one’s consciousness onto a computer. Is that possible? Given the pace of computer technology, we ought to know in a few years. If Moore’s Law continues to hold up, we will have computers with a density equivalent to that of the human brain by about 2030. Even if such “virtual travelers” prove impractical, robotic explorations will continue. The coming decades ought to be among the most exciting in space exploration.
Paul Ceruzzi is a curator specializing in aerospace computing and electronics in the Division of Space History at the National Air and Space Museum.
Many visitors express the wish to see the interiors of aircraft and spacecraft on display in the Museum. But to protect these historic treasures, they must be displayed behind barriers, which makes it impossible to see inside. But there are several cockpits you can see in the Museum, a day devoted to getting up close with aircraft, some cool electronic views, and a couple of great books that give those who are curious some excellent interior views.
In the National Mall building visitors can see an authentic reproduction of an Airbus A320 “glass cockpit.” Here, you can experience a take-off and landing at Washington Reagan National Airport as if you were a commercial airline pilot. The simulator is on view in the America by Air gallery.
In a "glass cockpit," digital electronic displays replace conventional analog instruments. This technology provides flight crews with far better instrumentation and information than ever before.
In the same exhibition are two more cockpits on view. One is the first Boeing 747-151 ever flown by Northwest Airlines. Accessible from a walkway on the second floor, you can enter the forward section and see the cockpit and its over 600 buttons, switches, and knobs. The second is a 1950s-era American Airlines Douglas DC-7 on the main floor, which offers a view of the cabin as well as the cockpit. The contrast between these two aircraft is striking!
This nose section is from a Northwest Airlines Boeing 747-151. First flown in 1970, this 747 was the first built for Northwest and the first 747 to open service across the Pacific. It was retired in 1999. Gift of Northwest Airlines, Inc.
At the Udvar-Hazy Center, there is a view of the nose and cockpit of the B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay, which dropped the first atomic bomb in combat on Hiroshima, Japan during World War II, a Cessna airplane that kids can sit in, and a space shuttle simulator.
The historic Boeing B-29 Enola Gay is shown here just after being restored and re-assembled in 2003. The airplane, which received the most extensive restoration in the museum's history, is on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
Boeing's B-29 Superfortress was the most sophisticated propeller-driven bomber of World War II, and the first bomber to house its crew in pressurized compartments.
Most space capsules on display allow great up-close views inside. For instance, you can get nose-to-nose with the cockpits of three capsules in the National Mall building’s Milestones of Flight gallery: Apollo 11, Mercury Friendship 7, and Gemini IV. In Apollo to the Moon is a full-size simulator of the Apollo lunar module cockpit where you can experience the minute-by-minute thrill of landing on the Moon.
The control panels and triangular windows inside Lunar Module 2
Another chance to see cockpits is at the annual Become a Pilot Family Day and Aviation Display at the Udvar-Hazy Center, held this year on June 19. Over 50 aircraft fly in for the occasion, and you can walk right up to view, and sometimes sit in, the cockpits.
Several cockpits that can’t be viewed in person are available on the Museum’s web site in Quick Time Virtual Reality format. These include the Concorde and the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. Check them out here. And next time you’re at the Udvar-Hazy Center, look for the computer kiosks throughout the Center that offer 360 degree views of many airplane interiors and cockpits.
The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird in a storage hangar at Dulles International Airport before transport to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
The Blackbird's cockpit was a tight fit for the crew, who wore bulky pressure suits during each mission.
Finally, you can look at an incredible array of striking cockpit photos in two books written and photographed by Museum staffers. In the Cockpit: Inside 50 History-Making Aircraft, and In the Cockpit II: Inside History-Making Aircraft of World War II, provide close-up access to the instrument panels and controls of aircraft in the Museum’s impressive collection. Both books are available at the smithsonianstore.com, in person at the Museum Stores, or by calling 202-357-1387 to have one mailed. Maybe if you buy one for your Dad for Father’s Day he would let you read it!
Kathleen Hanser is a writer-editor in the National Air and Space Museum’s Office of Communications.
What do yogurt cups and juice bottles have to do with the International Space Station? If you dropped by the National Mall Building on Saturday, May 8, between 10am and 3pm, you would have seen this question being answered by hundreds of visitors, working together to build a space station out of recycled materials.
Space Day is an annual family day program sponsored by Lockheed Martin. In addressing this year’s theme, “Looking at Earth from Space,” our astronaut guests explained the incredible feeling of seeing the circumference of the earth from the window of the shuttle. Curators from the National Air and Space Museum and presenters from research organizations used models and displays to show how satellites work and the cool things we can do with them.
We want family days to engage audiences of all ages in fun, informal, educational activities. For Space Day 2010, visitors could watch astronaut Dan Tani’s presentation about his stint on the International Space Station or build a satellite out of Styrofoam®. They could learn about observing solar irradiance at NASA’s GLORY display or chat with former astronaut Ken Wrightler at the Lockheed Martin booth. They could design a mission patch, hear astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson answer questions via amateur radio live from the International Space Station, or ask the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency about using satellites for disaster mitigation.
Astronaut Dan Tani talks about his experience on Expedition 16. He spent 120 days living and working on the ISS.
Back to yogurt cups and juice bottles: you may have noticed a new “exhibit” in the South Lobby between Saturday May 8 and Monday May 10. A nod to the environmental impact of the 1968 Earthrise photos, our visitor-built space station integrated the Space Day theme with our goals of promoting visitor interaction and using social media. The Museums’ flickr® account now features a set including pictures taken of the station every 30 minutes.
Kids and their parents built nodules, laboratories, robotic arms, and docking stations on the recycled space station. They drew their own symbol or “flag” on the section they created, mimicking the national flag on ISS modules
The final photo of the finished space station! Snapped at 3pm, this shows the work accomplished by visitors of all ages throughout the event.
More than 40,000 visitors experienced Space Day this year. When you see a 7-year-old zooming around with his water-bottle space shuttle or hear a teenager say, “This is so cool!” to her friend during an astronaut’s presentation, you realize that this Museum has the power to both educate and inspire.
Erin Hrubik is the family programming assistant in the Education Department of the National Air and Space Museum.
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